With four stages remaining in the 2022 Tour de France, two-time winner Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates) will have to ride just under 500km to gain more than two minutes on Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo Visma) for the maillot jaune.

The battle for a third straight victory in France will unfold over 184 km, including a summit finish to Autacam on Thursday and a final time trial two days later. On stage 17 in Peyragudo, Pogachar was four seconds ahead of his Danish rival, with time bonuses separating first and second place.

To follow Bove, Anquetil, Merckx, Indurain, and Froome to a third consecutive Tour victory, Pogachar will need an upset to surpass the spectacular finale in Vosges two years ago.

Pogachar overcame a 57-second gap to Jumbo Visma's Primoš Roglic in La Planche des Belles Filles to win his first title with 1:56 in yellow; to win a third title, Aubisque, Spandale, Autacam, and Rocamadour, where he would have to find 2:18 in the 40.7 km.

Pogachar celebrated his third Tour win (and ninth of his career) at the top of Peyragude. [This is the Tour de France. We need to stay focused and believe until the end," team principal Mauro Gianetti told Cycling News, congratulating his staff as they returned to the team bus.

"We know the situation, but we are here. I think today was a great show for cycling and to see two great champions like Vingegaard and Taddei fighting is great for everyone who is passionate about cycling.

"Vingegaard is strong. We knew that. It's not news. 'You have to be realistic and it's an important gap. But in the Tour, you have to keep believing until the end."

Andrei Hauptmann (Team Directeur Sportif) echoed similar sentiments, saying that Pogachar would keep fighting until the end.

"I will give it my all, but every stage is another battle. I will try to see what I can do until Paris," the Slovenian said.

"He is confident that he will give 100% as he always does. He's on full throttle and doesn't think too much about the gaps. He tries to give his best in every situation and doesn't think about the size of the gap."

The opening two stages of the Pyrenees Triple Crown were testing days for UAE Team Emirates. The team lost Marc Soler to illness on Tuesday's stage to Foix, but the Spaniard fought to the finish outside the time cut.

The stage also marked the end of the race for the climbing domestique, Rafau Mayka. After breaking his chain and injuring his thigh on stage 16, Rafaël Mica tried the rollers before the start of stage 17, but was unable to continue.

With the loss of these two, the team is down to just four riders, one of whom, Marc Hirschi, who replaced COVID-positive Matteo Trentin on the team, has endured a tough Tour after contracting COVID-19 last month.

The team's strength was halved after the Grande Pearl in Denmark, but Danish time triallist Mikkel Bjerg and American climber Brandon McNulty made a big splash in Peyragudo; the two led the day's major climbs, and McNulty was in podium contention Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) by about 95 seconds to finish third.

"I think the team showed character and ambition today," Gianetti told Cycling News. Taddei, Brandon, and Mikkel, three riders of the same age group, have known each other since junior and believe in this Tour."

"Today, Taddei completed a great job by all of his teammates, especially Mikel and Brandon. It was great."

McNulty said after the stage that he did more work up front than he was scheduled to do on the road.

The American worked his way to the front on the final climb of the Col d'Aze, led an elite group of himself, Pogachar, and Vingegaard down the descent, and also set the pace on the last 500 meters of Peyragudo.

"I gave it my all, but it was really special. "Pogachar told me to go full gas for 15 minutes on the last climb. So in my head I thought, "Okay, 15 minutes, I can do it." It took a little longer than that, but it was okay."

"When I got to 500 left, in my head I was hoping that maybe they were good and would follow me to the line. But there are no gifts in this sport, so I was happy to win the stage with my team and Tadej."

Bjerg, who was leading the peloton in the long early stints, explained the UAE's strategy.

"Taddeji said let's keep the breakaway group close because we can go for the stage. 'I knew it would be hard to get two minutes off Jonas. So my first goal today was to win the stage with Taddeji. I'm proud that we were able to pull that off."

"Just like today, we decide what should happen in the race and try to accomplish it. We'll try again tomorrow." But yes, it's never easy to win a bike race."

"Everything is possible. Taddei was sadly out of shape for one day and lost the yellow jersey. Now we have to put the pressure on and see if Jonas has a bad day. I think Taddei has a good leg and all the other riders here are confident and I think we can do something tomorrow."

After the stage, Majka attended a press conference. For Paul, one of the most impressive climbing domestiques of the race, the emotions were a mixture of frustration and celebration.

"It's not very nice to spend time on the bus or watching it on TV," he said. 'Especially when you're in good shape. But today a stage win is more important, and Taddeusi is still second in GC, so he's really strong." [But this is sport. But this is sport. You can't change anything if this happens. But we had an impressive race today with the four of us and a stage win, so I'm happy."

"When asked if Pogachar will win his third Tour, he said, "I don't know." But for sure he will try."