Tadej Pogachar had promised to go on the attack once the Tour de France entered the Pyrenees.

The Slovenian made several attempts to attack as far away from the finish of stage 16 as Foix. After that first-class mountain, he again tried to break away on the descent.

But all of them failed, and no further moves were made on the steep Mules de Péguerre, where Pogachar was expected to go on the offensive.

To rub salt in the wound, Marc Soler of the champion UAE Team Emirates finished the day 15 minutes behind. The Spaniard had fallen ill during the stage, and his retirement left Pogachar with only four men to rely on.

"It wasn't the day we wanted," Pogachar said after the stage. We tried our best, but it wasn't our day. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either."

"We lost Marc Soler early on with stomach problems, and Rafau Mayka had mechanical problems on the last climb. And Jumbo Visma also let Van Aert get ahead of him. We hope to get better from now on.

"I'll keep fighting, I'll keep trying, I'll always try to make up some time," he said, repeating what he has said many times since his unexpected crash and time loss on the Col de Granon last week.

Pogachar also explained why he did not resume his attack at the top of Mule de Péguerre, which would normally have suited a double-digit gradient better than the Vingeegor of Jumbo Visma.

"Anyway, Sepp Kuss and Vingegaard were really strong. 'So there wasn't much point in attacking in the last few kilometers of the climb. Tomorrow and the day after will be interesting."

Polgachar's short attack on the descent of the Porte de l'Ere was a novelty for the Slovenian in this year's Tour.

As the stage progresses, Vingegaard's attack is likely to come whenever and wherever he wants. He said, however, that he is not sure if he will try the downhill again down the road.

"I don't know yet. The downhill is not my favorite course, so I can't force myself to decide."

"Today was not an ideal climb to gain a lot of time. Tomorrow and the day after will be better for that."