Tour de France leader Primoš Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) once again came through the mountains unscathed, holding a 57-second advantage over Tadej Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates) on the final mountain stage in the Alps.

On a stage with 4,600 meters of climbing, Logrich's yellow and black "mountain train" faced no further difficulties, save for a brief acceleration by Pogachar after an attack by Enric Mas (Movistar). [Pogachar took advantage of an attack by Enric Mas (Movistar) and temporarily escaped.

Roglic stayed close to the lead group on the gravel sections of the Glières plateau and led a small group of contenders for the win on the downhills.

However, although he lost time to Pogachar on Wednesday's epic and difficult stage, according to France Maassen, Jumbo Visma's team director, "I almost cracked when I crossed the line. [The legs felt a little better and everything went well.

French television speculated at length what Roglic said to Pogachar when Pogachar put his arm around the young Slovenian's shoulders near the finish, but Roglic said he did not remember.

"I was probably asking him how he liked racing over gravel and grières," said Roglic, who raced the same climb in the 2018 Tour, "nothing special."

Currently, the overall leaders appear to be all set. However, while Friday looks like a typical transition stage, there is always the possibility that Pogachar could upset the upcart on Saturday.

Pogachar's talent in time trials is nothing short of non-existent. Just a few weeks ago, he defeated Roglic at his country's TT national championships to win his second gold medal.

In a stage race, however, he won a silver medal at the 2017 World TT in Bergen on a course very similar to Saturday's Chrono.

Asked if he would switch bikes in a time trial, he ultimately switched bikes at the base of the final climb at the World Championships three years ago.

"I'm already thinking about it and will consider it. But the final decision will be made right before the start. We want to see what makes the most sense," said Roglic.

Asked if there will be time to enjoy being the Tour leader, Roglic replied, "There will be time to enjoy the yellow jersey after the Tour. But there are still a few days left and I need to focus."

Three days after Paris, Roglic had weathered almost every obstacle during the week, holding onto his lead or extending it on each mountain stage. The battle seemed all but over.