Danny van Poppel has received support from an unexpected source after his penalty in the Deutschland Tour. Van Poppel crossed the line first in the third stage of the German stage race but was relegated by the jury afterwards due to a bump in the final phase. Pogacar publicly defended Van Poppel extensively on social media.
"The clear winner of todays stage" Pogacar begins his post on social media with a photo of the finish at the Deutschland Tour. "This regelations are absolute jokes and not correct, job done poorly ...like so many times this year. Congrats, Danny, you won."
"Don't get me wrong. This way, you can demote four or five riders," the Slovenian added. Pogacar and Van Poppel know each other partly because they both live in Monaco. The two have trained together several times and, naturally, often meet each other in races, as recently in the Tour de France.
Lidl Deutschland Tour| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 03:53:10 | |
| 2 | " | |
| 3 | " | |
| 4 | " | |
| 5 | " | |
| 6 | " | |
| 7 | " | |
| 8 | " | |
| 9 | " | |
| 10 | " |
