Pogačar crashes and Abrahamsen wins stage in Tour de France

Hamilton Spectator

4 days ago

TOULOUSE, France (AP) — Norwegian rider Jonas Abrahamsen attacked from the start and won the 11th stage of the Tour de France while race favorite Tadej Pogačar crashed near the finish on Wednesday.
Pogačar, the three-time champion, crashed with 3.9 kilometers remaining. His rivals for the general classification slowed down so he could get back on his bike and rejoin them. Fortunately, he was able to reattach his chain and his bike was otherwise undamaged.
Abrahamsen beat Swiss rider Mauro Schmid in a photo finish in a final sprint after Belgian-born Dutch rider Mathieu van der Poel made a late push to catch them. It was the Norwegian rider's first stage win at the Tour and the first in this race for his team, Uno-X Mobility.
Van der Poel was 7 seconds behind in third, while the GC group including Pogačar and yellow jersey-holder Ben Healy finished 3:28 back.
Healy, only the
fourth Irish rider ever to hold the yellow jersey
, still leads by 29 seconds from Pogačar.
After the first rest day on Tuesday, Wednesday's stage was a 156.8-kilometre loop from Toulouse back to the southern 'Pink City' with views of the Pyrenees. It was expected to suit the sprinters, though there was a sting in the tail with a 20% incline on the Côte de Pech David before the finish.
Abrahamsen attacked with 155 kilometers to go and was joined by Schmid and Davide Ballerini, prompting persistent attacks from the likes of Van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Victor Campenaerts. Ultimately all their efforts were in vain.
'It's a crazy stage, guys,' the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale team riders were told over their radios, 'A crazy stage. Stay focused.'
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