"I'm gone, I'm dead" - Tadej Pogacar after yellow jersey battle ended

After two weeks at a level above expectations, Tadej Pogacar collapsed today at the Tour de France 2023. In the time trial he lost more than a minute and a half to Jonas Vingegaard and at the start of the climb to the Col de la Loze, when it was the INEOS team that was pulling, the Slovenian wasn't able to keep up with the best.

There were more than 7 kilometers to the top of the pass and 15 to the finish line in Courchevel and his feelings could not be worse. So much so that he made it clear to his team, UAE Team Emirates, over the radio: "I'm gone, I'm dead".

With that message, Pogacar left the way clear for his two teammates ahead, Rafal Majka and Adam Yates, to fight for their goals. Marc Soler rode with him all the way into the finish. He came in 7:37 behind Felix Gall, the stage winner, and is 7:35 behind Jonas Vingegaard in the overall, two days after being only 10 seconds behind.