"He just completely cut me off" - Tadej Pogacar unhappy with late crash on Tour de France's chaotic day
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar had quite an eventful day at the Tour de France. Ahead of three high-mountain stages, the Slovenian had to follow two dangerous attacks from Jonas Vingegaard on a day that didn't look too dangerous and crashed in the final kilometers of the stage. It's safe to say the UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider does not head into the key stages of the race with the absolute best mindset.
"I'm quite OK, a bit beaten up, but we've been through worse days," he said in a post-race interview. "It's been a hectic day from start to finish. In the end I had a little bit of a crash, thanks to the peloton in front they actually waited. The race was more or less over back there, but still they could take time. Maybe not take too much time, but I would need to go really deep to come back".
Pogacar responded to Visma's moves on the final kilometers of stage 11, after earlier in the day having been surprised by Vingegaard's attack to link up with Wout van Aert. Late in the day it felt easier, but then with 4 kilometers to go he hit the wheels of Tobias Johannessen who swerved in the road at the same time as Pogacar used the radio. In an unusual sight, the World Champion went down and also needed to put his chain back on, losing significant time in what seemed to be a moment that would open up the GC fight quite a lot.
But that's not what happened, as there was a consensus to stop from everyone. "A really big respect to everybody in front. Thanks for your support, guys. We came down from the climb I think everybody was a bit 'a block' (to the limit, ed.). There were attacks from Mateo [Jorgenson] and Jonas [Vingegaard]. They really put everybody on the limit. When they saw Jonny [Narváez] was there, he did a super good job. We started to control the group a little bit. But of course people don't want to take any seconds in a final like this".
Then he explains how the crash happened with the Uno-X Mobility rider: "They start to attack, people start to follow. Unfortunately one rider (Tobias Johannessen, ed.) decided to follow from left to right side of the road. I don't know, he didn't see me. He just completely cut me off from my front wheel. Luckily I just have a little bit of skin off. I was scared when I saw the sidewalk that I'm going with the head directly to sidewalk".
Pogacar did not look badly hurt but it's never ideal to crash in the race, specially with a set of decisive days looming ahead. "Luckily my skin is tough and stopped me before the sidewalk. Tomorrow is a big day coming. Let's hope. We'll see how I recover," he concluded. "Normally the day after crash you're never at the best. But I will give my best tomorrow and we'll see. I think we are ready as a team for Hautacam".
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
- the time for a GC rider to retire is when they cannot win stages, or have a significant level drop like from winner/podium into top 5/10 consistently. Roglic is still competitive and Froome raced even though he became pack fodder.abstractengineer10-11-2026
- He should be in a different team. It was detrimental. For them it does not matter if he does not develop. He should have gone to a team where they need him to succeed.abstractengineer10-11-2026
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