A scare in the Tour de France

Tadej Pogacar, the top favorite in the Tour de France, crashed yesterday near the finish line of the eleventh stage, which was won by Norwegian Jonas Abrahamsen after a long breakaway.

Pogacar, a three-time champion of the French Tour, crashed with 3.9 kilometers remaining after colliding with the wheel of Tobias Johannessen, who was riding in front. His rivals for the general classification slowed down so the Slovenian could get back on his bike and join them.

Pogacar, who was able to put the chain back on his bike, which suffered no further damage, thanked them for waiting.

“All good, all good,” Pogacar said on UAE Team Emirates XRG radio. “My respect to the peloton, my respect to everyone.”

Johannessen apologized as he felt responsible.

“I think the whole peloton moved to the right, and I just followed the movement of Matteo Jorgenson and some other guys. I think Pogacar was on the radio, so we just bumped into each other, and I think that's what happens,” Johannessen commented. “But I really didn't want him to crash, and I don't think any of the other guys in the peloton want Pogacar to crash. We just stopped and waited in the group right away, and I hope he's okay.”

Abrahamsen, who attacked from the start, defeated Swiss rider Mauro Schmid in a photo-perfect sprint finish. It was the Norwegian's first stage win at the Tour and the first in this race for his team, Uno-X Mobility.

A pro-Palestinian protester didn't distract any of the riders in the sprint to the finish, racing each other at the finish after working together to stay ahead of Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel's late push to catch them.

Abrahamsen wasn't sure he'd even compete in this Tour when he broke his collarbone in a crash at the Tour of Belgium last month.

“I was crying in the hospital because I thought I was missing the Tour de France,” said Abrahamsen, 29. “But the next day I was on the trainer at home hoping I could go to the Tour de France, and every day I did everything I could to get back, and here I am at the Tour de France. Winning a stage is incredible.”

Van der Poel finished third, seven seconds behind. The general classification group, which included Pogacar and yellow jersey wearer Ben Healy, finished 3'28" behind.

Healy, only the fourth Irishman to wear the yellow jersey, still leads Pogacar by 29 seconds.

After the first rest day on Tuesday, Wednesday's stage was a 156.8-kilometer circuit from Toulouse back to the "Pink City" of the south, overlooking the Pyrenees. It was expected to favor the sprinters, although there was a tricky finish with a 20% gradient on the Cote de Pech David before the finish.

Abrahamsen attacked with 155 kilometers remaining and was joined by Schmid and Davide Ballerini, prompting persistent attacks from riders such as Van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Victor Campenaerts.

Ultimately, all their efforts were in vain.— AP