CYCLING – Defending champion Tadej Pogacar suffered a crash on the 11th stage of the Tour de France yesterday, moments before a protester disrupted the sprint finish where Norway’s Jonas Abrahamsen claimed his first Tour stage victory.
Slovenian Pogacar went down about five kilometres from the line after touching wheels with another rider but quickly remounted and the peloton eased off to allow the overall race favourite to rejoin.
Team doctor Adrian Rotunno said Pogacar had been cleared to continue the race.
Ireland’s Ben Healy, who retained the overall leader’s yellow jersey, explained that he had a brief chat with two-time Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard, seen as Pogacar’s main rival for the title, and both agreed they should wait for the Slovenian.
As the stage reached its dramatic conclusion, a protester wearing a T-shirt reading “Israel out of the Tour” and waving a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf ran onto the final straight, less than 25 metres from the line.
He was swiftly tackled by a security officer as Abrahamsen edged out Swiss national champion Mauro Schmid in a two-man sprint for the win.
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