Allan Peiper puts positive spin on Tadej Pogacar's Liege crash: "Maybe it's his luck that he reaches his top condition in the last week of the Tour de France"

Long-time friend and mentor of Tadej Pogacar, Allan Peiper has tried to put a positive spin on the crash that saw the UAE Team Emirates leader forced to abandon Liege-Bastogne-Liege and required surgery for a fractured wrist.

"He has already sent a message and some photos. We also exchanged some messages about what the impact of the fall will be on the coming weeks," Peiper revealed in a conversation on the podcast Wuyts & Vlaeminck. "I am no longer with UAE Team Emirates, but he has said that he will not be able to do the reconnaissance for the Tour de France and will not go to the wind tunnel. It's not an ideal scenario."

Obviously, no one would want to go into the Tour de France after having had such a bad crash and having needed surgery. Peiper however, can see how in the end it could prove a blessing in disguise for the Slovenian. "It was still three weeks before he went to altitude anyway, by then he will be able to ride again," he explains. "In terms of reconnaissance and training level you can't build up much now, but again: maybe it's his luck that he reaches his top condition in the last week of the Tour de France"

"Tadej will be fresh, also mentally, for the Tour," Peiper continues. "That is one advantage, that he will now have to rest in the coming weeks. He has already had a very tough spring, from which you have to recover a bit."