Jean-Rene Bernaudeau – general manager of Team TotalEnergies – took stock of this 8th stage of Tour de France 2022, disputed between Dole and Lausanne (186.3 km), who saw the victory of Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) front Michael Matthews (Team BikeExchange-Jayco) et Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates). “I know the Tour well and the Tour is long. Everything is paid for, but it’s true that the Jumbo-Visma team drove and Wout Van Aert won. It’s good for them, it’s still a victory in the Tour de France“, he explains to our microphone. As a good strategist, the manager of the French team delivered his expertise on the fight for the yellow jersey. He also put himself in the shoes of the director… ofINEOS Grenadiers.
Video – Jean-René Bernaudeau after the 8th stage!
�’��’� That was a tense finish #TDF2022 pic.twitter.com/n0hjDWERaL
— @UAE-TeamEmirates (@TeamEmiratesUAE) July 9, 2022
“You also have to take the risk of losing the Tour de France”
“Tadej Pogacar is the strongest but he is alone. We must not forget the big armada of INEOS Grenadiers. I think this team has the right and it almost has to take risks to break the lock. There is a big favourite, Pogacar, there are very strong outsiders with Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard, and then there are four other riders with experience who have ridden perfectly since the start of the Tour. […] You also have to take the risk of losing the Tour de France. There are four INEOS in the top 10. Imagine if I were general manager of INEOS, I can assure you that we wouldn’t finish 2nd in the Tour. We would win the Tour or we would be 10th!“, concludes Jean-Rene Bernaudeau.