Pogacar ready for Alps battle with Vingegaard as thrilling Tour de France resumes

A Tour de France billed as a potential all-time classic has so far lived up to expectations as the peloton prepares to resume battle after Monday's well-deserved rest day.

The race is only nine stages old but so much has been packed in already. There's been a historic tussle between the Yates siblings, UAE Team Emirates' Adam bettering twin brother Simon on the opening stage; a sprinting masterclass from Jasper Philipsen – winner of three stages – and heartbreaking early retirements, most notably from Mark Cavendish, who falls one short of breaking Eddy Merckx's record of all-time stage wins.

Yet, these are all subplots in the ultimate drama taking place at the top of the general classification standings: an intense battle between defending champion Jonas Vingegaard and his chief challenger, the two-time winner Tadej Pogacar.

When Vingegaard dropped Pogacar in the Pyrenees to open a 53-second lead on the Slovenian after the fifth stage, it could have been a hammer blow to Pogacar's yellow jersey ambitions. But the UAE Team Emirates star responded magnificently the following day, reminding his Danish rival and the rest of the peloton of his brilliance with a surging stage victory to slash the gap to 25 seconds.

Pogacar was at it again on Sunday when the 24-year-old attacked on the steepest part of the 13.3km ascent to the Puy de Dome and dropped Vingegaard to narrow the Jumbo-Visma rider's lead to 17 seconds on the eve of the first rest day.

While the momentum feels like it's swung towards Pogacar, Vingegaard is untroubled by the recent turn of events, revealing his team had held him back.

"We didn't want to go for the stage here, we didn't want to pull because in my opinion this stage didn't suit me," he said. "I'm