Tadej Pogacar says he is ‘not worried’ about the intense heat that awaits in the next three stages of the Tour

Tour de France race leader Tadej Pogacar has doused concerns around his ability to withstand extreme heat ahead of a defining three stages in the Alps.

Some feel Pogacar is vulnerable when the mercury rises, but is that reality or people desperate to uncover any sort of weakness in a rider that doesn’t seem to have one?

Pogacar certainly veered towards the latter when talking during Monday’s rest day, even challenging yellow jersey rival Jonas Vingegaard – backed by some to outlast the Slovenian in the mountains – to show his hand.

“I know what’s coming up for the next week, and I’m not scared,” Pogacar said.

“It will be the same for everyone. You just have to keep your body cool enough.

“I don’t think anyone likes to race for five hours in the 40 degrees, I don’t even think it’s healthy for us.

“I’m not so bad in hot weather. We’ve been training in hot weather for many days before the Tour. We’ll see.

“Perhaps Vingegaard is slightly better in the heat if he says so, but we’ll have to wait and see.”

In response, Pogacar said: “At one point [in Stage 9] we could have given the jersey away if we wanted to, but my teammates like the yellow jersey as much as I do. It’s not just something you just give away.

“Everybody works really hard for the yellow jersey, for the whole year. Also with Covid-19 and stuff like that, you never know when you [might] go home, so it’s not the best thing to just give away the jersey. You might never get it back.

“You never say no to the yellow jersey, it’s something really special.

“It’s always better to be one step ahead than one step back. We’re in pole position now and we can control things, it’s easier for me and the team so for me it’s fine to be in the yellow jersey now and I hope to keep it all the way.”

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