🎥 Roglic saved by the bell: Slovenian falls in finale, but loses no time to Evenepoel

Primoz Roglic seemed to be the major casualty among the 'Big Four' in the finale of the eleventh stage to Le Lioran in the Tour de France. In the absolute finale of the stage, the Slovenian crashed during a descent, forcing him to settle for fourth place and resulting in a time loss to Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel. However, the race organizers eventually came to the aid of the BORA-hansgrohe leader.

Despite being exhausted, Roglic showed improvement on day eleven compared to the first week of the Tour. He boldly held Vingegaard's wheel when the Dane was riding at full speed towards Pogacar on the penultimate climb. After dropping back and watching his former teammate ride off, he caught up with Evenepoel, who had been dropped even earlier.

Half a minute behind Vingegaard and Pogacar, Evenepoel and Roglic seemed to be riding towards the finish together, until the Slovenian suddenly slipped in the final section of the descent. After the fall, we saw Roglic briefly stand around by the roadside, before determinedly riding the last kilometer. He lost almost a minute to the two leading riders and half a minute to Evenepoel.

Roglic is okay after the fall – and loses no time in the GC

In an official statement, the Tour organization eventually came to his aid. "Primoz Roglic will receive the same time as Remco Evenepoel at the finish. However, he will retain his ranking in the stage," it said. The three-kilometer rule was applied by the jury, although footage clearly showed that the crash was entirely Roglic's fault.

Evenepoel, who seemed to gain time due to Roglic's crash, told Sporza he had no problem with the Slovenian being awarded the same time. "Those rules are part of racing, no problem. Not all of his turns up front were wholehearted. I think he was at his limit." At Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, Rolf Aldag briefly commented: "Primoz is okay, he just lost some skin. It's a shame because you don't want to crash. He wanted to fight for that third place with Remco and the bonus seconds. But it is what it is."

Video: Roglic crashes in Tour de France