Pogacar balks at "wasted effort" during mountain sprint, Vingegaard asserts incident impacted the race

Tadej Pogacar lost one second to his rival Jonas Vingegaard during the first Alpine stage of the Tour de France, while the Slovenian was in fact aiming to make up time through the intermediate sprint bonuses. However, things went wrong on the very first sprint, located at the top of the Joux Plane.

In the final kilometers of the Joux Plane, Pogacar was leading the way with Vingegaard. When the UAE Team Emirates rider attempted to launch his sprint for the top seconds, he was obstructed by two motorcycles. Things then went from bad to worse for Pogacar, as Vingegaard went on to win the mountain sprint.

"It's a lost bullet after such tough climbs," Pogacar expressed his frustration to several media outlets after the race. "I believe my initial sprint was in vain, which is unfortunate. But I don't think it would have changed the outcome."

Vingegaard saw Pogacar launch strong attack

"I still felt the effects of that wasted effort in my legs, as I couldn't sprint for the bonus seconds. I messed that up. But it is what it is," concludes Pogacar. The rider did manage to beat Vingegaard at the finish line, but after adding up the different bonus seconds, the advantage went to the yellow jersey rider, who now leads Pogacar by ten seconds after fourteen stages.

Vingegaard was also asked about the incident, including by NOS. "The motorcycles were very close, perhaps too close. Did it influence the race? Well, he wanted to attack and couldn't, so yes," says the Danish rider, who had previously neutralized Pogacar's earlier attack all on his own. "It's a great battle, and we are both super strong. He launched a strong attack, and I quickly realized that I couldn't follow him. I decided to ride at my own pace, and fortunately, I managed to catch up."