SerpApi.Org
Fresh video reveals just how close Tadej Pogačar came to catastrophe before somehow producing a jaw-dropping save in Tuesday’s Tour de France time trial.
Roadside fans captured front-view images showing Pogačar hurtling into the high-speed right-hand corner that put Florian Lipowitz on the ground and out of the race with a broken clavicle.
The footage shows Pogačar entering the corner slightly off the ideal line before clipping a small pebble that kicks his rear wheel off the pavement.
In one split-second save, he feathers the brakes and threads his front wheel just inches from the concrete curb before regaining control.
Another inch or two, and the Tour might have had a very different ending.
A crash at that speed would have cost him minutes or even ended his Tour outright. Instead, Pogačar escaped unscathed and carries a commanding overall lead into the race’s final five stages.
After the finish, a relieved Pogačar admitted the corner nearly caught him out.
“Then in one corner where Lipowitz crashed, in the recon there were some cars from the organisation so I didn’t see that corner like I wanted,” Pogačar said. “I almost crashed also, so I hope Lipowitz is ok and he will recover quickly. It is sad again to see one more GC contender out.”
Stage-winner Remco Evenepoel, who won the stage and solidified his grip on second place, said he had exactly the same scare.
“I had the same. There was an organization car or police car on the left, so we couldn’t properly take this corner [during training],” Evenepoel said. “When you arrive in the race, the speed is completely different.”
It was proof, again, of two things: how the Tour can turn in an instant, and just how absurdly good Pogačar is on a bike.
Just last week Pogačar said he barely avoided a bouncing bidón while riding at around 60kph.
Going into Wednesday’s stage 17, he insisted the Tour remains far from over despite a solid lead on yellow.
“We still have quite a week ahead of us,” Pogačar said. “I have a nice gap on my rivals, but you never know what may happen on a particular day. We now have to go with good confidence and morale into the weekend.”
