As Mark Cavendish (Astana-Qazaqstan) was barrelling toward his record 35th Tour de France stage win, behind him Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) had suddenly hit the deck leaving Axel Zingle (Cofidis) – who was just tailing off after leading out teammate Bryan Coquard – with a quick decision to make as he headed toward the line in Saint Vulbas.
“It happened very quickly. I had finished my job for Bryan, I had moved aside,” said Zingle in a team media statement. “For me, the race was already over even though I was still going at 60 km/h. I didn’t expect to have a fall in front of me.”
But that is what he got, with Pedersen bouncing off the barrier and sliding out across the road, face down, splayed flat on the road and right across the 25-year-old’s path.
“I was coming too fast to brake, and I didn’t want to fall. I had my hands in a snug fit, I was ready so I tried and it went through,” said Zingle, who avoided slamming straight into the rider with the help of a well-executed bunny hop.
“I felt that I had touched him, I hope I didn’t hurt him. But he has strong skin, I hope he’ll be in good shape tomorrow!,” said the Frenchman, who is expected to look for opportunities in the hillier stages as well as working in the lead out.
"@chainelsteve sera content !"Axel Zingle évoque son réflexe incroyable lors du sprint de la 5e étape pour passer au dessus de Mads Pedersen 😰#TDF2024 #LesRP pic.twitter.com/KU0YV8ezZCJuly 3, 2024
The Lidl-Trek team said in a statement that Pedersen suffered heavy impact to his left shoulder and back in the crash at the end of Stage 5, but that initial x-rays revealed no fractures.
"He will continue to be monitored overnight and a final decision on whether he can start Stage 6 will be taken tomorrow morning."
Stage 6 should be another day for the sprinters, with a relatively flat 163.5km from Mâcon to Dijon with an 800-metre straightaway into the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or where the stage victor will be decided.
