Primoz Roglic withdrew from the race ahead of stage 13 on Friday, a day after his second crash in as many stages of the Tour de France.
His Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team confirmed that Roglic had withdrawn from the Tour de France ahead of the anticipated sprint stage to Pau, with the Pyrenees approaching at the weekend.
“He had two accidents and the impact on his body was too great to continue the race,” said Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team principal Rolf Aldag.
“We can rule out concussion and fractures, but he has suffered a massive impact from two incidents in a row, and that doesn’t make us think it’s right for him to continue playing.”
“We as a team feel very sorry for him. He said goodbye to the team on the team bus this morning. He wished everyone well and thanked everyone for their support, both riders and staff.”
Roglic, who was fourth overall before stage 12 by 2:15, was one of several riders to fall to the ground 12.2 kilometres into Thursday’s race to Villeneuve-sur-Lot. He crossed the finish line wearing a torn jersey and 2:27 behind the pack and ended the day sixth overall, 4:42 behind race leader Tadej Pogacar.
Before the accident, Aldag said the team was optimistic about the upcoming stages in the Pyrenees.
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“I think stage 11 was the stage that made us really optimistic about the mountain days ahead. We saw in that stage Primoš with self-confidence, extreme fighting spirit and a very positive attitude, with a team that believed in him and I think that was a very good stage for us.
“We approached the other stages very carefully. Everyone saw that we just wanted to get through them. So when we were about to start the Tour, and ready to go, the Tour was unfortunately over for Primoz.”
The news of Roglic’s withdrawal now leaves the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe team with six riders for the rest of the Tour, having already lost Alexander Vlasov to a broken ankle after a crash on stage 10.
The team’s best rider in the general classification now is Jay Hindley, who is 18th overall with a time of 19:25.
Aldag said the remaining team in the Tour de France will need to find new goals.
“We have six world-class riders here and there is still a lot to do, the Tour will not be over before Nice. Today is a chance to get going. Tomorrow is a mountain stage, which may not be controlled all the time.
“So we have to reset things, out of respect for the race, out of respect for all these guys, who have spent 10 weeks away from home in high altitude camps and preparing. You can’t give up and set your goals.”
His team have yet to confirm Roglic’s future plans, although the Slovenian is likely to now turn his focus to the Vuelta a Espana and attempt to equal a record-equalling fourth title in a race he won three times between 2019 and 2021.
Roglic’s withdrawal from the 2024 Tour means he has not completed any of the last three races he has entered and has finished just three of the last seven Grands Prix he has entered.
The 34-year-old rider left the 2021 and 2022 Tour de France after fighting for the title for several days after crashes in the first week, while in the 2022 Tour de France, he was forced out of the race from second place after a crash just four days before Madrid.
“I think he’s really unlucky, but the impressive thing about him is that he always fights,” Aldag said.
“The Primosh I saw from my side, who people are starting to recognize, is a very strong fighter.
“If you think about his early career as a ski jumper, he changed his sport, he moved to another sport and he’s still world class and he’s achieving, he’s doing things that only a few riders in history have achieved.”