Tour de France riders welcome rest day after tough, hot week

The Tour de France peloton is eagerly anticipating the first rest day on Monday, following an arduous first week characterized by unprecedented high temperatures and a relentless pace set by Tadej Pogacar's UAE team.

The riders will take their much-needed break in Cantal, located in the Massif Central, marking the second mountain range the race has traversed after the Pyrenees. This pause comes before the Tour heads into the Jura and Vosges regions, culminating in the Alps.

The rest day is crucial for competitors to regroup and strategize. Many will use the time to recover physically and mentally, preparing for the latter half of the race. The primary focus for many will be devising plans to challenge the current dominance of Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar, who leads the general classification.

Pogacar holds a significant lead of 2 minutes and 42 seconds over Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard. His teammate, Mexico's Isaac del Toro, trails by 3 minutes and 27 seconds. The battle for the podium also remains tight, with Belgium's Remco Evenepoel in fourth place, just three seconds behind third. Spain's Juan Ayuso is four seconds further back, followed by France's Paul Seixas at 3 minutes and 55 seconds, and Germany's Florian Lipowitz at 4 minutes.