News Round-up: Race favourites go head-to-head in the Pyrenees

| Tadej Pogačar puts Jonas Vingegaard on the back foot on stage 6 of the Tour de France

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) produced a vintage performance on stage 6 to dispatch key rival Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and win alone atop the summit finish. It was a stage that had been dictated entirely by the strong pace of Jumbo-Visma, but the Dutch team had unwittingly laid the groundwork for Pogačar’s devastating attack on the climb to Cauterets-Cambasque.

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Take a bow, Tadej Pogačar!

The GC battle had whittled down entirely to Vingegaard and Pogačar come the final climb, following the Dane’s impressive attacks on the Col du Tourmalet. But it was Pogačar who would benefit from the reigning champion’s tempo, attacking on the final climb and crossing the finish line with 28 seconds (including bonuses) taken on his main rival. Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe), meanwhile, lost the yellow jersey and dropped to third overall.

Speaking after the finish, Pogačar spoke of his relief at having responded to Vingegaard’s devastating attack on stage 5 that saw the Slovenian dropped and question marks raised over his chances for the coming weeks. “I would not say revenge, but it is sweet to win today and take some time back. I feel a little bit relieved and I feel much better now,” he said.

If you missed any of the action today, we have got a full race replay waiting for you to watch on GCN+ right now. We’ll also have long and short highlights for you later tonight, which you will find in the ‘Highlights’ tab.

| Annemiek van Vleuten extends her lead at the Giro d’Italia Donne

Race leader and world champion Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) won for the third time in seven days at the Giro d’Italia Donne, taking stage 7 ahead of chasers Juliette Labous (dsm-firmenich) and Gaia Realini (Lidl-Trek).

It was another day where Van Vleuten’s aggression paid dividends, with the Dutchwoman going clear alongside Labous and Realini on the first of two back-to-back climbs that defined the end of the stage. The trio worked well together to extend their gap to the peloton behind, where Veronica Ewers (EF Education-TIBCO-SVB) was struggling to keep pace and watched her second place on GC ride away up the road.

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Annemiek van Vleuten is by far and away the strongest rider in this year’s Giro Donne

Van Vleuten put her two fellow attackers to the sword on the final 2.6km climb, and her attack with 1.7km to ride proved decisive, leaving Labous and Realini to focus on extending the time gap that was opening to their rivals behind. The maglia rosa came over the line 20 seconds ahead of Labous and 20 seconds ahead of Realini.

With Ewers dropping to fourth on GC, Labous and Realini are now up to second and third, respectively, and Van Vleuten’s lead in the maglia rosa is now a whopping 3:56 as she nears ever closer to her fourth Giro Donne title.

If you missed any of the action today, we have got a full race replay waiting for you to watch on GCN+ right now.

| Fabio Jakobsen to sign for dsm-firmenich ahead of 2024 campaign

In news broken by GCN on Thursday afternoon, Fabio Jakobsen will leave Soudal-Quick Step at the end of the season and join the Dutch outfit, dsm-firmenich. Widely regarded as one of the best sprinters in the peloton, dsm-firmenich will be delighted to have secured Jakobsen’s services on a three-year contract.

Whilst the news cannot be officially confirmed until August, sources have confirmed to GCN that Jakobsen’s departure from Soudal-Quick Step can be considered a done deal, with the Belgian squad losing a rider that they have nurtured since he joined as a 21-year-old in 2018. Since then, Jakobsen has seen off competition from Fernando Gaviria (Movistar), Elia Viviani (Ineos Grenadiers) and Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) to become Quick Step’s bona fide sprinter.

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Fabio Jakobsen’s first victory for Quick-Step Floors came in the 2018 Danilith Nokere Koerse

With dsm-firmenich, Jakobsen can be assured a place at whatever Grand Tour he so wishes - something no longer the case with the rise of Remco Evenepoel at Soudal-Quick Step - and be guaranteed an effective lead-out that has seen Sam Welsford (dsm-firmenich) achieve a number of notable victories this season.

| Lorena Wiebes withdraws from Giro Donne to prepare for Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift

SD Worx announced on Thursday morning that Lorena Wiebes would not take to the start of stage 7 at the Giro d’Italia Donne. “With an eye on the Tour de France Femmes, a recovery period now follows,” the Dutch team said.

The news is not all that surprising, with all of the stages for the pure sprinters now in the rearview mirror as the battle for the overall podium hots up ahead of the final three stages.

It has been a successful Giro Donne for the Dutch sprinter, winning stage 3 to take her tally of victories at the Italian Grand Tour to three, but she will rue the opportunity missed by the peloton on stage 6 as Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) left the sprinters in her wake to win the stage alone.

