Vingegaard and Pogacar silent on Tour de France's first rest day

Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar, the leading stars of the Tour de France, will remain silent on the race's first rest day, opting out of media interactions. Vingegaard's team, Visma, has announced a strict media blackout, mirroring their approach from the previous year. This decision means fans and journalists will not hear directly from the Danish rider about his performance in the first half of the race.

Visma's press chief stated that the team is observing a "true rest day." Similarly, UAE Emirates, Pogacar's team, explained that while the Slovenian rider attends the mandatory daily press conferences for the yellow jersey holder, he will be resting on Monday. This strategic silence from the top contenders highlights a shift in how teams manage rider access during the demanding Grand Tour.

Other teams, such as Red Bull with Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz, are also giving their riders a break but have promised a press conference on the second rest day. While some teams continue with media activities as usual, including Quick-Step with Tim Merlier, the trend of limiting media access on rest days appears to be growing. Previously, teams were more readily available to the press on both rest days, but this has changed in recent years, with teams citing rider fatigue and the need for recovery as primary reasons for the media silence.