Race leader Tadej Pogachar, who showed himself to be the strongest yellow jersey contender in the two important mountain stages of the first week of the Tour de France, also came through the stage 7 time trial unscathed.

The Slovenian was expected to lose time to time trial world champion Remco Evenpole on the 25.3km section from Nuits-Saint-Georges to Jouvre-Chambertin, possibly giving up the race lead entirely.

However, he was unable to hold on to the lead.

However, the last man on the course finished just 12 seconds ahead of the Belgian, who has emerged as the closest GC rival throughout the first third of the race.

"Pogachar raced through the vineyards and crossed the finish line in a small French village inexplicably crammed by the world's biggest bike race.

"I saw good legs today, good times," Pogachar said at a press conference. 'We saw good legs today, we saw good times. But we can't draw any conclusions from today. Most of the Tour is still to come and a lot can happen."

"Certainly Lemko was the best time triallist in the race as always, and Jonas Vingegaard and Primoš Roglic were super good. We will have to wait for the last three days of mountain stages."

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Although he was 12 seconds behind Evenpole, who was 33 seconds behind the leader, Pogachar was able to reduce the time of his other rivals and finished third, 22 seconds behind.

Overall, it was a positive day for the Slovenian. His teammates, Juan Ayuso and Joan Almeida of UAE Team Emirates, followed at 2:16 and 2:17, respectively.

"I'm happy with the way I ran today, the way my legs turned," Pogachar said. "To gain time on Jonas and Primoz, that's very good for me. I'm sure they will both ride well in the mountain stages next week.

Pogachar is looking forward to the 199-km trek through the gravel and hills around Troyes on stage 9 before plunging into the Pyrenees next week on stage 14. Pogachar said he is looking forward to this stage, even if the gravel roads could bring unexpected surprises during the race.

"I'm kind of looking forward to it. I know what's waiting for me. But it depends on how the race goes, on the wind, on the weather, and on what the peloton wants to do."

"I think there will be a lot of variations in how the race unfolds, but I think we're ready. I usually like these stages, but you never know what will happen. We'll see."

But what he is looking forward to the most are the mountain stages in the second half of the race, which are the original stages. The summit finishes at Pla d'Addes, Plateau de Beille, Izola 2000, and the Col de la Cuilloles will be the decisive climbs that will determine this year's maillot jaune.

Pogachar praised the Tour's Grande Partenza and said he "can't wait" to return to the Pyrenees and the Alps.

"I have to say that this year's Tour de France is a little strange," he said. 'The first four days were fun, but this week it feels like there's nothing to look forward to. If there had been no time trial today, it would have been a really boring and weird Tour, with flat stages where nobody wanted to get into the breakaway.

"Tomorrow is another stressful day, then another stressful day, then a rest day, then another stressful day, then another stressful day. And gradually we are getting into the mountains. I feel great right now and can't wait to finally get into the mountains properly."

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