Tour de France 2023: Tadej Pogacar says wrist 'sore' but hails 'perfect situation' ahead of Stage 3

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) admitted after Stage 2 of the Tour de France that his recovering wrist is still «sore», but also hailed a «perfect situation» that sees UAE in yellow through Britain's Adam Yates. After Sunday's opening stage win saw Yates take the Tour's first yellow jersey, Pogacar captured bonus seconds on Stage 2 to already put him 11 seconds ahead of General Classification rival Jonas Vingegaard (Team Jumbo-Visma). Ad With murmurs of discontent emerging from the Dutch team after Vingegaard seemed to eschew giving Wout van Aert the support he needed in the Stage 2 final, it's all looking rosy in UAE's garden, even if Pogacar did sound a note of caution over his fitness.

Tour de FranceLafay stuns Van Aert on Stage 2, Pogacar takes 12 bonus seconds19 HOURS AGO «The plan was to go for the bonus seconds and win the stage,» the Slovenian two-time Tour winner said. «We didn’t win, but it’s still a good day – except for Matteo Trentin’s crash, I hope he is well. »Now I expect that we will take it easier over the next two days.

We are in a perfect situation right now. «After yesterday’s stage [Stage 1], what we had to do today was quite clear: defend the jersey, and take some more seconds on our rivals. »My wrist is now a bit sore after all the sprinting today, but it’s better every day.

How to watch Stage 3 of the Tour as Cavendish hunts record win Stage 3 LIVE – Cavendish chases historic 35th win in Basque Country «Today’s stage was a bit bumpy and technical, with many speed bumps, corners and potholes. »Even if it’s a bit sore now, it feels better every day, so no problem." With Yates' twin brother Simon (Team Jayco-AlUla) in third, it's been a strong start to the Tour from a British perspective. Tom