Tadej Pogacar makes Tour de France statement as Simon Clarke wins stage

Tadej Pogacar made a major statement in his bid for a third straight Tour de France title as his main rival Primoz Roglic suffered the full effects of ‘the hell of the north’ and had to fix his own dislocated shoulder on a chaotic day on the cobbles around Roubaix.

Simon Clarke claimed Israel-PremierTech’s first Tour stage victory from a breakaway but Pogacar was the big winner on the frantic stage between Lille and Arenberg, taking advantage of injury and incident for his main rivals to gain time, his late attack another display of supreme power and confidence.

Geraint Thomas was among dozens of riders to crash but Roglic was the biggest loser, taken out not by a cobble but an errant hay bale on a roundabout. The Slovenian put his first-aid skills to use as he popped his own shoulder back into place.