After a sweltering day in the heat at the Tour de France, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) was able to let the yellow jersey go to the breakaway on stage 4, now sitting fourth overall, 7:53 behind new leader Torstein Træen (Uno-X Mobility).
Even Pogačar isn't invincible against the boiling temperatures that have been beating down on the peloton throughout the opening four days, admitting how at the start in Carcassonne, where the temperatures were pushing 40° C, he had a headache.
As a 34-rider move went up the road with no one overall dangerous to his overall lead, Pogačar was able to sit in the peloton over the hilly stage to Foix, with teammates constantly bringing him more ice and water to try and stay cool.
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"We kept it cool in this heat. It was really when we started, I had a full headache and was thinking this is going to be one long day," explained Pogačar to a small group of reporters, including Cyclingnews, as he warmed down on the turbo trainer after the stage. "But then we kept showering each other with the water, and it was OK.
"We knew if [Lidl]-Trek would go in the breakaway, or such a team, that it would probably be a breakaway day. Trek did a super good job, they had three guys in the front and we kept it cool, calm and we arrived to finish, I think not spending a crazy amount of energy.
"Obviously, when you need to pull because of the jersey, you spend a bit, but I think Nils [Politt], Florian [Vermeersch] and Tim [Wellens] were super good today at dividing the work and I think we did a good job. A good day overall."
With Træen – who has previously led the Vuelta a España in similar circumstances – now in yellow, this relieves Pogačar of at least an hour of podium and media duties post-stage, which, yes, he is used to as such a serial winner at the Tour, but nevertheless allows him to start his recovery earlier.
As the high temperatures are set to continue at the Tour, days without the pressure and commitment of yellow could prove crucial, albeit without being able to measure that benefit.
"I think you cannot measure [the benefits]: some days probably, it's a lot of stress with media, some days it's easy to do it. It just depends on the day, and it's hard to tell," said Pogačar, having already doused himself with cold water several times.
"I've been back on the podium a lot of times and a lot of times doing the extra work. Today will be one and a half hours less obligation, so it definitely helps with the recovery. But I think now I'm pretty used to also doing all the podium stuff and we have a good protocol. I have good helpers and people to help me stay cool and calm and recover as best as possible, even when we have the podium."
Pogačar is expecting Træen to be able to keep the jersey for some time, with such a big lead likely even allowing the Norwegian to hold onto it after the first big mountain day on stage 6, when the race will head over the iconic Col du Tourmalet en route to Gavarnie-Gèdre.
"I mean, obviously the goal is to take back the yellow jersey," he said. "But you never know, they are really good and now it's quite a big gap, so we will see, no? We will fight, but I think they can keep the yellow jersey in the team for a long time."
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