Jumbo-Visma co-leader Primoš Roglic, who lost two minutes in a crash on the cobbled fifth stage of the Tour de France, entered the mountain stage of La Super Planche des Belle Filles on Friday.

The Slovenian, who was supposed to be Tadej Pogachar's main rival for the yellow jersey until a crash dropped him down the overall standings, was aiming for victory in the mountain finish of Longwy the following day, and in Super Planche, Pogachar and Jumbo-Visma He finished third, 12 seconds behind teammate Jonas Vingegaard.

He moved up to 13th overall after stage 7, 2:45 behind Pogachar and 35 seconds behind Vingegaard. Before the stage, Roglic told reporters that his shoulder was stable but he was suffering from back pain.

Roglic, who moved into third place in the Super Planche ahead of Geraint Thomas, David Gaudoux, Enric Mas, and Adam Yates, admitted that the pain was still ongoing and said he would try to recover in the coming stages, which are relatively less intense.

"Imagine what it feels like to have a knife in your back every time you pedal. My main goal now is to go through the stages and recover," he told reporters on the Jumbo Visma bus after the stage, which was downhill after the climb.

"It was a good climb. I'm really happy to finish there. I struggled to get to the top in the last 200 meters."

Jumbo Visma's teammate Sepp Kuss said he was not surprised to see Roglic holding on to the pain, although he said there would be much work to do for Vingegaard and Roglic as the race entered the Alps.

"It doesn't surprise me," he said. He's always battling setbacks. It's hard for any rider to be at his best after a crash. He shows it all the time."

Roglic is always reserved and relatively reticent when talking to reporters.

"Like I said, in my experience, you never know what's going to happen the next day. You have to take it one day at a time, run a full race, and recover for the next stage."

Jumbo Visma was forced into the realistic situation of losing one of his leaders in the battle with Pogachar.

Couss said the team leader, the only rider to have struggled with Pogachar in the last two Tours, was getting better as the race went on. He also noted that the team has riders who can be creative in different terrains, suggesting that they could attack Pogachar in places other than the high mountains.

"That's why we need riders who can handle all kinds of terrain. Yeah, everybody is motivated to do their job. We have to be creative," Kuss said.

"I think it's a good sign that Vingegaard got pushed that far. I think Jonas is getting better and better, and when the big Alpine stage comes, he will be even stronger than he is now."