After a second successive sprint stage without any GC drama in the finale, Tadej Pogačar thanked the other overall contenders at the Tour de France for the respect shown, as more teams follow Visma-Lease a Bike's tactics of sitting at the back to stay safe.
Staying at the back to avoid the chaos of the lead-out trains fighting for position is something Visma did successfully at the Giro d'Italia and have continued to do at the Tour to protect Jonas Vingegaard.
The team openly said they were hoping other teams would follow them to maximise safety in the run-ins, Vingegaard himself telling Eurosport earlier this week that "We will try to sit a bit more in the back, and stay safe there. I hope other GC teams will do the same. I think it will make racing a lot easier and a lot safer."
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According to Pogačar, this is the case, with some kind of agreement reached between the main teams in the race for the yellow jersey. Alongside the now 5km safe zone rule in place, where everyone will get the same time on a flat finish even if they crash or suffer a mechanical, it's contributed to the welcome lack of sprint stage GC drama.
"So far so good, I can't complain. The Grand Départ was amazing with the Barcelona team time trial, then some hard days that the GC settles in a little bit – I think it's always good so it's less chaotic the first days," said Pogačar on Saturday, when asked to sum up the opening eight days of action at the 2026 Tour de France.
"Today and yesterday were easier days, which was much appreciated after the hard Tourmalet stage and all the hot days as well. I must also say that the 5km rule makes quite a big difference in the sprint stages because now there's kind of an agreement that we sit in the back, the GC riders, and we keep calm and it's much less stressful.
"There's always going to be a possibility for crashes, but I think we managed pretty well. So thanks to all the GC contenders as well for this respect. So far, it's one of the most enjoyable Tours, except for the heat."
Sunday's ninth stage to Ussel has actually been shortened by the organiser, due to red alert heatwave warnings in the area from Malemort to the finish, reduced from 185.5km to 155.5km. Pogačar spoke before this announcement came out, but he was already bracing himself for another sweltering hot day, after the high temperatures have refused to relent since the first stage.
"Tomorrow's stage we cannot expect anything less than around 35 to 40°C again, and also it will be a tough day for the stage victory definitely," he said.
"We have to be ready as a team, and I think we are. So we keep the same motto, go day by day, keep cooling the body and trying to survive each stage."
If he avoids an accident or incident tomorrow, Pogačar will close out the opening week of the Tour and his pursuit of a fifth yellow jersey well in the driving seat, 2:42 ahead of long-term rival Vingegaard, with the rest of the field all more than three minutes behind his leading time.
Asked to rate his rivals beyond the Dane, Pogačar didn't want to rank the likes of Paul Seixas, Remco Evenepoel, Juan Ayuso and Florian Lipowitz, but is already thinking about the next mountain tests. The first will arrive on Bastille Day on Tuesday, where he will return to Le Lioran having lost out to Vingegaard there in dramatic fashion back in 2024.
"I think it's hard to pick one because the second group on the Tourmalet stage, they are all big contenders for the victory, and you never know who finds the best legs in some of the hardest stages," he said.
"So it's hard to predict, but I need to keep an eye on all of this group, all of the top 10, top 15 riders. It's always tricky, especially after the first week; it's really hard to predict, but they are all class riders, and we are going to see some big battles in the next mountain stages for sure. I'm looking forward to discovering who is going to be the toughest one to match."
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