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Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) lost ground in the GC lead for the second stage in a row at the Tour de France, which seemed to slightly frustrate the four-time race champion, but the only real scare he suffered in relation to winning a fifth yellow jersey came with a slight wobble and a near-crash.
Minutes after Remco Evenepoel’s Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe teammate Florian Lipowitz crashed out of stage 16 through a 90-degree right-hand bend on the latter flat section of the time trial course, Pogačar found himself in a spot of bother in the very same spot.
The yellow jersey carried a lot of speed into the corner and there were tense moments as he braked to try and scrub it off in time. He managed, but not without a skid, a wobble, and a bit of a fright.
“In the recon there were some cars from the organisation and I could not see that corner like I wanted,” Pogačar said, explaining why he might have been unaware of the speed he needed to carry into the corner.
“I almost crashed also. I hope Lipo is OK, and that he will recover fast. It’s sad to see again one more GC contender out.”
Pogačar explained that he had taken “no risks” on the technical 7km descent that followed the opening, steady 10km climb on the 26.1km course between Evian and Thonon.
“Until top of the climb I gave it my all, but I knew that if I was not in the green at the top of the climb it would be very difficult. I took no risks on the downhill.”
Runner-up to 'legend in the race against the clock'
Losing 28 seconds, Pogačar placed second on the stage behind Evenepoel, for a second stage in a row.
“I had good legs today but he’s just a legend in the race against the clock, I think one of the greatest, no doubt. There’s no shame coming second behind Remco,” he said.
“Obviously I always race to win and today I’m not going to lie really I wanted to make the best of it and try to win. I was really motivated, I had good legs, but at the end of the day he’s the best ever on the TT.
“It gives a bit more fire for the next days, I think, to get another win."
Despite the two successive days of time losses to Evenepoel, Pogačar still holds an overwhelming lead in this race, with 4:32 in hand ahead of the three summit finishes that are to come in the final week.
“You never know what can happen every day. I stay confident, I have good legs, so I’m looking forward to the next days,” he concluded.
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