Tadej Pogacar Dominates Tour de France, Rivals Cry Foul

Tadej Pogacar pulled on the yellow jersey for the 61st time on Wednesday, putting him one ahead of Miguel Induráin in the all-time list, behind only Eddy Merckx (111) and Bernard Hinault (78).

What happened?

Pogacar's dominance at the Tour de France and his team's tactics have been called into question by their rivals. The Slovenian was booed by some fans as he rode to his win on Tuesday, but he made light of the incident, smiling as he said, "I think they just give my team-mates even more energy."

Why it matters for Tadej Pogacar

Pogacar's team, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, has been accused of spoiling the Tour de France by chasing closely behind breakaways that have no bearing on the battle for the yellow jersey. This tactic has been described as "absurd" by several team managers and riders.

What comes next?

On the road to Nevers on Wednesday, Soren Waerenskjold took the biggest victory of his career when he won the fastest road stage in Tour history. The Norwegian showed a clear pair of heels to his sprint rivals at the end of 161.3km from Vichy that were covered at an average speed of 50.91km/h.

Waerenskjold was boxed in and out of contention 400 metres from the line when the bunch parted Moses-like in front of him. As his rivals hesitated, the Uno-X Mobility rider stomped on his pedals to get across to Cees Bol (Decathlon CMA CGM), who had opened a small gap ahead of the pack, then accelerated again, passing the Dutchman.

Although Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) and Olav Kooij (Decathlon CMA CGM) closed rapidly on Waerenskjold, the finish line arrived too quickly for them to overhaul him. Kooij took second place behind the Norwegian, with Philipsen third. The Belgian was relegated to last place in the bunch by the race commissaries for an irregular sprint, before a little while later he was reinstated.

Frenchman Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost), who was in the four-man group that contested Sunday's stage win, said: "I'm actually glad the breakaway made it to the finish, because I really didn't understand why UAE was chasing." His compatriot Nicolas Prodhomme (Decathlon CMA CGM) declared: "It was crazy all day long. UAE rode hard to keep the gap at a minute or a minute-forty... I didn't quite understand why."

Movistar's sports director José Joaquín Rojas was of a similar mind, saying that: "ultimately, it spoils part of the spectacle when the result is already practically a foregone conclusion." He added that his take on the "absurd" tactic was shared by "85 per cent of other sports directors".

Speaking on Monday's rest day in the *Domestique Hotseat* podcast, Danish rider Michael Valgren (EF Education-EasyPost) suggested that Pogacar's dominance was not just about the rider himself, but also about the team's tactics and the way they were able to control the pace of the race.

Pogacar also revealed that he drew inspiration from tennis player Novak Djokovic. "He's had one of the toughest careers in that regard, facing a lot of jeering-sometimes for no reason at all-despite being one of the greatest of all time. So, when I get booed, I think of Novak Djokovic and draw inspiration from him," Pogacar said.

category: player_focus