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There was an unmistakable sense of déjà vu at 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Team Ineos' first rest day press conference, in the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Tour de France, as the British team settled back in𓆏 their chairs to face the assembled media in a crowded and slightly sweaty conference room in their team hotel.

For the seventh time in eight years, the overall classification tide is swimming strongly in favour of Ineos, albeit in the team's previous incarnation as Sky, with 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Geraint Thomas and 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Egan Bernal are s🌌econd and third overall, with all of their pre-race GC competitor🔯s now trailing them time-wise.

When asked whether Team Ineos, and formerly Sky, were better prepared than other teams to take on the Tour, and if that explained stages lik🍬e Monday's where a number of rivals were dropped on th♓eoretically inoffensive terrain, Thomas answered that Ineos' single focus, on winning the race rather than dividing their energies, was crucial to their success.

Using Jumbo – now the winners of four stages – as a point of comparison, Thomas ar𓂃gued that, "we just have one goal."

"You look at [George] Bennett, for instance," who was sent back for bidons at a crucial point in the race, whilst lying fourth overall, "They've got stages [where they are working] for sprinters, and a lot of the other teams have riders in breakaways, whereas we have just have one goal. Trying to♋ win the Tour. That makes a big difference."

Broadening his point to look at how Team Ineos we🦹re able to exploit their rich mine of past victories in order to handle situations like the echelons of stage 10, Thomas argued that, "yesterday was a great day, it shows anything can happen in this race, it shows you've always got to be attentive and on the ball.

"Nine times out of ten nothing happens, and it's kind of like you think that was 𒁏a stressful day for nothing, but then something like yesterday can happen𒀰, too. We've got a lot of experience in the race, as well, a lot of our riders have ridden this race numerous times and been in the winning teams. So, it all adds up."

Sitting by🦄 his side, Bernal indirectly confirmed that 'all for one' goal strategy by saying that the best young rider's classification, which he currently commands, was not something he is thinking about in the long-term right now. "Yellow is better than white," ಞhe argued, "and that's the team's overriding objective."

🎃Unsurprisingly, Thomas argued that he had had a great start t🐎o the first week, although team boss Dave Brailsford remained careful to point out that they still have two cards in the shape of Thomas and Bernal to play as they move into week two.

But i🐻n any case for the Welshman, two minor injury-free crashes, the five-second time loss in Épernay, and the 20-second time loss in Saint-Étienne surely count for next to nothing when weighed up to a single time gain of 100 seconds on their most dangerous GC rival on a theoretically easy stage, a strong team time trial, ❀and an impressive climbing performance on La Planche des Belle Filles. A quick glance at the state of play on the general classification only confirms that.

As for outside the race itself, Thomas was equally adamant that there was no difference between this year and last year foꦡr him in terms of how he was experiencing the Tour, despite bein♚g the focus of attention and having the number one dossard on his back.

"It's only on days like today when everyone asks me instead of Froome. Oth𒀰er than that it's the same, I don't go on social media or read all the white noise around the race, I stay in my own little bubble, things [haven't] changed too much. Like I say, I just have to answer more questions and I'm enjoying it so far."

Assuming there are no furt💦her surprise setbacks like in Saint-Étienne, the big question that is perhaps yet to be resolved for Ineos is over race leader Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and howᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ long he can hold onto yellow.

"Obvio♍usly it would be better if it wa♔s only a couple of seconds between me and Alaphilippe, not a minute, but other than that it's great." Thomas reflected.

"Coming into the race, we wouldn't have talked of Alaphilippe being a GC contender, but to get time on everybody else is massive, a big bonus. Now the rea🔯l harder Alpine and Pyrenean stages💎 will start, so I can't complain."

Is he confident of beating Alalphilippe? "We didn't mind him gaining a few seconds here or there because he's never really🎉 ridden for GC before," Thomas argued. "But you've got to be more and more aware of him a🐲s the race goes on.

"The big days are yet to come, the time trial an🤡d the mountains. On the second day, we'll know a lot more. If he's increased his advantage, then we'll be more concerned. It's an unknown for him, too, so it should be an interesting second week," Thomas concluded, but for the bulk of the Tour peloton, perhaps, it was beginning to look ominously familiar.