Motorbikes that foiled Tadej Pogačar attack thrown off Tour de France for one day, as UAE Team Emirates blast “unacceptable” lack of distance from riders

Two race motorbikes which blocked the road at the top of the Col de Joux Plane, stalling an attack from Tadej Pogačar, have been excluded from tomorrow’s stage of the Tour de France by the race jury.

According to the jury’s decision, one France Télévisions motorbike and a photography motorbike belonging to L'Équipe have been fined 500 Swiss Francs and will not be able to take part in tomorrow’s stage 15 to Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc following the incident, which took place just as the two-time Tour winner began to launch his sprint for the bonus seconds atop the HC-classified final climb.

Pogačar, who had briefly distanced yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard on the Joux Plane before being caught by the Dane towards the summit, was abruptly stopped in his tracks by the two race motos, whose riders struggled to negotiate both the encroaching crowds and the speed of the attacking Slovenian.

pic.twitter.com/gRDlQqcpcD

— Kyle Merber⏱️ (@TheRealMerb) July 15, 2023

The controversial incident may yet prove a decisive one in the context of this year’s Tour. With Pogačar’s long range sprint foiled, Vingegaard was able to launch his counterattack from behind – catching out the seemingly unsettled UAE Team Emirates rider – and nab three additional bonus seconds over his rival, seconds which could prove crucial in this tightest and most delicately poised of Tours.

That twist of fate hasn’t been lost on UAE Team Emirates manager Joxean Fernández Matxín, who criticised the “unacceptable” actions of the race motorbike riders after the stage.

“It’s circumstances [that can happen but] the rules from the UCI are that the car has to be 25 metres ahead. Being two metres in front is unacceptable,” he said.

“In this moment there were a lot of public and many times the motor protects the rider but from a distance… but this is cycling, this is life, we continue with the same ambition tomorrow.”

Motorbikes have always influenced the race, and today, they stole seconds....

— Adam Hansen (@HansenAdam) July 15, 2023

Pogačar, similarly, was equal parts disappointed and philosophical about the events on top of the Joux Plane.

“I was blocked by a motorbike, which was also blocked. It’s a shame, I think my first sprint was for nothing,” he said after the finish. “That’s a pity. But it wouldn’t have changed the outcome I don’t think.

“I still felt that I lost effort in my legs because I could no longer sprint for the bonus. I screwed that up. But it is what it is.”

Explaining the circumstances behind the controversial incident, the photographer involved, who will now be excluded from stage 15, told Reuters: “I told my driver to accelerate when Pogačar attacked, but he could not as there were fans in front. We should have gone away before and forgotten about the picture.”

(A.S.O./Charly Lopez)

The cat-and-mouse game over the top of the Joux Plane between the two big favourites for this year’s Tour allowed Pogačar’s teammate Adam Yates and the Ineos Grenadiers’ Carlos Rodríguez to regain contact, though they too were briefly held up as the race motorbikes struggled to navigate their way past the exuberant crowds on the climb’s plateau.

No sanctions have been made by the race jury concerning that particular incident, however.

> Tour de France stage 14: Race neutralised after mass crash in opening kilometres, as Carlos Rodríguez wins dramatic stage in Alps

Interfering motorbikes didn’t seem to be a problem for Rodríguez on the descent of the Joux Plane, luckily, as the precocious 22-year-old plummeted into Morzine to take the biggest win of his career, usurping Jai Hindley on the overall podium in the process.

(A.S.O./Pauline Ballet)

Things weren’t so smooth sailing for the Spaniard’s teammate Tom Pidcock, who dropped out of the top ten and down to 12th overall after a rough day in the Alps. And, according to ITV’s Dan Deakins, the British rider wasn’t too happy about the lack of moto assistance he received – compared to the front group – on the descent of the Col de la Ramaz and the valley road to the Joux Plane.

"How did you manage the descent off Ramaz and the valley?"

Pidcock: " Well, I didn't have any motos in front of me, did I"

— Dan Deakins (@DanDeakins) July 15, 2023

Well you can’t have it both ways, I suppose…