Tadej Pogačar lost vital wingman and UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammate João Almeida during stage 9 to Châteauroux, admitting he could now ride more defensively on the stage 10 and that the intensity and long transfers of the 2025 Tour de France are leaving him without even time to shave.
"This Tour is growing me old, because there's no time to shave, we have so many transfers," Pogačar said half joking and half serious when asked if he was growing a beard.
Pogačar was more serious when talking about the loss of Almeida, as the Tour prepared to climb into France's Massif Central. The 2025 Tour is about to get very serious.
Almeida was fourth in the 2024 Tour de France while riding for Pogačar and won the recent Tour de Suisse. He was expected to be Pogačar's final support ride in the high mountains and decisive moments of the Tour as he battles with Jonas Vingegaard and Visma-Lease a Bike.
However, on stage 7 to the Mûr-de-Bretagne, Almeida was involved in a mass crash at the back of the peloton with 6.5km to go. While he suffered numerous abrasions and a fractured rib, the Portuguese rider soldiered on through a flat stage 8 and part of stage 9 but withdrew midway to the Châteauroux finish on Sunday due to discomfort from his injuries.
"I was suffering today on the bike so I can't imagine how much João was suffering," Pogačar said. "Sadly he had to abandon today, it was too much to bear and I think everybody understands. We wish him all the best, and he will come back stronger.
"Now we'll have to reassess but I think we'll manage. We'll keep fighting with seven riders and try to win this Tour also for João."
Pogačar will start stage 10 in the yellow jersey with a lead of 54 seconds on Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), with French revelation Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) third at 1:11 and number one rival Vingegaard fourth at 1:17 after his poor time trial.
"Now we don't have João maybe we'll follow," Pogačar said, perhaps being realistic or perhaps playing mind games with his rivals.
"It's a big day in France [Bastille Day] and we'll see a lot of French riders on the front, so it'll be hard to control.
"Tomorrow is a solid day, proper climbing day, it doesn't look so hurtful on the profile, but I think it's going to be a really hard race. I think we are ready for it."
Pogačar finished safely in the peloton on stage 9 but suffered in the heat, like everyone.
"The heat made it difficult and then Jonas Rickaert and Mathieu van der Poel made it even harder. It was a really, really hard day for a flat stage," Pogačar said about the pair of breakaway riders.
"It was fast and furious. The wind was blowing in the right direction to make it hard."
UAE Team Emirates-XRG Manager Mauro Gianetti followed Pogačar's pre-stage tactical talk of a strategy change after losing Almeida.
"Our tactics will change," Gianeti told Cyclingnews.
"All the team will back Tadej now and so that's our only tactic. Of course we're focused on the goal. We have the yellow jersey and lead by a minute. It's not a huge lead but it's significant. In modern cycling it's a good chunk of time. It'll be up the others to attack and then we'll defend the yellow jersey.
"On Monday we'll see the real values of the GC contenders. The stage will reveal a lot. There's over 4000 metres of climbing and above all, after nine intense and fast days of racing."
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