Tadej Pogacar escaped serious injury after his crash in the finale of the eleventh Tour stage. "I was startled when I saw the curb approaching; I thought I would hit it with my head, but luckily my skin is tough and stopped me before I hit the curb," he told the French RMC Sport afterwards.
Jonas Abrahamsen gave Uno-X Mobility their first-ever Tour stage win, and a strong Mathieu van der Poel came close to his second stage victory of this Tour. However, the story of the eleventh stage is primarily Tadej Pogacar’s crash in the finale. After the unfortunate and heavy fall, the Slovenian was able to continue. "I’m okay," Pogacar responded after the hectic stage. "I’m a bit sore, but we got through it, so I’m fine."
Pogacar crossed the finish with some scrapes and bruises - photo: Cor Vos
Because his rivals did not decide to keep riding, the world champion also did not lose any time. "It was a bit of a chaotic day from start to finish, but I want to thank the rest of the group for waiting for me after my crash." The stage was almost over, but they could have gained time on me. Maybe not much, but I definitely would have had to call on my reserves to get back. I want to thank everyone upfront for their support."
Pogacar is asked about the cause of the crash. "We had just come down the descent of the final climb. Everyone was going full gas; Matteo Jorgenson and Jonas Vingegaard launched attacks and pushed everyone to the limit. Until they saw that Jhonny Narvaez was there and he did a great job controlling the group."
"But in a finale like this, everyone wants to grab seconds; there are attacks and many riders reacting to them. Unfortunately, a rider followed an attack from left to right. He didn’t see me and hit my front wheel." On the TV footage, it can be seen that Tobias Haland Johannessen from Uno-X Mobility tried to follow an attack but cut across the road in front of the three-time Tour winner, and Pogacar could no longer keep his balance.
"Luckily, I only have a few scrapes," Pogacar continues his story. However, the UAE Emirates XRG leader was briefly worried it might have been worse. "I was scared when I saw the curb coming. I thought I would smash my head against it, but luckily my skin is strong and stopped me before I hit the curb."
Although the damage to Pogacar seems minor after the finish, it remains to be seen how the crash will affect his performance in the brutally tough upcoming Pyrenean stages. Starting with Thursday’s stage to Hautacam. "Tomorrow is a big day, and we will see how I recover. Normally you are not at your best the day after a crash, but I will do my best tomorrow. In any case, we as a team are ready for Hautacam," the three-time Tour winner ends on a positive note.
