TOULOUSE, France — 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 Wednesday.
Pogačar, the three-time champion, crashed with 2.4 miles remaining. His rivals for the general classification slowed down so he could get back on his bike and rejoin them. Pogačar, who was able to reattach the chain on his otherwise undamaged bike, thanked them for waiting.
“All good, all good,” Pogačar said over the UAE Team Emirates XRG radio. “Respect to the peloton, respect to everybody.”
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.
Abrahamsen wasn’t sure he’d even be racing at the 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 not riding Tour de France,” the 29-year-old Abrahamsen said. “But the day after I was on the home trainer and hope I can go to Tour de France and every day I did everything I could to come back and here I’m standing in Tour de France, to win a stage is amazing.”
Van der Poel dropped his head and slouched on his bike as he finished 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 97.4-mile 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 struck about a mile and a half into the race 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.”