Dani Martínez had predicted that the Tour de France hierarchy at the Ineos Grenadiers would not be decided on the climb up the Super Planche des Belles Filles, but when the dust settled Geraint Thomas emerged as the British superteam’s top finisher and leads now her trident from GC to rider.
Race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) stormed away with Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) in the steep final 200 meters of the race’s first summit finish, but Thomas finished fifth by just 14 seconds, just behind Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma). .
Adam Yates battled the climb to finish ninth at 29 seconds, with Martínez further behind at 45 seconds. Tour debutant Tom Pidcock also impressed, finishing in the same time as Martinez.
Pogačar gained another 10 second time bonus by passing Vingegaard to win the stage and now leads the Dane by 35 seconds. Thomas is third at 1:10, moving up three places and passing Yates, who is fourth at 1:18. Pidcock is seventh at 1:35 and second in the Best Young Drivers competition behind Pogačar. Martínez slipped down to eighth at 1:55 but will certainly climb the GC in the high mountains.
Thomas urged the Ineos Grenadiers team to use their numbers wisely.
“It’s good that we’re all there,” he said at the summit. “We haven’t ridden a real mountain stage yet and we’re in. Over the next two weeks we will try to make good use of these numbers and not just attack indiscriminately.”
Thomas is aware of the challenge he and Ineos Grenadiers face against Pogačar and Vingegaard, but his confidence grows with every good performance at every important stage. He was just as strong at the 2019 Tour de France on the Planche des Belles Filles, finishing second overall.
“It was similar in 2019. I’m glad to have been there,” said Thomas. “Obviously Pogačar is strong. He can ride cobblestones, sprint up hills and win sprints, he’s got it all.”
However, he did not share the view that the Slovenian was invincible and gave cause for optimism about potential weaknesses in his squad.
“He has [Rafal] Majka who rides well and [George] Bennett is decent too. But the rest [of his team] had trouble climbing so hopefully we can use our numbers on him at some point. We’re definitely going to try and we’ve got three guys trying.
“Of course we don’t just have to beat Pogačar. Jumbo Visma are also strong. But we’re in, that’s the main thing. We’re there or there or something like that, so we can definitely try to use those numbers.”
Yates unconcerned
New marginal profit? Post-race ice bath for Adam Yates. #TDF2022 pic.twitter.com/r3RfIxYpDyJuly 8, 2022
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Adam Yates jumped into an ice bath created from a children’s paddling pool after driving to the Ineos Grenadiers team bus, which was parked seven kilometers from the finish line, to recover from the heat and tough racing.
He wasn’t overly concerned about losing a few seconds on the dirt road to the top of the Super Planches des Belles Filles and was happy to be in the top ten with his teammates and with multiple options given the high mountains nearby were.
“I like to get out of the saddle and use a big gear, but you don’t go very fast on a surface like this. It is what it is. G (Geraint) was up there and we’re all still in the mix,” explained Yates, looking ahead to the long game and tough races ahead in the Alps and Pyrenees.
“It’s going to be a long three weeks. We’re going to have three people at GC for as long as possible and hopefully we can re-evaluate in the last week and see what we can do.
“Both Pog (Pogačar) and Rog (Roglič) and Jonas Vingegaard are doing so well that it’s hard to beat them one-on-one. If three guys are fighting and not too far down maybe we can do something.”