Cheers erupted from the UAE Team Emirates race bus near Longwy, the finish line of stage 6 of the Tour de France. The celebratory mood was further heightened when the Slovenian teammates stopped outside.

The riders told journalists that Pogachar's last-minute attack was unplanned.

But while the benefits of Pogachar's ultra-aggressive racing style were evident in his run across the finish line to loud cheers, his dominance and versatility on all terrain, as his teammates said, were no longer a surprise. So if that means special responsibility in racing, so be it.

"It wasn't necessarily part of the plan [for him to attack], but on the last few climbs we were all there and just tried our best. I trusted him and he did it," Brandon McNulty (USA), who finished 22nd on this stage, told reporters as the warm-down began." The jersey is ours, but we can never look down."

McNulty's teammate, Rafa Majka of UAE Team Emirates, was equally pleased with Pogachar's success and gave McNulty a big hug. Majka also emphasized the group advantage that UAE Team Emirates showed in the final section, one of the toughest stages of this Tour.

"At first we pulled the stage with the other teams, but after 220 kilometers it's always a different race. [We had the legs as a team and I could tell Taddei was in good shape on the first climb. Me and Brandon pulled hard and Taddei did a great sprint.

"In some of the races this year, we've fallen behind a little bit in the first stages.

Majka and McNulty said they did not expect the longest stage of the Tour to end so quickly.

"We didn't expect it to be such a hard stage, and we didn't expect a lot of attacks or Van Aat leading the pack," said McNulty. But several teams helped us, and even though the last 20 kilometers were really fast, we all kept control of the race." In any case, the important thing is that Taddeji won."

McNulty added: "We knew it was going to be a battle for the lead. We knew it was going to be a battle for the breakaway, but it was a battle that lasted over an hour and a half and never really settled down. Then we got back to pacing and it was a really tough day."

McNulty added: "It was a really tough day.

But while Van Aert's day of glory went without saying, what did not shock both UAE Team Emirates riders was that Pogachar, not the GC specialist, took the win on a stage that appeared to favor the breakaway group.

"It's no surprise he's strong. Whether it was yesterday on the cobbles or last Friday's TT, he proved that he is strong everywhere," Mayuka said. And he is not afraid of anyone".

"We know he is a real phenomenon, a fuori class. He has demanded the hardest possible pace.

Commenting on his majesty before the Tour's biggest climb, Marc Soler of UAE Team Emirates said, "It's good that he showed what he can do before the mountains, in fact he has been doing this all year.

"Sure, tomorrow will be a battle between the favorites to win, but he's won two Tour races and I think we can expect a third. So let's see if he can keep it going." The important thing is to control the other riders and keep fighting."

Majka did not mention whether Pogachar will now try to keep the yellow until Paris, saying, "We still have a long way to go, but I am sure that I came to this race to win the Tour with Taddej and so far he is the best rider in the world. Either way, I'm happy to have won a stage."

Indeed, all three riders insisted that despite the increased workload, grabbing the yellow when the opportunity presented itself was not something they could or should turn down.

"I knew what he was capable of, but my original plan was to go for it tomorrow (Friday). Instead, I got my chance today (Thursday). I've got to do what I can, when I can."