Primoš Roglic lost time again to Lemko Evenpoel and Tadej Pogachar in the Tour de France stage 7 Côte d'Or time trial, but he and the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team were confident that the second and third weeks would be more intense than the first with Convinced that there would be more racing and bigger time differences, they tried to stay optimistic and focused on the long haul.

Roglic lost 34 seconds to Evenpoel and 22 seconds to Tadej Pogachar in the 25.3 km time trial. However, he lost 21 seconds in the second stage and 35 seconds in the fourth stage, the Col du Galibier, and remained in fourth place overall, 1:36 behind Pogachar in the battle for the four major GCs in this year's Tour de France.

"It wasn't a good sign that I started at the front of the favourites to win. But I'm optimistic, I'm happy. But I'm optimistic and I'm happy," Roglic said briefly after driving through the small finish area in Jevre-Chambertin.

"I did everything I could. I haven't ridden a stage seven as hard as this in a long time in the Tour.

Sports director Rolf Aldag was equally optimistic as he elaborated on the stage.

"I think it was an OK or better TT performance," Aldag told Cycling News and the Cycling Podcast.

"It took me a little while to get up to speed, but the second half was really good. It's impossible for a human to go down faster than him, so I pushed the physics to the limit and finished well. The time gap started to get serious, with Roglic 1:36 behind, but Aldag minimized the gap.

"But that won't be decisive when we finish in Nice. But when we finish in Nice, it won't be decisive. We still have a long way to go," insisted veteran German director Sportif.

"Looking at the Tour's route design, I'm not too worried.

Roglic seems content to let Pogachar and Evenpoel dominate the spotlight and wait slowly for Vingegaard to recover from his accidental injuries. Roglic and Red Bull are in for the long haul.

"We fight together when we have to fight. But so far there hasn't been much to fight about. It was more important to avoid problems. Everything is still relatively close and there are many questions.

"Looking at them one by one, how much base does Jonas have or not have? What is he going to do? Is Lemko as bad as he always is in the Grand Tours or not? How will Pogachar cope with the Giro and Tour?

"I just do my thing. I will try to ride consistently. The final race of the Tour de France will be really, really tough. I want to stay in contention. If there is a chance to win the yellow jersey, I won't hesitate."

After the time trial, the next important stage is Sunday's stage 9. It could be his hardest test yet.

"I don't know if it's a test or just a gamble. You could call it the next gamble, because I don't really agree with it," Aldag said, echoing Red Bull and Roglic's feelings about the risks of gravel racing.