Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) didn't mince words when describing Team Visma-Lease a Bike's repeated attempts to isolate and undermine him during stage ten of the Tour de France, calling them simply "annoying." The world champion, however, responded to every attack without ever showing signs of giving up.

Matteo Jorgenson was the main protagonist of several attacks in the final 10 km, but Pogačar didn't give him a single centimeter. Tired of the constant provocations, the Slovenian then launched an attack of his own on the final climb, which only Jonas Vingegaard was able to respond to.

Despite failing to break away from his Danish rival, Pogačar showed no signs of weakness. He did, however, lose the yellow jersey, with Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) gaining enough time on the breakaway to take the lead.

"They were getting a bit annoying with all these attacks, so I decided to make a better attack," Pogačar told Slovenian media. "I saw Lenny Martinez leading from the breakaway, I stuck to his wheel, and crossed the finish line behind him. It meant much more to him than it did to me."

Pogačar's team has suffered another blow with the illness affecting some riders: "We lost João Almeida yesterday and Pavel Sivakov is still recovering from his illness," the Slovenian confirmed.

The overall standings gap remains at 1:17, with the rivalry between Pogačar and Vingegaard set to heat up further in the Pyrenees, the Alps, and Mont Ventoux. Team Visma has provoked the "champion," but it remains to be seen whether they will actually be able to challenge him or whether this will further motivate him to dominate the race.