VIDEO | The moment Tadej Pogacar almost crashed during hectic stage 17 moment at Tour de France
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar may have seen his 2026 Tour de France dreams flash right before his eyes on Wednesday. A new video has emerged of a crash that took place early in stage 17's breakaway day to Voiron as it appears that the yellow jersey came close to being involved and potentially hitting the deck.
Early in the stage, carmeras cut to a crash on the right side of the road as several riders were caught up including Fred Wright, Tom Pidcock and Dylan van Baarle among others. All riders picked themselves up and were able to continue and re-join the peloton.
Viewers quickly saw that no other general classification riders had been involved, but a new video has emerged that showed just how close the coming together came to re-shaping the Tour de France.
In the video, the peloton is seeing racing by before Wright and others crashed for an unknown reason. With Pogacar to his left, Wright falls towards his right side, enabling the Slovenian to get out of harm's way as several riders took a tumble behind.
The incident captured a 'lucky' escape for the Slovenian, who leads the general classification by 4:32 with just four stages remaining of La Grand Boucle. With Jonas Vingegaard crashing out on Sunday's stage 15, the GC leaders will have to be on high alert over the next few days in their bid to make it to Paris.
Tadej Pogačar narrowly escaped the crash today… I totally missed it. 😬
— Lukáš Ronald Lukács (@lucxsronald) July 22, 2026
Captured by amycoquillahowe pic.twitter.com/cQjjFhxMI5
Yates suffers day to forget with illness
Meanwhile, Pogacar's teammate Adam Yates was suffering from illness and finished 26:36 down on winner Jasper Philipsen.
UAE sent Tim Wellens back to help the climber pace the final period of the stage as Tadej Pogacar and Isaac del Toro remained in the peloton. Yates, however, looked to struggle through to the finish line.
In the aftermath, Pogacar and his team echoed their support for Yates as it was revealed that he had been vomiting the day before the stage and suffering physically. However, he had recovered slightly before the stage.
“Adam struggled like crazy yesterday, but he looked much better this morning. It was just such a tough stage, even for fit riders," Pogacar said after the stage.
"When Adam fell behind, we decided to have Tim wait for him and ride him to the finish. There’s a chance he’ll recover from this and be in good shape on Friday and Saturday.”
He added: “I could have a day like Adam did today. Every little detail can affect you and turn things around, so it’s nice to be in the lead, but everything can change.”
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- I think Jonas would have lost the TDF by 4+ minutes (at the least) and might not have even been in the top 3. Too much talent in the younger riders to say anyone not named Pogačar would have been top 3md197503-11-2026
- this is just stupid. you already have 23%, gravel is over the topabstractengineer03-11-2026
- There was once a time when Lance was supremely popular and he used his artificial "It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life" persona to lead his mob in going after Greg. There was no one Lance did not abuse in protecting his phony hero image. Lance promoted himself as a divine megastar and he let down millions of cancer victims and gullible devotees who clung far too long to the charade. Lance is the epitome of a corrupt person and because of his power, many around him, including business enterprises, succumbed to the evil. All who got in Armstrong's way were mercilessly attacked by him and his minions. This remarkably continues today with a new generation. LeMond was a number one enemy and paid a huge price. Who do you think slandered who?Yepperoni03-11-2026
- You despise him because he calls out the truth....OK clown !frieders303-11-2026
- JV is really slighting himself with not doing the 1 dayers.. 🤷
leedorney02-11-2026 - Watch the interview on youtube. I don't speak French. I do speak English and Spanish and you can hear it in his voice. Years ago LeMond had real personal problems I imagine in no small part because of Armstrong. then Armstrong goes round "full blast" re: LeMond having drinking and drug problems. The same way Andreu was expelled from mainstream cycling so was LeMond. On the positive side the clips of the ride and chatting with old teammates and was good. To seemed like a fun day and experience and good reason brush up his French.atom02-11-2026
- and another no-news article around the ‚2 tokyo jogging rounds‘ headline, this time spiced with some days old ‚news‘ that the LA and japan vacation trips come during or after the tdf route release. i am getting more and more annoyed by this time-stealing no-news crap. but who am i to complain? nobody forces me to come back for more ‚news‘ day after day …Ketterechts02-11-2026
- It would likely be a very steep section of 4.1 km, not changing the average gradient considerably, with the climb remaining 10.1 km at 11.8%. It would reach 20% on the gravel. It would start 1.6 km in, and finish with 4.2 km left to climb (before the short final descent)
Rafionain-Glas02-11-2026 - Welcome to the off-season.
santiagobenites02-11-2026 - guillaume martin in this list is quite a surprise as a gc rider.Ketterechts02-11-2026
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