Tour de France 2021 - 'They messed up' - Bradley Wiggins criticises UAE Team Emirates' approach to Stage 7
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Updated 03/07/2021 at 08:29 GMT
UAE Team Emirates and Jumbo-Visma both had a stage 7 to forget after suffering through the longest Tour de France stage in 20 years. UAE Team Emirates rode at the front all day before letting a large breakaway get away at the front, while Jumbo-Visma´s Primoz Roglic´s tour looks all but over as he appeared to struggle with injury. Bradley Wiggins felt UAE messed up.
Petit vent de panique chez les équipiers de Tadej Pogacar.
Image credit: Getty Images
Bradley Wiggins believes UAE Team Emirates "messed up" during an epic Stage 7 of the Tour de France - the longest stage at the event for 20 years.
Bahrain Victorious rider Matej Mohoric crossed the line first at the front of a strong breakaway that was most conspicuous by the absence of the UAE Team Emirates riders.
UAE were at the front for most of the 249km stage before letting 29 riders go off the front.
And Wiggins, speaking on his latest podcast from a lockdown villa in France, says UAE were never going to be able to chase down the pack.
¨I think it was just full gas," he said. "I watched the interview with Mark Cavendish after the finish and he said it was flat stick.
"When it's that fast at the start, big long straight roads, you´re not expecting a group of that magnitude to get away, and once it does, once it gets 20 seconds and they start rolling through and off and no one is chasing behind, UAE can stick five guys at the front but they´re never going to bring back 40-odd.
"It´s very, very difficult, They messed up, they rode all day today, they used a lot of energy up to ride all day today.
UAE were riding on the front after what seemed like the entire peloton vs Pogacar´s team¨
Roglic´s Tour is over
Team Jumbo-Visma also had a take to forget as main man Primoz Roglic looked out of sorts and out of hope after finishing way behind.
¨I felt for Roglic today, clearly he´s suffering the consequences of the fall and his injuries,¨added Wiggins. "You´d have to say that´s hisTour de France over. There´s no way back for him after this.¨
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Primoz Roglic´s Tour de France could be over
Image credit: Getty Images
But Wiggins says Wout van Aert, now second on GC, could now take the lead for Jumbo-Visma.
¨Sometimes you have to take the opportunities when they arise," he added. "It landed on me in 2009 when Christian Vande Velde crashed out. Sometimes it´s better when you´re coming into a race not expecting to be a leader. He has two days in the mountains now to test himself."
Yates fatigued
Team BikeExchange and Britain´s Simon Yates also looked tired after a long stage, though Wiggins believes he could bounce back stronger if he recovers well.
"He looked tired today,"said Wiggins of his compatriot. "He´s rusty from the Giro d´Italia. He said he´s coming here for stage wins, and on his day you´d say that was a good stage. He was just detached a bit when the attacks went down in the final. Fatigue is setting in from the Giro, and this may not be his Tour, but there's a chance, he will still bit in the recovery process, and it might get good for the third week.
"I don´t think anyone in that race had an easy day today, there looked a lot of tired races in the end."
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