Tadej Pogacar laments 'wasted bullet' as motorbikes thwart attack of Jonas Vingegaard at Tour de France

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) has expressed frustration over a “wasted bullet” as his attack of Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) on the slopes of the Col de Joux Plane was thwarted by a couple of motorbikes. Pogacar threw punches at the Tour de France race leader in the first Alpine stage of the race, as the Slovenian gapped his rival with 5kms to go on the climb only for the Dane to pace himself back. Ad With just over a kilometre to the summit, where eight bonus seconds were on offer, Pogacar jumped off Vingegaard’s wheel and opened up a small gap but had to sit up as his path was blocked by a mass of spectators and two motorbikes.

Tour de FranceHow to watch Stage 15 of the Tour de France as another alpine test awaits14 HOURS AGO Salt was rubbed into Pogacar’s wounds, as Vingegaard countered shortly before the summit to take the eight bonus seconds. On the dash down to Morzine, Pogacar took second place behind stage winner Carlos Rodriguez — with Vingegaard in third — meaning the loss on the day was one second. “It was a wasted bullet after already such big climbs,” Pogacar said.

“To do one sprint for nothing is a bit of a shame, but I don’t think it’s going to change the final outcome. It stayed in the legs, and I couldn’t sprint for the bonus. Okay, I messed it up a little bit.

But it is what is.” Pogacar forgets his team-mates are human — Lloyd How to watch Stage 15 of the Tour de France While the motorbike issue was a talking point and source of frustration, Pogacar demonstrated his strength and he was happy with how the day played out. “I think it was a good day for us. We were really strong, and we tried,” Pogacar said.