Visma respond to Pogacar's call for 'respect' after feed zone clash

Grischa Niermann, sports director of Visma | Lease a Bike, addressed the feed zone incident on stage 7 of the Tour de France, where television footage showed Tadej Pogacar placing a hand on Matteo Jorgenson’s back and pushing him as they rode through the feed zone. The gesture appeared to cause the Visma rider to drop his bidon. 

"Yeah, I think it’s a normal incident, Matteo [Jorgenson] wanted to take a bottle, apparently Tadej also wanted to take one, maybe we should tell our soigneurs to stand a little further apart from each other, I think like this they both didn’t get a bottle because Matteo also missed his," Niermann said.

Pogačar addressed the incident in his pre-race interview on Saturday, insisting that he was trying to receive a bidon but was impeded by Visma. 

“For me it was normal, but I don’t know what was their intention,” Pogačar said. “They do this a lot of times, coming in front of you in the feed zone like they are the only ones having the bottles there. Sometimes you have to be patient and stay on the wheel when you’re taking the bottles and pay respect to everybody.”

When informed that Pogačar had claimed that this wasn't the first time that Visma | Lease a Bike riders had gotten in his way during feed zones and called for more respect, Niermann offered a terse response. 

"Yeah, the same back to him," Niermann responded.

Away from the tension between Pogačar and Visma | Lease a Bike, Wout van Aert sprinted to a strong, but somewhat surprising second place on stage 8 in Laval behind Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek). Before the stage, Van Aert had stated to reporters that he didn't plan to target the stage, and Niermann was asked if the team had made a different call as the stage went on.

"No, pretty firm, clear no. Wout was going to sprint today, but he doesn't have to tell you upfront," Niermann explained. 

Van Aert could be a crucial figure in the fight between Visma | Lease a Bike and UAE Team Emirates-XRG, one which has clearly become quite tense, and the Belgian's second-place finish on stage 8 is a positive sign for the Dutch team with many tough stages to come.