That effort reshaped the race, reducing the group and ensuring the early breakaway would ultimately be caught in the closing kilometres. “In the end the breakaway was caught, with a really good chase and also a strong breakaway. So yeah, it was a good day for us,” Pogacar added, underlining the controlled nature of the stage from his team’s perspective.
With tougher tests still to come, energy conservation had been part of the plan. “We have two quite hard stages coming up, so it was about saving the legs for tomorrow and the day after.”
“He’s long gone” – Godon’s sprint proves decisive
Even so, once the race came back together inside the final kilometres, Pogacar was still present at the front and able to contest the finish.
On this occasion, however, the difference came in the final acceleration. “When he kicks with a heavy gear, he’s long gone,” Pogacar said of Godon’s sprint, acknowledging the decisive nature of the Frenchman’s effort. “It was not like yesterday. He waited for the final and it was a faster finish, so he could make a big difference compared to me. I still did a pretty solid sprint, so yeah, it was a nice finish.”
The contrast to the previous day’s uphill sprint was clear, with the flatter run-in to Orbe favouring a more traditional fast finisher.
Tadej Pogacar all smiles on the podium in the leader’s jersey
Focus shifts to overall victory
With the decisive mountain stages still ahead, the emphasis now shifts fully towards defending the yellow jersey rather than chasing individual stage victories. “First keep the jersey, and then we see if we can win the stage. If not, it’s not the end of the world,” Pogacar said when asked about the upcoming queen stage.
After two wins and a near miss, the message was clear. The clean sweep may be gone, but the bigger objective remains very much intact.