Tour de France leader Tadej Pogachar returned to the GC contenders on Friday after two flat sprint stages and will join challengers for the maillot jaune in the race's first time trial.

He came through stages 5 and 6 unscathed and narrowly escaped a crash on Wednesday, but on Thursday he lost his UAE Team Emirates teammate midway through the stage.

But all eyes were on Friday's seventh stage between Nuits-Saint-Georges and Gevrey-Chambertin. At 25.3 km long and with an elevation gain of 300 m, this stage is far from the longest and most demanding time attack in Tour history.

However, until the race takes place in the Pyrenees on July 13, this stage could see a major shake-up in the overall lead. Therefore, with only 59 km of time trial kilometers in total, time gained and time lost in Burgundy will be crucial.

Pogachar has built up a 45-second lead over second-place time trial world champion Remco Evenpole (Soudal-Quick Step), while two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard (Vimaris-a-Bike) is 50 seconds back in third place overall.

"I checked it out a long time ago," Pogachar said in a flash interview after stage 6. I like this course. It's a good time trial. It's pretty fast, but you also need power. It's not all about aerodynamics. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens tomorrow."

The day was mostly flat, but there were bumps along the way. It is not a big climb like the climb up to Combrue, the stage of the first round of the 2023 Tour, where Pogachar lost out to Vingegaard by 1:38.

Instead, the 4.7-km climb to Carly averaged only 3%. Pogachar, along with UAE Team Emirates Team Sports Manager Joxen "Matosin" Fernandez, expected Evenpoel to be successful on this course.

"I think Lemko is the favorite to win tomorrow. He's the world champion and he's proven time and time again that he can beat anyone. He's the world champion and he's proven time and time again that he can beat anyone.

Matysin called the route "perfect" for the second-place Belgian, placing him above Vingegaard.

"This time trial is also really different from last year.

"This time trial is also really different from last year," he said. In another year it would be for climbers, but maybe not this year."

"Jonas is one of the best in the world. He will of course perform well, but in terms of conditions and route type, my favorite is Evenpoel. After that we will see what level the overall contenders are at."

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In an effort to improve all aspects of the time trial and avoid a second-place finish to Combrue, Pogachar defeated Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) in Perugia at the Giro d'Italia in May, coming in second behind the Italian in the flat test on Lake Garda.

In addition, there were "marginal gains" in time saved and energy saved. In this year's Tour, Pogachar has already worn yellow on four of the six stages, but the team has also limited his media availability to reduce his working hours and maximize recovery, with the Slovenian skipping Thursday's post-stage press conference entirely

"He is working differently than usual. He spends more time on track tests, wind tunnels, and his position. 'He spends more time on the time trial bike. It's really important for him to spend more time until the last day."

"The bike is also lighter. In the final time trial in Nice, weight will be really important. It's about finding the perfect balance between comfort and aerodynamics.

"It's all about aerodynamics, aerodynamics, aerodynamics, stopping in a comfortable position."

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