Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) crashed for a second day in a row at the Tour de France, this time on stage 12, well outside any ‘sprint zone’ safety net on the race into Villeneuve-sur-Lot.
Roglič crossed the finish line 2:27 behind the peloton and has dropped from fourth to sixth in the overall classification, now at 4:42 behind yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates).
As the peloton came around a sweeping left-hand turn with 12.2km to go, Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan) hit a low concrete median in the road and ricochetted to his right, hitting several riders.
Roglič was one of about half a dozen riders in the middle of the peloton who could not avoid the Astana rider. Also in the crash was World Champion Mathieu van der Poel, which left the Alpecin-Deceuninck team without their star lead-out man for Jasper Philipsen.
Roglič was sitting in fourth overall in GC at the start of the stage, just 2:15 behind Pogačar. He was up quickly and escorted by Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe teammates back to the peloton, but he was well over a minute down.
Evidence of his crash was evident with a torn jersey, damage to his helmet and glasses, and road rash on his right shoulder.
"I haven’t got on the bus but it obviously would have been better if it hadn’t happened," said Enrico Gasparotto, sports director for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, as he pulled into the finish area in a team car. "We’ll have him assessed and then we’ll see. I haven’t spoken with him yet, we’ll take stock of the situation and figure out if it’s serious or not."
As other riders remounted bikes and tried to catch back to a fast-moving peloton, now hitting stride with the flat finish into Villeneuve-sur-Lot, Lutsenko was the last rider to regain his footing as a Tour medical vehicle stopped to assist.
Roglič was quickly surrounded by his Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe teammates as they paced him into the finish, trying to salvage as much time as possible. He crossed the line in 120th place at 2:27 behind stage winner Binam Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty).
Roglič is now in sixth place in the overall classification, now 4:42 behind overall leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates).
