"Even a Ferrari can't run without fuel" - Michael Rasmussen lays into UAE Team Emirates after Tadej Pogacar's fuelling mishap at Tour de France
Cycling
Whilst Tadej Pogacar starts stage 12 of the 2024 Tour de France actually with a bigger lead than he had before stage 11, his aura of being the Maillot Jaune winner in waiting seems significantly diminished following Jonas Vingegaard's incredible performance and stage win.
There was a curious moment relatively late on stage 11, when Pogacar, who was solo at the head of the race, pulled over to the neutral service vehicle asking for a gel. Four time Tour de France stage winner and two time King of the Mountains, Michael Rasmussen was watching the action unfold, and via his official X (Twitter) account, the Dane laid some heavy criticism at the foot of UAE Team Emirates' door.
"Pogacar is low on sugars. It always a problem if you have to ask the neutral service for a bottle. Huge mistake from UAE. They could have sealed the Tour today," Rasmussen writes. "I wonder when UAE are getting their fueling right. It gives flash backs to the Galibier-Granon stage in 2022 where Pogacar also completely bonked 20 min. from the finish line."
Whilst Pogacar didn't lose any time to Vingegaard on the road, the Slovenian was somewhat surprisingly beaten by his great rival in a two-up sprint for the stage win. "Even a Ferrari can't run without fuel. When do they learn it at UAE?" Rasmussen questions. "Even Pogacar can pedal squares in a sprint."
As mentioned, Pogacar actually managed to increase his lead in the general classification over Remco Evenepoel, who remains in 2nd. But with the recovering Vingegaard now beginning to find his groove, has momentum switched into the favour of the reigning, two time Tour de France winning leader of Team Visma | Lease a Bike? Time will tell over the next couple of weeks, but Tadej Pogacar now longer looks the near certain winner of the Maillot Jaune he did a few days ago.
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Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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Stage 11. #TDF2024 What did we learn today? - What a day in Massif Central! Jonas got a huge moral boost today - @TeamEmiratesUAE keeps messing up @TamauPogi fuelling. They could have sealed the Tour today but played it into the hands of @vismaleaseabike - Even Pogacar can
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