Relegated Van Poppel heavily criticized, but Pogacar supports him: "Rules are a joke and not correct"

Van Poppel came from behind and launched his sprint early. Brennan was on his wheel. When the Dutchman pulled alongside Søren Waerenskjold, a gap seemed to open for the Brit. But Van Poppel shut the door: Brennan barely stayed upright but saw his sprint ruined. Van Poppel celebrated, but after the finish, he was relegated.

Waerenskjold was declared the winner. The Norwegian felt the jury made the right call. “He was the strongest. But he didn’t hold his line. If he had, he probably would have won too,” the Norwegian judged afterward. Most viewers seemed to side with the Uno-X Mobility rider: what Van Poppel did was unacceptable, and relegation was the only option.

Thijs Zonneveld also agreed. The former rider and current sporting director of BEAT Cycling even spotted another infringement in the final kilometer... by the organizers. “Rightful yellow card and relegation for Van Poppel,” the analyst said. “But once again, the organizers get away with including a corner 200 meters from the finish.”

One fan nicknamed the Dutchman “Djamolidine” Van Poppel, a reference to Djamolidine Abdoujaparov: the Uzbek sprinter who won nine Tour de France stages and three green jerseys in the ’90s. Abdoujaparov was infamous for his wild sprinting style, often involving elbows and swerves.

Tadej Pogacar, however, saw things very differently. The Slovenian world champion was one of the few to defend Van Poppel. On Instagram, he made his displeasure crystal clear. “The clear winner of today’s stage. These relegations are a joke and not correct. Job done poorly,” fumed the two-time Tour winner. “Like so many times this year. Congrats Danny, you won.”