Pogacar points finger at Johannessen, but he has a different explanation for strange crash: "He was talking on the radio"

Pogacar hit the deck at a moment when there really wasn’t much race stress anymore. The group of favorites had been thinned out by attacks from Visma | Lease a Bike on a final climb, but after the descent, the GC contenders were cruising calmly toward the finish. The early breakaway was fighting for the stage win. The peloton, essentially, was not really racing hard at this point.

Pogacar clipped the rear wheel of Johannessen when the Norwegian moved slightly to the right. The world champion slid across the tarmac but fortunately didn’t suffer major damage. “I noticed the whole group moving to the right, and I saw Pogacar was talking on the radio. I spoke with him afterward and he said it was just a racing incident. I hope he’s okay,” Johannessen explained.

After some help with his chain, Pogacar rejoined the group quickly, because the GC group decided to wait for the star rider. “We immediately stopped riding when we heard he had crashed. The whole group did, actually, once we realized it was him,” said Johannessen. “You don’t want the Tour to be decided with someone on the ground. Especially when there’s nothing left to race for.”

“That’s how it should be,” Johannessen smiled. He didn’t seem to feel particularly guilty about the incident. “I don’t think it was my fault. I was just following the group. Nobody wants him to crash, and it definitely wasn’t my intention.” Later, the Norwegian did also issue an apology via social media: “I am terribly sorry for what happend to @TamauPogi. I was trying to follow a move and I can see that I was to close.”

"I thought everyone would move to the right, but I made a mistake and would like to say sorry again. I hope he is as good as he can be after a crash like that," Johannessen continued. "I would of course like to do it again and do it differently, but I can’t. That feels shit, but I would not wish anyone the amount of threats I get in my inbox. I am terribly sorry but also terrified of the hate from all these people. This feels very scary."

Pogacar himself responded to Johannessen’s message and offered him support. “Hey man, no stress, everything’s fine. I hope you’re not getting too much shit. Please stop with that, people. It was a race incident, and we keep fighting.”