Aleksandr Vlasov may have crashed on Thursday and then dropped places and time on the La Super Planches des Belles Filles summit finish Friday, but stage 8 to Lausanne was a demonstration that, despite the setbacks, Bora-Hansgrohe is not ready to give up on the Tour de France overall.
In the final kilometres of Saturday’s stage Bora-Hansgrohe was at the front of the bunch, slimming the lead group to less than 30 riders while setting a fierce pace to string out the bunch and discourage any attacks.
“We simply wanted to show in the finale that we are still there and still have the spirit to fight also for the GC,” sports director Rolf Aldag said in a statement. “Aleks is still our leader, and he seems to get back to full strength. Quite often the second day after a crash is still difficult, Aleks was already better today which makes us confident.”
Vlasov finished the stage off by sprinting to sixth on the line, the best of the key overall contenders with the exception of dominant race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), who came third.
“I felt already a lot better than yesterday, but still had some pain in the back,” said Vlasov. “I still need some time to recover before we can make plans for the Alps stages.”
The 26-year-old, who won the Tour de Romandie and was in first spot when he had to leave the Tour de Suisse after a positive COVID-19 test, is now sitting in 12th spot on the overall with a 2:45 gap to Pogačar. He was seventh before losing 1:39 on the first summit finish, which came the day after his crash.
Vlasov may have halted the losses and felt signs of improvement on Saturday’s stage, but there is still one last challenge before the rest day provides a respite ahead of a string of tough days in the Alps. The second day in Switzerland, Sunday’s 192.9km stage 9 from Aigle, is also a step up from the first with a string of climbs leading up to the 15.4km Pas des Morgins, which finishes just 20km from the end of the stage in Châtel.
“I think [Sunday] is all about hanging on and avoiding losing more time,” said Vlasov. “Then we got a rest day which we need to take advantage from.”
