'You can lose the Tour' on Tour de France's gravel stage, says Tadej Pogačar

Tour de France leader Tadej Pogačar came through another stage he might label as "boring" on Saturday, finishing safely in the peloton in Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises after another quiet day for most of the Tour's riders.

As has been the case with several of the sprinter-friendly stages so far, stage 8 brought little action before the final, with polka dot jersey holder Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) the only rider in the break for the lion's share of the day.

Pogačar, who said on Friday that "this week is a little bit like there's nothing to look forward to", will no doubt be relishing the prospect of another GC showdown on the gravel roads around Troyes on stage 9, even if, as he said, the race could well be lost there.

"You need to be even more sharp, even more focused than today," Pogačar said after the conclusion of stage 8. "And you need to be careful in each gravel sector, each entrance, each exit. And there may be wind and rain.

"There's going to be a lot of things that can cause you crash or get stuck behind. So, it's not going to be decisive, but you can lose the Tour tomorrow.

"You can be the best on the gravel, but if you have a puncture at the wrong moment, you can lose time, for sure. Tomorrow's going to be a lot about having good team control and concentration to the finish line."

Some riders and team staff, most notably Soudal-QuickStep boss Patrick Lefevere, have voiced their opposition to the inclusion of gravel stages in Grand Tours, saying that running stage races over roads like that means introducing too much of an element of luck.

However, Pogačar shrugged off such questions, only saying that he was here to ride it and that "a lot of other things can happen", like many other stages of the Tour.

"There are always these questions – 'Is this stage right in or not in the Tour?' I'm not the one to ask, I need to race it, whether it's there or not. It's just another obstacle in the Tour de France. Like every other stage, a lot of other things can happen. You have to be ready from start to finish. It can get complicated in the race.

"Tomorrow there is no favourite. Mads Pedersen – if he would be here. Now I don't see a pure favourite, because there is no single team to control or whatever, no single breakaway or whatever. It will be interesting tomorrow."

One aspect of the race that should be predictable is the hierarchy at Pogačar's UAE Team Emirates. The Tour's first mountain stage over the Col du Galibier saw a touch of drama in the camp as João Almeida appeared to chastise Juan Ayuso for not riding at the front as the squad raced to set up their leader.

Pogačar said that the mood in the team is good, while also responding to a question about rumours of discontent with a zipped mouth gesture.

"I've read some stuff," he said as he made the action. "Obviously, we have a really strong team – João, Juan and Adam [Yates] – really close on GC. It's a good card to have actually and for now, the mood still pretty good.

"We will see how the mood will be in the last week. It's the first time racing with João and Juan together and I didn't race a lot with Juan. It should be fine. We all know why we are here, and what the main goal is. So far, so good."

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