Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) has explained why he broke away on stage 3 of the Tour de France to capture the lead of the mountains classification from teammate and top GC favourite Tadej Pogačar.
The Belgian all-rounder was the one rider to move ahead of the peloton in a planned break on stage 3, taking off briefly before the fourth-category Mont Cassel ascent to secure the lone point on offer in the mountains classification on Tuesday, and thus claim the top spot in the ranking.
According to Wellens, who will swap his national champion's jersey for the polka dot jersey on Wednesday's stage 4, the goal was to reduce Pogačar's post-race obligations.
It has been calculated that interviews and ceremonial protocols take up to two hours extra time, and, as Wellens told Het Nieuwsblad after the stage, recovery is paramount for the defending champion.
"Tadej also likes this leader's jersey," Wellens said. "But it is true that rest is Tadej's priority in the Tour."
After taking over from Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) as mountain classification leader on Sunday, Pogačar explained that evening that he had wanted to wear the polka dot jersey for at least one day in his career, as normally wearing yellow of race leader takes precedence.
"I've won the mountain jersey twice in my career, but I've only worn it once in six editions of the Tour de France," Pogačar explained on Sunday.
"Monday will be my second day in the polka dot jersey and I'm looking forward to it. People love the polka dot jersey and it's a special feeling to have it."
Wellens took over from his teammate thanks to his break over Mont Cassel, but he instantly sat up once he had the extra point in his power – something his directors were unsure would happen.
"There was some discussion in the follow-up car," Wellens said. "They said that if there was a tie [on points], I would be behind Tadej in the ranking, but I don’t think that’s how it works. They checked it and then confirmed it."
"Although I will proudly wear the polka dot jersey tomorrow, winning the mountain classification is not the goal. There is only one main thing: yellow in Paris.”
This is not the first time Wellens has been on top of the Tour de France mountains ranking: back in 2019, he had a 15-day spell in the polka dot jersey, finally won by now-retired racer Romain Bardet.
He is also part of a select club of riders (and the only Belgian to date) who have led the mountains rankings in all three Grand Tours, the others being Federico Martín Bahamontes - widely considered cycling's alltime greatest climber – Julio Jiménez, Karsten Kroon, Aurelio González, Tony Rominger, Lucho Herrera and José Manuel Fuente.
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