Tadej Pogachar said he had nothing to lose at this year's Tour de France after the interrupted preliminaries, but now, nine days in, the Slovenian genius is in game mode.

Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates) trails race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo Visma) by just 17 seconds.

Vingegaard has taken the maillot jaune, but Pogachar is feeling the momentum from his win in Cautaret-Cambasque and his time on the defending champion in yesterday's Puy de Dome after a stage 5 off.

"I feel a certain momentum. I just feel good every day. 'Today was a good rest day and I'm ready to race again tomorrow. Today was a good rest day and I'm ready to race again tomorrow.

On Monday afternoon, the first rest day of the Tour de France, Pogachar gave a preview of what more was to come before just 100 people at a press conference. He refuted the point made by one journalist who claimed that Jumbo Visma had crunched the numbers and deduced that his ascent of the extinct volcano was the best 35-minute ascent ever.

"They don't know all my training and race data. They don't know my weight, they don't know a lot about me. I mean, they can guess, but I can say it was one of the better [ones], but it could be better," he quipped.

Pogachar missed his title defense last year after Jumbo Visma delivered a tactical masterclass on stage 11. The team used all its resources to isolate and exhaust the 24-year-old Pogachar, giving Vingegaard the stage win and the yellow jersey.

Pogachar seems determined that history will not repeat itself.

"I think they will try everything for one stage and try to crack me again. 'But right now I don't know. I can deal with all their tactics. I'm prepared for whatever they do."

Pundits and Pogachal's rivals have noted that he is running smarter, not more impulsively, in this year's race.

"I've been through the Tour de France three times; it's the most important race of the year. But in the Tour de France, you have three weeks, and every day you have to pay the price for the previous day's effort; you have to race with your head [in a three-week race]; you can't go crazy in one day," he said.

Pogachar also has a more potent weapon in his arsenal, having lost many of his teammates to the Covid-19 internal test at last year's Tour. Adam Yates, currently fifth overall, is a strong addition, albeit more than four minutes behind.

"He's in great shape and I think he's getting better and better in the Tour now. I think he can compete well in the coming stages. He's a great teammate and I think I'll be a little more relaxed having him around on GC," she said of Yates.

Pogachar, who did not compete in the races leading up to the Tour because of a wrist injury in April that ended his 13-win spring and early season campaign, is confident of his form heading into the second half of the Tour.

"I'm not surprised," he said. I was more surprised when I lost time on stage 5 at the Col de Marie Blanquet."

"I know myself, so I shouldn't be surprised by my performance. I think Jonas and I have a really good rivalry. I think last year was one of the best tours ever and this year, after the first week, a lot has happened. It's a good time. We drop bombs on each other every stage and he's one step ahead of me.