It\u2019s the first big day of the Tour de France\u2013well, tbh, we\u2019ve already seen lots of incredible stuff, but on Thursday, the peloton goes up the Col du Tourmalet. It\u2019s going to be a day when only the best can hang on, and the race for the GC begins to shape itself.<\/p>\n
Stage 6 of the Tour de France<\/p>\n
UAE Emirates-XRG is expecting Jonas Vingegaard to make the first big move of the Tour de France in Thursday\u2019s sixth stage, rather than seeing Tadej Poga\u010dar light up the race himself. Which is usually what we see in races. UAE sets a blistering pace, someone like Isaac Del Toro do a final brutal pull, and Pogi goes nuclear, and no one can hang on.<\/p>\n
Speaking to In de Leiderstrui<\/a>, UAE\u2019s Joxean Matxin said the team expects Visma\u2013Lease a Bike to mix things up this time. It\u2019s clear the Dane has arrived in France at peak form, no injuries or crashes have screwed up his prep. He had a dominant win at the Giro d\u2019Italia, and for the first time in years, both he and the world champion are proper rivals at full strength.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019ll see an attack from Jonas Vingegaard there, to make the selection,\u201d Matxin said<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be an important climb.\u201d<\/p>\n The climbs that will tenderize some legs first<\/p>\n The stage features the Col d\u2019Aspin, followed by the Tourmalet before finishing uphill at Gavarnie-G\u00e8dre. While many expect UAE to dictate the race after Poga\u010dar\u2019s aggressive opening week, Matxin suggested the Slovenian may instead wait for his rival to make the first move.<\/p>\n The team\u2019s approach will depend on how the day unfolds. If dangerous riders get into the early breakaway, UAE could be forced to control the race. Otherwise, the Tourmalet will naturally reduce the group before the final climb.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a plan every day, but it\u2019s true that the plan isn\u2019t set in stone,\u201d Matxin said. \u201cIf Jonas suddenly loses teammates early, or if a dangerous GC rider is in the break, then you may have to change your approach.\u201d<\/p>\n Adjusting the game plan on the fly<\/p>\n He also said UAE wants to avoid repeating scenarios from previous Grand Tours, where allowing the wrong rider too much freedom dramatically altered the general classification.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the plan changes and Tadej says halfway through the stage that he\u2019s feeling great, then everything can change,\u201d Matxin added. \u201cWhether Tadej attacks or not also depends on the moment and on his own feelings.\u201d<\/p>\n Matxin also downplayed any suggestion that stage 2 winner Isaac del Toro could become a second GC option despite his high overall placing.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Tour is only about overall victory for Tadej,\u201d he said. \u201cA GC result for Isaac isn\u2019t an objective, although he\u2019ll have an important role in the favourites\u2019 group.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking of the GC, what about Uno-X Mobility\u2019s Torstein Tr\u00e6en<\/a>? He still holds a comfortable lead of more than seven minutes over Pogi and Vingegaard, and he\u2019s a more than capable climber. The Norwegian could prove to be this Tour\u2019s Claudio Chiappucci to Greg LeMond<\/a>, much like the Italian did in the 1990 Tour de France. (The same one where Fenwick, Ont.\u2019s Steve Bauer held yellow for 10 days<\/a>.) In fact, it was the Tourmalet where LeMond finally managed to claw back time, finishing second behind a certain Miguel Indurain. But, Tr\u00e6en has shown before that he can hold his own on the biggest climbs in Grand Tours and other major stage races. So it should be interesting.<\/p>\n