Former Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas is entering his 16th full season as a professional, but even racers as knowledgeable as Ineos Grenadiers were cautious about making many predictions about Sunday's first foray into the Alps.

Stage 9, which started in Switzerland, returned to France via the long first-class climb of the little-known Pas de Morjan, before being dragged briefly to the finish in Chatel by the uncategorized mountains of the Pré-la-Joux.

Thomas, the recent Tour de Suisse winner, looked upbeat after a mild setback on Friday's Planche des Belles Fils, after finishing in the main group of 26 riders, including other GC contenders, on the slippery climb on stage 8 through Lausanne.

Despite his wealth of experience, however, Thomas said it was difficult to predict how Sunday would unfold, as the first week of the Tour has few of its usual characteristics.

"I don't know, this race looks different than usual. It's going to be a super hard race, that's for sure. It will be."

Even with familiar riders in yellow uniforms, the Tour did not follow the script established in the first week, with few group sprints and multiple GC battles.

"I'm in better shape than in previous years, but I'm bonkers," Thomas said. There were only two bunch sprints. It's crazy for the Tour. The break has not gone well so far. The start of the Tour is definitely different from the past.

Even though the race was running in a different format, Thomas said he was pleased that race leader Tadey Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates) had recovered from a setback in La Super Planche des Belle Fille, which he won.

"After the gap the other day, I thought this was going to hurt, but it was fine. I was able to overtake him instead of falling backwards. It was a tougher finish than it looked, but it was a finish I've seen before at the Tour de Romandie," Thomas said. I've seen it before in the Tour de Romandie," Thomas said.

"I thought the break could get away and I think the big crash and the breakaway helped them. Jumbo and Bike Exchange rode hard up front.

Thomas, who took the yellow jersey for the fourth day in a row, praised Pogachar and suggested that Ineos Grenadiers could wear him down in the final stages of the race.

"He is incredibly talented. He lost a teammate today, but I don't think that will affect him. We need to stay positive and try to show what we can do when it matters in the second half of the race."

How Ineos Grenadiers will fare in Sunday's mountain finale remains to be seen, of course. But if the stage is as unpredictable as Thomas predicts, strength in numbers will not be a bad thing.