Wiebes headed into the inaugural Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift last summer without having ridden the Giro Donne, and won two stages alongside wearing the yellow and green jerseys. She will be hoping to replicate that form in France later this month.

| Jhonatan Narváez secures his hat trick to win the Tour of Austria

Ecuador’s Jhonatan Narváez (Ineos Grenadiers) made his versatility count at the Tour of Austria this week, with his third win of the race on stage 5 sealing his Tour of Austria title. The 26-year-old pipped fellow Tour of Austria star Welay Hagos Berhe (Jayco AlUla) and Jason Osborne (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in a three-up sprint to win the final stage of the race.

It has been a week to remember for Ineos Grenadiers, who not only walk away from Austria with stage victories on stages 2, 3 and 5, but also take the overall victory and points classification through Narváez. Osborne moves up to second in the final GC, 41 seconds down on the Ecuadorian, whilst Jesús David Peña (Jayco AlUla) rounded out the podium in third.

| No agreement between UAE Team Emirates and Tour de France: Unchained

UAE Team Emirates have confirmed that there remains no agreement between themselves and Netflix for the Italian team to feature in Tour de France: Unchained. Following their notable absence from series one that was released last month, many had hoped team leader, Tadej Pogačar, would appear in the second series, but this now looks unlikely.

Speaking to GCN, UAE Team Emirates Team Principal & CEO Mauro Gianetti revealed, “We’re not working with them, and there’s no contract. We just treat Netflix like any other media. If they want an interview they ask our press team and we then decide or not to give it. It’s like any other media. We’ve no agreement with them.”

The first series of Tour de France: Unchained focused on the 2022 Tour de France and with Pogačar having been a key protagonist in the race alongside Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), the lack of agreement between UAE Team Emirates and show producers Quadbox left an odd hole in the narrative. This looks set to continue for the second series.

| Elisa Balsamo returns to training ahead of Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift

Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) has been given the all-clear to return to training on the road by both her maxillo-facial surgeon and orthopaedic specialist. Although a final decision will be made closer to the race, her ambitions lie with the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift as she eyes up a return to racing.

Lidl-Trek team announced the news on Wednesday afternoon that they were pleased to report that Balsamo had largely recovered from her injuries sustained on stage 1 of the RideLondon Classique at the end of May, which included compound fractures of the right mandibular condyle and mandibular symphysis. “While she still requires dental treatment to fix the teeth broken in the crash,” stated Lidl-Trek, “Elisa's focus can now shift from recovery to preparation for a return to racing.”

The team say that her focus will now turn to the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, where she will go in search of completing the set of stage victories from each of the ‘Grand Tours’ on the Women’s WorldTour, having won two stages at both the Giro d’Italia Donne and La Vuelta Femenina. Following the Tour, Balsamo also has her sights set on replicating her 2021 victory at the world championship road race.

| Matt White: Simon Yates has shown he’s in Tour de France shape

Speaking halfway through the peloton’s jaunt in the Pyrenees, Jayco AlUla sports director Matt White has praised the form of his team leader, Simon Yates, and looked with optimism at the rest of the race.

“I’m happy with the form that Simon has shown. Stage 5 was the first real mountain test of the Tour de France and the race really began for a lot of guys. The race Simon has been climbing was a really positive sign and we knew he was in good shape,” White told GCN. The climber from Bury has enjoyed a consistent Tour de France thus far, finishing second to his brother Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) on stage 1 and coming to the line on stage 5 alongside most of his fellow GC contenders.

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Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla) leads a group of Tour de France GC riders on stage 5

Yates put in another solid performance on stage 6 to finish alongside Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers) and the man who would lose the yellow jersey after a day, Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe). The Jayco AlUla leader now sits in fourth place and 3:14 down on Jonas Vingegaard.

Looking ahead to the remainder of the race, White recognised the Tour as a long game and emphasised the importance of taking it day by day. “For GC and Simon it’s about the guys who can manage their fatigue the best,” acknowledged White. “Maybe one time they get in a group with Pogacar and Vingegaard and they’re a passenger to that battle and they end up pulling ahead of the other guys.”

Yates knows the benefits that can be taken from race favourites Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar looking at each other, having snuck up the road on the opening day to take what may be valuable seconds come the end of the race. Only time will tell if Yates will be able to replicate the consistency that saw him win the 2018 Vuelta a España.
From an octopus’ garden in the shade, it is time to bid adieu. Until the next time.