Did Jonas Vingegaard's shock Tour de France exit change Tadej Pogacar's tactics on Stage 15? Experts debate 'utterly unique' finale

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TNT Sports' panel of cycling experts said Stage 15 of the Tour de France was there to be won by Tadej Pogacar, and felt the UAE Team Emirates-XRG star refrained from taking victory following the crash, and subsequent race abandonment, of his rival Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike).

'He looked deflated' - Breakaway panel discusses impact of Vingegaard crash on Pogacar

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UAE were in a strong position in the final kilometre as a reserved Pogacar appeared to drop his pace and lead out his team-mate, Isaac Del Toro, rather than dropping him for the stage victory.

However, Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) stole a march on the pair to take his first road stage victory at the Tour.

It was a fittingly dramatic finale to follow an incident-packed final stretch of Sunday's race. Vingegaard - who was second in the general classification before the race - suffered a nasty crash around 21km from the finish line, going down first in a multi-rider collision which included Del Toro.

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Vingegaard was taken to hospital in an ambulance, with his right arm in a sling - prematurely ending his Tour.

TNT Sports expert Robbie McEwen said he noticed a change in Pogacar's demeanour after his Danish rival had crashed, and felt it contributed to a half-baked final sprint.

"It was a funny sort of day," McEwen said. "It seemed to start out with UAE and Tadej Pogacar happy for the breakaway to go, have success, not chase them down, and other teams were doing that.

Watch: Evenepoel 'beats Pogacar at his own game' to snatch historic Stage 15 victory

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"He seemed to be taking a backseat all day long, and the moment Jonas crashed out, he seemed a bit deflated, and was focused on trying to help his own team-mate.

"He still wanted success within the team, but he seemed like he didn't want it so much for himself, given the circumstances of the day.

"So he just went to the front, rode everyone else out the wheel, and I guess the plan was to rise everyone else out of the wheel except Del Toro, but Evenepoel was still there."

Fellow panellist Adam Blythe noted a similar lack of desire from Pogacar for the stage victory.

"There was a point where Tadej checked over his shoulder and said [to Del Toro]: 'Is the pace okay?'" Blythe said. "And then putting his head down, he never once accelerated.

"He was on the radio that much today. I think he was in communication with the team car, saying: 'I don't want it today.'

"It might be because of the Jonas crash. Pogacar has said himself in interviews that this moment isn't going to last, I need to take it with both hands. He didn't get out his saddle in the last 100 metres."

Matt Stephens felt "something was lacking" from the four-time Tour champion, and even suggested he would have come under criticism for winning another stage of the Grand Tour - having already accumulated four victories, establishing a dominant position in the race for the title.

Highlights: Evenepoel pips Pogacar for historic stage win as Vingegaard abandons

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"There's no other sport like it," Stephens said. "You've got the best rider in the world, being nearly the best rider in the world, and holding it on this line.

"Let's be honest, he could have ridden away from both those riders, we know that. But he had to feather it.

"We saw even Del Toro struggling on the wheels. He's riding to make sure that Del Toro can stay and offer up an opportunity to outsprint Remco, and as you say, for the reasons we talked about, Jonas being out the race, how does he finish it off?

"I think he would have got massively criticised for winning another stage. He could if he wanted to, but something was lacking, and I think we know the reason why, in his heart.

"You don't get anything else in sport like this, this is utterly unique to cycling, this balancing act of 'what do I do? I've offered it up.'"

Stephens added: "Although Jonas is now out of the race, his presence on the race showed at the end of that stage. That just shows how he will be missed, and the impact of his loss. That did affect the shape of the end of that race, and he's not even in it."

'A sad sight' - Vingegaard abandons Tour after nasty Stage 15 crash

Video credit: TNT Sports

Vingegaard's abandonment meant Pogacar tightened his grip even further on the GC, and with other factors at play - such as Del Toro's hopes of winning the white jersey - McEwen suggested Pogacar could be finding other ways to influence races.

"Is this Pogacar's next challenge?" McEwen questioned. "'I know I can win, can I do other things in the race to influence it? Can I win in a different way, for somebody else?'

"It seems the challenge of winning for himself is a bit too simple for him."

The Tour continues on Tuesday with an ITT stage, as the prestigious Grand Tour enters its final week.

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