"Stay cool, eat and drink" was Pogacar's motto in decisive Tour stage: "I never worried for a moment"

With clenched fists, Pogacar crossed the finish line, clearly very pleased. "I never expected to be in this position now, so I'm obviously very happy. It was a tough, hot day, and I usually struggle with that, but the team did a great job keeping me cool and everything," said the overjoyed Slovenian.

Pogacar had expected Visma | Lease a Bike to try and pull out all the stops on Sunday to get him to falter. "They controlled the race and made it hard by setting a high pace. However, I never worried for a moment. I just had to stay cool and make sure to eat and drink enough," said Pogacar.

The long-awaited attack from Vingegaard came ten kilometers from the finish. "I was at my limit when he went, but at some point, I saw that he was spent too. That's when I made my move," the eventual winner summed up the finale in one simple sentence.

So what now? Has the Tour already been decided? Pogacar, of course, doesn't directly agree with that suggestion. "It's looking good. It already did, but now I have a really comfortable lead. Now we need to stay focused for the last six days." And, of course, the rest day on Monday. "I'm looking forward to the rest day. We can go for a nice bike ride and stop for a coffee. That way we can reset, but not too much," he said, clearly intending to keep his teammates on their toes.