WALLERS, France (Reuters) – Primoz Roglic was pessimistic about his chances of winning the Tour de France after dislocating his shoulder during the fifth stage on Wednesday.
The Slovenian, runner-up in 2020 who abandoned in the wake of a crash last year, hit the deck at a roundabout and quickly popped his shoulder back in.
“I got up quickly and got back on my bike, but very quickly I realised that I couldn’t go on like that,” he said after losing over two minutes to two-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar, who produced a scintillating display on the cobbles.
“I had to stop and borrow a spectator’s seat to put my shoulder back in place myself. As this has happened to me before, I know what to do, I grab my knee and pull hard.”
While he managed to finish the stage, Roglic was unsure of his condition going forward.
“I don’t know in what shape I will be to continue. For the moment, I don’t think I’ve lost the Tour, I’m not there yet in my head, I’ll try to recover,” he explained.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis)
