ExactlyIt might be true for the majority of riders, but not for Pogi. He doesn't need it now but at the end.
no rider who was in Tour winning form over the last 40 years I have watched gave two craps about having the yellow jersey on the first rest day.Its not really up for debate, its been the norm for decades.
Being in yellow on rest day is one of the biggest intermittent goals in the Tour de France, and having all the buzz, that is paramount for any team and its sponsors and its visitors.
Your not dropping a yellow jersey before rest day with purpose.
Armstrong always tried to give it away if he had it in the first week after the prologue or TTT. Contador never took until the 2nd or 3rd week. Froome would always wait until the first big mountain stage, which almost always took place after the 1st rest day, Having it that long requires your team to use up that much energy. Nobody wants it before the mountains begin.
For a rider like Pogacar or Jonas, they are more concerned with the strain it puts on their teammates having to control the race. Indurain may be the only rider who would carry it for through the first rest day to Paris and that was because of the years where they had an early long TT and there were massive gaps.
The only year LeMond had it during the first rest day was in 1989, and he lost it multiple times before winning it. In 1990 he didn’t take it until the next to last day because he gave a break such a big margin and had no idea Chiappucci’s special coffee had given him wings. In 1985, I can’t remember when Hinault took the jersey, but in 1986 Hinault didn’t take the jersey until the Pyrenees after the 1st rest day.