The Norwegian cyclist Tobias Halland Johannessen received several online hate messages on Wednesday after causing Tadej Pogacar to crash in the Tour de France. He has apologized for the incident. Pogacar has stood up for him.
“I am extremely sorry for what happened to Tadej,” Johannessen writes on X. “I wanted to follow a movement in the group, but I got too close.”
Johannessen was part of a group of favorites in the final of the eleventh stage. The 25-year-old rider from Uno-X Mobility suddenly steered to the right, causing Pogacar to fall.
“I thought everyone would go to the right, but I made a mistake and want to apologize again. I hope Tadej is doing as well as possible.”
Pogacar quickly got up, put his chain back on, and rejoined his rivals for the overall victory. The damage to the Slovenian was minimal: he only had some abrasions.
“I would like to do it again and differently, but that’s not possible,” Johannessen said. “It’s annoying, but I don’t wish anyone the number of threats I’m receiving now.”
“I’m terribly sorry, but I’m also very scared by the hatred of all these people. That feels very frightening.”
Pogacar later stood up for Johannessen. “It was a race incident, so it’s good. Stop that shit,” Pogacar said in a video on X.