The unexpected and dramatic Adios for Tadej Pogačar from the Vuelta a España will take a long time for the remaining participants to assimilate, but the initial reaction at least was one of stunned disbelief, sadness and regret that it had to end this way.

The first show of solidarity that the peloton showed was the way they slowed down completely after news trickled through that Pogačar had crashed, virtually suspending the racing of their own volition in order to give the Vuelta leader a chance to regain contact. 

Even 30 kilometres further on, though, once they had crossed the finish line, many riders were still trying to get a grip on what had happened. In the case of Pogačar’s seven remaining teammates, understandably, they simply headed straight on for the team bus.

Even for riders like stage winner Bryan Coquard (Cofidis), celebrating his first-ever Grand Tour sprint victory at 34 in what was the most unusual of circumstances, the Frenchman recognised that it was all tinged with a sense of sadness and regret.  

“It’s difficult to describe, I’m very happy because it’s my first Grand Tour win and I’ve been waiting for that for 13 years, but I’m very disappointed for Pogi’ too,” Coquard said. “I will remember this day for my victory, but at the same time, I’m very sad for him, all my support to him and I hope he recovers.”

“I know that tomorrow, though, all the news headlines will be about him.”

According to Coquard, even though the road was straight and wide open when Pogačar fell, the speed and the tension because the peloton was approaching the crucial climb of the day made it the kind of situation where accidents were waiting to happen.

“Every time in cycling, now, we want to get in a good position, because it’s a big road, but it was very fast,” he recounted. “I was looking at the left when the crash happened, but as I’m small, I don’t see so much that’s going on in the peloton.”

“But suddenly I saw a bike flying and after a few minutes we heard Pogačar had stopped.”

“We were going not too fast afterwards, but then we heard he’d stopped the Vuelta and things started again.”

“In the town there was a bunch of what do you call them, some bollards in the middle, and then the peloton going left right, everyone’s fighting for the bottom of the climb,” Larry Warbasse (Tudor) told reporters.

“Then there was boom, a big crash on the left. I couldn’t see, but I heard the crash, we heard that Pogacar went down.”

“Everyone slowed down in the bunch, everyone was waiting to hear,  and then you hear – he’s not moving and then a minute or two later – ok, he’s out of the race.”

To call this a game changer for the Vuelta is the biggest of understatements, but as Warbasse said, “to be honest, everybody is a bit sad. There was a kind of heavy feeling in the bunch.”

“That’s kind of funny, because obviously the race is open now, but everybody felt bad because not how you want him to be out of the race.”

“It’s going to totally change the dynamic of the race, so it’s a bit too bad, I think everybody felt a bit sad for him, it’s a sad way to end it. Hopefully he can recover for the Worlds, but I have no idea.”

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The unexpected and dramatic Adios for Tadej Pogačar from the Vuelta a España will take a long time for the remaining participants to assimilate, but the initial reaction at least was one of stunned disbelief, sadness and regret that it had to end this way.

The first show of solidarity that the peloton showed was the way they slowed down completely after news trickled through that Pogačar had crashed, virtually suspending the racing of their own volition in order to give the Vuelta leader a chance to regain contact. 

Even 30 kilometres further on, though, once they had crossed the finish line, many riders were still trying to get a grip on what had happened. In the case of Pogačar’s seven remaining teammates, understandably, they simply headed straight on for the team bus.

Even for riders like stage winner Bryan Coquard (Cofidis), celebrating his first-ever Grand Tour sprint victory at 34 in what was the most unusual of circumstances, the Frenchman recognised that it was all tinged with a sense of sadness and regret.  

“It’s difficult to describe, I’m very happy because it’s my first Grand Tour win and I’ve been waiting for that for 13 years, but I’m very disappointed for Pogi’ too,” Coquard said. “I will remember this day for my victory, but at the same time, I’m very sad for him, all my support to him and I hope he recovers.”

“I know that tomorrow, though, all the news headlines will be about him.”

According to Coquard, even though the road was straight and wide open when Pogačar fell, the speed and the tension because the peloton was approaching the crucial climb of the day made it the kind of situation where accidents were waiting to happen.

“Every time in cycling, now, we want to get in a good position, because it’s a big road, but it was very fast,” he recounted. “I was looking at the left when the crash happened, but as I’m small, I don’t see so much that’s going on in the peloton.”

“But suddenly I saw a bike flying and after a few minutes we heard Pogačar had stopped.”

“We were going not too fast afterwards, but then we heard he’d stopped the Vuelta and things started again.”

“In the town there was a bunch of what do you call them, some bollards in the middle, and then the peloton going left right, everyone’s fighting for the bottom of the climb,” Larry Warbasse (Tudor) told reporters.

“Then there was boom, a big crash on the left. I couldn’t see, but I heard the crash, we heard that Pogacar went down.”

“Everyone slowed down in the bunch, everyone was waiting to hear,  and then you hear – he’s not moving and then a minute or two later – ok, he’s out of the race.”

To call this a game changer for the Vuelta is the biggest of understatements, but as Warbasse said, “to be honest, everybody is a bit sad. There was a kind of heavy feeling in the bunch.”

“That’s kind of funny, because obviously the race is open now, but everybody felt bad because not how you want him to be out of the race.”

“It’s going to totally change the dynamic of the race, so it’s a bit too bad, I think everybody felt a bit sad for him, it’s a sad way to end it. Hopefully he can recover for the Worlds, but I have no idea.”

For unbeatable coverage across road, gravel and tech, subscribe to Cyclingnews. You’ll get comprehensive race coverage of La Vuelta a España, subscriber-exclusive analysis from our expert columnists, in-depth features and industry-leading tech insight. Plus, the Cyclingnews app lets you follow the action wherever you go! Join today.