The main event that overshadowed the otherwise exciting eleventh stage of Tour de France was the crash of Tadej Pogacar in which Tobias Halland Johannesen played a big role.
"A very strange crash," said former Giro winner Tom Dumoulin in his analysis for NOS after the stage.
Read also
It's not quite common to see Pogacar on the ground, Dumoulin points out: "He hardly ever crashes, but now he does."
It was a moment of lowered attention when the Slovenian was talking to his team on radio. "He's actually watching the riders attack. He doesn't see the guy on the left, Tobias Halland Johannessen, coming at all, and then he suddenly swerves. Johannessen actually takes off his front wheel. It was a really stupid and annoying crash."
Who's to be blamed for the crash? "Both, but I think it's mainly Johannessen's mistake. He crossed the line at a very strange moment. We see Johannessen immediately raise his hand. You can just see him apologize. Pogacar himself isn't paying attention either. These kinds of things happen in races."
Dumoulin then highlighted what came afterwards, when peloton stopped to wait for the Slovenian to return to the front without any pressure.
"I think it's commendable that the whole group thinks: we don't want to gain time like this. Vingegaard and Visma think: we're not going to win the Tour this way. The battle is being played very fairly. Evenepoel also had a say in that; he knows Pogacar well. He doesn't want to take advantage of that either. I love fair sport."
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 1visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- 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
Loading
Write a comment