'Nightmarish' tactics? Chris Horner criticises UAE's Galibier plan
Former rider criticises the tactics of the yellow jersey team, questioning positioning and leadership authority
They emphatically won the stage, crushed all their rivals and moved comfortably into the leader’s yellow jersey but former pro rider Chris Horner believes that Tadej Pogačar and his UAE Team Emirates squad made a catalogue of errors on the Galibier during stage 4 of the Tour de France.
The team set a relentless pace leading onto the climb and burned almost the entire peloton from their wheels by the time the yellow jersey group hit the final 10km of the vicious slopes. At one point on the ascent, the lead group had been reduced to eight riders - half of them from UAE Team Emirates - as Pogačar, Juan Auyso, Adam Yates and João Almeida decimated the field.
One-by-one, rivals cracked before Pogačar jumped clear around 880m from the summit. Only Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) could follow but the Dane was distanced some 300m later before Pogačar extended his lead on the descent. At the finish the Slovenian had moved back into yellow and moved 45 seconds clear of Remco Evenepoel, and a further five seconds ahead of Vingegaard.