Godon doubles up in Romandie after near miss against Pogacar - 'I was keen to get revenge'

Pogačar had outsprinted Godon to take victory on stage 2 in Vucherens on Thursday, in a type of stage where the Frenchman has excelled all season long. Stage 3 ended with another finish that suited Godon, but first, the Frenchman would need to navigate the category two Col du Mollendruz inside the final 40km.

With a strong seven-rider breakaway, which included Georg Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost), who was in the top 20 in the GC at the start of the stage, UAE kept tabs on the time gap throughout the stage, protecting Pogačar's race lead. The Emirati team then received support on the final climb by Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. 

“We kept it under control until the climb. We wanted to pace ourselves over the climb,” Pogačar told CyclingProNet. “But yeah, one team had another idea, which is good for us as well to go all out on the climb. Red Bull Bora, they pushed really good on the climb and a small group stayed.”

One man who was distanced on the climb was Godon, but the French champion returned to the bunch with 20km remaining, with Ineos then contributing to the chase alongside Lidl-Trek.

“Yeah, we caught the breakaway. I mean, they caught [the break] in the end with Trek and Ineos. A really good chase and also a strong breakaway, but yeah, good day for us,” said Pogačar.

In the end, Godon got revenge, sprinting to his fifth WorldTour victory since joining Ineos. Pogačar highlighted how the finish didn’t allow him to carry as much speed, and thus, it became more about power than the element of surprise. 

“When he [Godon] kicks with heavy gear, yeah, he's long gone. So it was not like yesterday. He waited for the final, and it was not great speed, so he could make a big difference compared to me,” said Pogačar. “I still did a pretty solid sprint and a nice finish.”

The World Champion’s priority is the yellow jersey, and Pogačar leads the race by 0:17 over Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) ahead of the queen stage on Saturday. 

“We have two stages, quite hard coming up. So yeah, saving the legs for tomorrow and the day after,” said Pogačar. 

Speaking at the finish, Godon explained that he was motivated by getting revenge, and this helped him when he was distanced from the peloton on the final climb.

“I wasn't the strongest at all today. I had to fight, and yeah. The team brought me back, and it couldn't get away from me,” Godon told CyclingProNet. “I was pretty keen to get revenge from yesterday, a bit annoyed, let's say. So often when I finish second, it works out well the next day.”

Only Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard have more than the five WorldTour wins Godon has picked up since joining the British team, and the Frenchman expressed his satisfaction with his progression since the move. 

“I'm happier. That's it. Yeah, I think six victories with the team time trial in different disciplines. I'm improving in several areas,” said Godon. “So even there, I didn't think I'd be able to, I hadn't set myself any expectations, like a 20-minute climb and all that.

“There's a pretty good level of climbers here. I hadn't set any expectations, but I hung in there, and then yeah, actually, the whole team pushed me, pushed me to the limit on the last climb, with the earpiece and the guys,” said Godon.

“So I fought to the very end, and well, it feels so good. And they know they trust me 2000% because they know I can deliver, and everyone on the team is already super happy, for me, that makes me the happiest.”