“It was all calm and good until Lidl-Trek started to attack...” – Tadej Pogacar laments late chaos as former teammate Fernando Gaviria crashes hard at Tour de France
CyclingThursday, 16 July 2026 at 18:04
Tadej Pogacar emerged safely from the chaotic finale to stage 12 of the 2026 Tour de France, but the yellow jersey was left concerned after former UAE Team Emirates teammate Fernando Gaviria crashed heavily inside the final kilometre.
Pogacar retained his 3:36 advantage over Jonas Vingegaard as Tim Merlier sprinted to victory in Chalon-sur-Saone, although a stage that had looked routine became increasingly aggressive once Lidl-Trek began launching repeated attacks. “It was all calm and good until Lidl-Trek started to attack, and then things became harder,” Pogacar said after the finish. “All okay on our side.”
Lidl-Trek attacks disrupt the sprint build-up
Lidl-Trek began forcing the race inside the final 40 kilometres rather than waiting for a conventional sprint lead-out. Quinn Simmons and Mathias Vacek helped establish a strong move containing Filippo Ganna, Fred Wright, Lewis Askey and Mauro Schmid, forcing Soudal – Quick-Step and NSN Cycling Team to commit riders to the chase.
The attacks continued after that group was caught. Simmons, Mattias Skjelmose, Mads Pedersen and Derek Gee-West all featured as Lidl-Trek repeatedly stretched the peloton and disrupted the organisation of the sprint teams.
Pogacar remained well positioned as UAE Team Emirates – XRG guided him through the changing race situation. Merlier eventually came from deep in the closing sprint to beat Olav Kooij and Jasper Philipsen, completing his third victory of the Tour.
The final kilometre was marred by a crash involving Gaviria, who had been attempting to position himself for another sprint result. “I saw many guys crash in the final and hope they are all alright,” Pogacar said. “I was disappointed to see Fernando laying on the ground. It’s a shame seeing how well he was riding in this Tour de France.”
Former teammates reunited by difficult finale
Pogacar and Gaviria were teammates at UAE Team Emirates during the Slovenian’s first two professional seasons in 2019 and 2020. Gaviria arrived at the team as an established Grand Tour stage winner, while Pogacar was beginning the rapid rise that would take him to his first Tour de France victory during their second season together.
Their careers have since followed markedly different paths, but Pogacar’s immediate reaction in Chalon-sur-Saone reflected the connection that remained after two years in the same squad.
Once safely through the finish, the race leader began looking towards a weekend he expects to suit him considerably better. “Tomorrow’s stage is a bit strange,” Pogacar said. “We will have to go through it and then, on Saturday and Sunday, we will have nicer stages. I know this weekend’s roads quite well, as I did some recons together with my teammates ahead of the Tour. I’m looking forward to the upcoming stages.”
Pogacar will begin stage 13 with the same advantage he carried into Chalon-sur-Saone, before returning to roads he and UAE Team Emirates – XRG studied during their pre-Tour preparations.
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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- Le Tour should create a “participation trophy/jersey” category for Moviestar and others that complain about not winning. :) Seems moviestar can’t even get the combative jersey, so a participation jersey should be achievable.b3tlla16-07-2026
- There is much more to life than cycling, particularly when cycling doesn't go that good anymore, when you start losing too much.mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales16-07-2026
- What's UAE supposed to do? Let others win? Not only would that be completely condescending, but the idea even that that's an "unwritten rule" strikes me as silly. The reason leaders and their teams have historically let breakaways go has never been about "giving" anything, it's always been tactical - either giving the team rest, or even perhaps letting someone else deal with the leader's jersey for a time. But Pogi is just that talented and UAE is deep enough that they can go for stage wins much more than teams have historically been able to. I certainly think it's worth having a conversation around salary caps and floors for racing teams. Anyone with eyes can see that the super-teams have significant advantages over teams with more limited budgets. But that's a systemic problem. In the current system, UAE can dominate...anything less would be patronizing to the other teams.DAS16-07-2026
- Juste une précision que beaucoup de monde oublie, sur un des tour il est arrivé sans préparation optimale à cause de sa chute sur liège baston liège, et pour l'autre c'est parce qu'il s'est grillé à suivre roglic, puis vingegaard, depuis, aucunes de ses situations ne sont jamais arrivées, et ce n'est certainement pas avec la pauvre équipe de vingo que cela risque d'arriver. le seul point déterminant pourrait être une chaleur extrème sur les alpes ou chute ou tout autre élément extérieur, car même si ses coéquipiers ne seraient pas au top il déciderait alors de s'échapper pour pas subir; Ce n'est que mon avisjeje7816-07-2026
- Now the Movistar babies started to cry, because they have a shitty team? It's not Pogi's fault. José Joaquín Rojas, go cry on your mommies shoulder and leave cycling alone, it's not for you. Alpecin also touched a little reality, they have come down from a pink cloud this year and that's where they belong, among average teams. They have one stage win from a breakaway and will remain that way unless MVDP say's: "Pogi, please give us one more chance." Real cycling fans, not cry babies, want to see the GOAT in action. Maybe it's boring for some, especially for Pogi haters, but 80% of the fans are there to admire him, just like stadiums were full when they watched Usain Bolt demolish everyone. Today stadiums are half empty. I wouldn't actively watch the Tour if there was no Pogi (or someone like him), because I would be watching mediocre cyclists. Acta non verba !!!mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales16-07-2026
- Froome's high multi-year contract with the Israel-Premier Tech team did not get the grand tour results they hoped for. His massive salary and later injuries strained the team's budget, leading to his departure without a team by late 2025. Froome became the highest-paid cyclist in the world on a reported €5.5 million per year in 2021. Team management publicly acknowledged he was "absolutely not value for money" due to his inability to reach peak fitness or compete at the Tour de France. Yes he had bad injuries, but if he didn't, the results would have been exactly the same... NOTHING... only BS yapping: "it'll be better next year, after I get my check for €5.5 million." and so on... bla bla bla...mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales16-07-2026
- Such a negative climate around Pogacar. From spectators to riders to directors... How does he dare to be so good? He should burn in hell for that! Imagine if people spilled their mud like that when Bolt was crushing everyone or even nowadays when Duplantis wins every contest he appears. Sick society. I would understand if he behaved like monkey after winning a stage. But he is a modest guy who generally doesn't brag and always shows respect towards his competitorsBublubublu16-07-2026
- I must have missed that part too. Regarding signing for Israel Premier-Tech. They took a chance that he would get over his injuries and come back to his best. Very few ever do. That was a gamble that Israel Premier-Tech took a chance on and lostCyclingsbestfan16-07-2026
- Why sad? This is a sport, not a drama movie. And your prediction is about 2x too small ;-) I have always been annoyed by “unwritten rules” like “do not attack in the feed zone” and others - where riders who rely on those unwritten rules complain -> true champions win. There is only one rule again: whoever crosses the finish line first wins!averagecyclist16-07-2026
- of course the years after his crash and lack of success are one thing, but what did i miss? where does the article say anything about froome trying to benefit financially now from his last crash in august 2025?Ketterechts16-07-2026
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"Espero que Gaviria esté bien, estaba haciendo un gran Tour" 🫶 El cariñoso mensaje de Pogacar a su excompañero tras la caída final. #TDF2026 #LaCasadelCiclismo
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