"It shouldn't only happen when Pogacar falls" - Experts ask why peloton didn't immediately wait for Vingegaard & Lipowitz after stage 15 crash

On stage 15 of the 2025 Tour de France, podium hopefuls Jonas Vingegaard and Florian Lipowitz were both caught up in a big crash in the peloton. Whilst neither were injured, they were delayed and found themselves off the back of the bunch. Unlike when Tadej Pogacar found himself in a similar situation earlier on in the race however, this time there was no immediate cease fire in the peloton.

"If such a large group is held up, then either the organization or the riders have to ensure that they wait," says Belgian ex-pro Sep Vanmarcke on the Sporza Tour podcast, with the Maillot Jaune Pogacar’s efforts to halt the racing described as "timid". "It shouldn't only happen when Pogacar falls, as we saw in the stage towards Toulouse."

The eventual stage winner Tim Wellens, later claimed that despite Pogacar’s best efforts, the peloton either didn't listen or didn't care to the Maillot Jaune's calls for calm. For Vanmarcke though, this argument doesn't hold up strongly.

"If the breakaway had already been gone, it would have been a different story for me, but so early in the stage and with the numbers 2 and 3 in the general classification being held up, they would have given each other a better chance to come back," he says. "Fortunately, that's what happened in the end."

"You have to see this in the bigger picture," countered Jan Bakelants on Vive le Velo. "At that point, it wasn't possible to stop things. When Pogacar crashed, the race was already in full swing and it was among equals, among GC contenders. Now things were different. Pogacar would have been the first to force something like that."

"I did think briefly about Trine, Vingegaard's wife," added Stijn Steels. "A second place in the general classification is still more important than a stage win, and at that moment, there was a potentially dangerous situation. I think someone in Denmark would have been angry."