DS Sven Vanthourenhout put the philosophy plainly: «If I step on the bus and say to Primož, it's over; congrats on your second place, then I think he kills me, or he kicks me off.» It's a code most Grand Tour teams never say out loud — that there's a line between racing hard and exploiting an opponent's error. Roglič gained only 33 seconds on Mas in the stage 18 time trial, well short of what Red Bull expected, and Mas marked his attack at Peñas Blancas on stage 19. The vow isn't about closing that gap anymore — it's about how the team wants this defeat to look.

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