Tadej Pogacar confused by Jumbo-Visma tactics at Tour de France on Stage 12 – 'Strange to see'

Updated 14/07/2023 at 12:39 GMT

Jumbo-Visma may have the yellow jersey at the Tour de France, but that has not stopped them looking to tee up Wout van Aert and others for a breakaway chance. Those tactics have raised eyebrows in the peloton and beyond, with even their biggest rival for the overall, Tadej Pogacar, confessing he was surprised by Jumbo's commitment to getting riders up the road.

'It was a bit crazy' – Pogacar on Jumbo-Visma's wild approach to Stage 12

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) admits Jumbo-Visma's tactics on Thursday were "strange to see" after watching his rivals throw everything at getting a rider in the day's breakaway.

With Jonas Vingegaard in the yellow jersey, and three big days in the mountains to come, it was perhaps surprising to see Jumbo-Visma so committed to animating Stage 12 from the off – with Wout van Aert, Wilco Kelderman and Tiesj Benoot all enjoying sustained stints off the front.

Such was the unrelenting and furious nature of the start that Vingegaard was forced to ride aggressively to put out fires his team-mates could not, potentially depleting his energy stores.

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After the stage, Ineos star Luke Rowe admitted he was "very surprised" at Jumbo's tactics, while Pogacar has now revealed he was also confused.

"It was a bit crazy at the start," Pogacar told Eurosport about Stage 12.

"They [Jumbo-Visma] really wanted to go for breaks, so it was strange to see. For us it was OK, we had a good day. We focus on ourselves and do our own thing."

Vingegaard began Friday's trip to the imposing Grand Colombier with a 17-second lead over Pogacar in the general classification.

But over on The Breakaway, Robbie McEwen and Dan Lloyd were still getting their heads around Jumbo's wild approach to Stage 12.

'I'm still confused' – Jumbo-Visma tactics had 'no rhyme or reason', says McEwen

"I'm still confused. It was so unconventional the way they rode, there was no rhyme or reason looking at it," McEwen said.

"As someone who's ridden the race many times, we've looked at the tactical ways of controlling races when you have the yellow jersey and that made no sense whatsoever.

"It was excellent, it was so good to watch. It was so entertaining that I hope they don't go back to riding a conventional way."

Jumbo's tactics have already prompted serious scepticism at various points in the Tour.

EF Education-EasyPost boss Jonathan Vaughters said their plan to "kill" the race on Stage 6 backfired, while their relentless pace on the front was questioned again on Stage 9 when it inadvertently teed up Pogacar to take back time.

"I understand it with Van Aert. If you want to keep the best all-around cyclist in the world in your team, you need to give him chances," said Lloyd.

"And Van Aert is so good that even if he uses energy, he's still going to be good enough in a stage when you need to work for Jonas Vingegaard.

"It's with the others that I don't understand it so much. The rest of that team should be all about making sure Vingegaard is safe, making sure he's surrounded by riders, and saving your energy.

"The other thing about yesterday was it preceded three really big days in the general classification, so that's what I didn't really understand about it because they've got a big job to do these next three days."