‘I didn’t want to be isolated’ - Pogacar explains long range Vuelta attack

The UAE Team Emirates-XRG leader made his move with more than 50 kilometres remaining, explaining afterwards that the attack was partly motivated by the prospect of becoming isolated against a group packed with GC contenders.

The stage covered just 104.8 kilometres but included 3,024 metres of climbing, beginning with the Port d'Envalira before taking in the Collada de Beixalís, Coll d'Ordino and the Alto de la Comella.

Decathlon CMA CGM took responsibility for the pace early in the stage, with the intensity rising sharply from the foot of Beixalís.

"The pace was super high already on the first climb and then on the second climb we were going basically all out from the bottom," Pogačar said after the stage in the flash interview.

"When Jay let me pass onto the wheel of Decathlon, then I knew, okay, I don't want to be isolated against all the GC riders because they will all play against me. I tried with an attack on the climb and then just hoped that I could survive until the finish."

Pogačar quickly opened a significant advantage and crossed the summit of Beixalís 1:35 clear. His lead continued to grow from there, eventually reaching 3:40 as the Slovenian powered away alone.

Netcompany-Ineos then took up the chase, steadily reducing the deficit over the final part of the stage, but Pogačar remained comfortably out of reach and arrived in Andorra la Vella 2:39 ahead of his main GC rivals.

The ride also ranked among the longest solo victories of his career. After attacking with just over 50 kilometres remaining, Pogačar completed the seventh longest winning solo of his professional career.

"When I saw that I could open the gap, I did it," he said. "It was pretty tough, but it was a beautiful day out there."

Asked whether the advantage was the kind of margin he had been looking for, Pogačar suggested the exact number mattered little.

"Any gap is more than enough, but it's super good because now I can be calm and confident for the next days," he said. "We just keep going day by day and focus on each day after this, because it will be a little bit less stressful for sure."

The victory came on roads that already hold a special place in Pogačar's career. It was in Andorra during the 2019 Vuelta that the then 20-year-old claimed his first Grand Tour stage victory, eventually winning three stages on his debut and finishing third overall.

Asked whether he could have imagined becoming the rider he is today when he first won there seven years ago, Pogačar did not hesitate.

"Never. Not for a second did I ever think that I would ride like this," he said. "I have such beautiful memories from the first time in Andorra. It was really beautiful and it's one of my favourite moments of my career, so I will never forget that day."

Pogačar has worn the red jersey since winning the opening time trial in Monaco by just nine hundredths of a second over Ethan Hayter.

After blowing the race apart in Andorra, the Slovenian now holds a commanding position at the top of the general classification. Asked once again whether the plan was to keep red all the way to Granada, his answer reflected the size of the advantage he had just created.

"You never know, but now it's a good gap, so we will do our best to control it every day," Pogačar said. "But if it's uncontrollable, you cannot control it, and then we will have to fight.

"It's going to be tough, but we have a really strong team here, so we are ready."