Pogacar's first reaction after intense stage: "I defeated Jonas, and then he defeated me"

Tadej Pogacar was the man who lit the fuse during Wednesday's stage by attacking early on the Pas de Peyrol. For a long time, it looked like he was flying towards victory with a nice lead over the other general classification contenders, but that was not what Jonas Vingegaard had in mind. Ultimately, Pogacar was even beaten by the Dane in the sprint. During the awards ceremony, we saw him eating on the podium, possibly due to a small hunger knock? He shared his reaction afterward in the flash interview.

Pogacar immediately started on a positive note. "It was a really good day, our team did an amazing job," he said, referring to the final phase. "On the Puy Mary, I tried to take off, but Jonas was super strong on the second climb afterward. We continued together. Now everyone has seen that he is really in top form. He beat me at the line, hats off to him, it was tough. I enjoyed it, it was a really beautiful day on the bike. Let's keep going like this."

Pogacar not revealing all his cards after the finish: "Didn't take a psychological hit"

And yet, we sensed some doubt in his voice. Did Pogacar use the right strategy in Wednesday's stage? "I might have made a small mistake in the descent after the Puy Mary," he said, referring to the moment when it got tense, and he almost slipped in a corner. "After that, I had to take it a bit easier. Maybe I wasted a little too much energy before that penultimate climb. Still, I felt good at that point. I waited a bit for Jonas, recovered a bit, and wanted to grab the bonus points at the top."

However, Pogacar seemed to lose energy on the Pertus, and he was asked if he had too little energy. 'I wanted to leave it to the sprint, but Jonas was super strong. I don't think I lost the psychological battle. I beat him first, then he beat me in the sprint. Everyone can see how well-matched we are. This is a great way to head into the Pyrenees. That will be different, and we have a plan for that too," the yellow jersey concluded, seeming satisfied, although there was an underlying hint of frustration.