Tour de France stage 7 didn’t pass without an incident. Race cameras caught a glimpse of a strange moment when Tadej Pogacar gave Matteo Jorgenson a push through the feed zone, seemingly causing the Visma | Lease a Bike rider to lose his bidon. The UAE Team Emirates – XRG also rode away empty-handed, but later went on to win the stage and re-take his yellow jersey.
“We were riding in a line at the feed zone. I indicated my intention to grab a water bottle from my caregiver. He was twenty meters behind the Visma | Lease a Bike rider. Jorgenson decided to pass on the right because he wanted to take a water bottle. I had no choice but to give him a push,” Pogacar told ITV before stage 8.
“I don’t know what their intention is. They do this often. They’ll ride ahead of you in the feed zone as if they’re the only ones who need water bottles. Sometimes you have to be patient and stay on the wheel. You have to show everyone respect,” he expressed his frustration with the actions of the Dutch team.
This is not the first time Pogacar had some choice words on the account of the team of his rival Jonas Vingegaard. After sixth stage, the one where Tadej Pogacar eventually gave up yellow jersey to Mathieu van der Poel by a single second, the world champion was flabbergasted by the Dutch team’s effort to make the race unnecessarily hard in order to force Pogacar’s team to work as a team defending yellow jersey in coming stages.