"Stop, stop, stop," shouted Evenepoel when Pogacar crashed, Vingegaard and Healy also played role in neutralizing the final

“Stop, stop, stop,” Evenepoel reportedly shouted when it became clear Pogacar had hit the ground. His teammate Ilan Van Wilder explained what happened from within the group at Sporza: “I had so much coming through my earpiece that I couldn’t make anything out. I hadn’t seen the crash myself. I honestly didn’t know Tadej had fallen, but Remco yelled, ‘Stop, stop, stop!’ Everyone stopped, but I had no idea why.”

Van Wilder only found out what had happened after crossing the finish line. “It was only at the finish that I saw he had injuries. I was completely caught off guard. I didn’t really understand why we had neutralized the race.” When he learned about the bizarre incident, where Pogacar was slightly cut off by Tobias Halland Johannessen, it all made sense. “I think that’s important. I hope others would do the same if the roles were reversed someday.”

Soudal-Quick Step sports director Tom Steels was pleased to see his team leader Evenepoel call for the race to stop. "It wasn’t the right moment to race, so we didn’t," said the Belgian. "There was a bit of miscommunication, but in a moment like that, you don’t attack. That wouldn’t be fair. You just don’t do that. Riders should never do that. The battle should always be fought fairly." He added to French media: "I hope Pogacar is okay."

Vingegaard seemed to share that sentiment. The Dane nodded approvingly as everyone agreed it was right to wait for his main rival. "When something like that happens, it's just bad luck. It’s not like he misjudged a corner or anything, he just hit someone’s wheel. So yes, I think it was the right call to wait."

Healy, who took over the yellow jersey from Pogacar on stage 10 just before the first rest day, also played a prominent role in the most sporting gesture of the day. "The big question was whether anyone would try to gain an advantage, since no more time gaps were going to be made. Do you really want to do something like that, and how would you want others to react if it happened to you? He’ll already be suffering enough from the crash itself, if you see how scraped up he was," the race leader told ITV.

Jonathan Vaughters confirmed to Cyclingnews that his rider played a role in halting the finale. "That shows what kind of guy he is. He rode to the front and told everyone to stop, because pushing on made no sense. And I agree with that. I’m proud of Ben’s decision. He doesn’t want to benefit from someone else’s misfortune. I’m glad he was able to convince the others. I wasn’t sure they’d listen to him, but they did."