Tadej Pogačar didn’t have the best day on stage 11 of the 2025 Tour de France, first being dropped when the tempo increased while he was having a pee, then crashing after a clash of wheels with 5km to go on the run-in to the finish in Toulouse.
In the first case, he was left to chase on, while in the second, his rivals slowed the pace in the bunch, enabling him to rejoin and finish in the same time as them.
Why let the biggest threat to the GC catch up when precious seconds are at stake? And why was not stopping while he paused for a nature break considered a faux pas?
It’s down to the unwritten rules of pro cycling – although these are often bent to breaking point, as we shall see. Here’s a brief, non-comprehensive guide to cycle racing’s informal etiquette.
More on Pogačar at the Tour de France
- Seven remarkable numbers behind Tadej Pogačar's Tour de France success
- Tadej Pogačar vs Jonas Vingegaard: can Pogačar be stopped as the 2025 Tour gets underway?
- 11 surprising things you need to know about Tadej Pogačar
- We've weighed Tadej Pogačar’s Tour de France bike – and it's currently under the UCI weight limit
- 'If Pogačar has a life-changing injury, we will have blood on our hands'
Don’t attack your rivals when they crash
Pogačar’s second incident of the day is one of many examples of rivals sitting up to enable a rider to rejoin after a crash or a mechanical.
Pogačar has been the beneficiary of this before, when he crashed on Stage 18 of the 2022 Tour de France en route to Hautacam (incidentally, a stage finish in the 2025 Tour, too).
He and Jonas Vingegaard were out alone, and Vingegaard waited for Pogačar before both resumed racing.
It doesn’t always happen. When yellow jersey wearer Andy Schleck dropped his chain on the Port de Balès on stage 15 of the 2010 Tour, Alberto Contador rode past him, taking back 39 seconds and claiming the jersey, which he wore into Paris.
Schleck got his comeback, though, when Contador was stripped of his 2010 title, following a positive drug test.
Or during a pee break
Riding for hours in hot weather, cyclists drink a lot of fluids, so pee breaks are a necessity.
Usually, riders either head to the back of the pack and pee while riding or larger groups of riders stop together somewhere quiet. A pee break in front of spectators can result in a fine.
It is considered very poor form not to wait for the yellow-jersey holder when they stop to relieve themselves.
Those following the 2025 edition of the race will rightly point out that Pogačar was not in the maillot jaune in stage 10, and could argue that his team had no right to complain.
There’s further detail on the art of relieving yourself while racing – read more in our guide explaining how pro cyclists pee during a Tour stage.
Don’t attack in the feed zone
Another no-no is to launch an attack while riders are taking a musette or a bottle in a feed zone.
These can be very hectic and, with riders trying to position themselves to snatch their race nutrition, it’s easy for a crash to happen or a rider to miss a bottle.
Launching an attack while rivals are trying to navigate the mayhem is frowned on.
Respect the yellow jersey
As well as leading the race, the yellow jersey wearer also leads the pack. They will impose discipline and, for example, slow the race down if the road is wet or conditions are otherwise hazardous.
Five-time Tour winner Bernard Hinault was famous as the patron in the 1980s, imposing his will on the rest of the peloton and instructing them when they could race and when to ease up.
Things are a bit looser now, but the yellow jersey wearer’s word still goes and must be respected – stage 10’s incident is a good example of this, with Ben Healy said to have told the peloton to hold up for Pogačar after his crash.
Drafting is fine (up to a point)
Riders who have a mechanical issue can be seen weaving their way through the team cars to rejoin the race.
They get a significant advantage from drafting, and it’s expected that they’ll do so to get back to the peloton.
But drafting vehicles is technically illegal and can result in a fine. Draft one vehicle for too long and you’ll draw attention to yourself, particularly if it’s your team car, so riders need to be seen to be progressing through the line of cars.
Demi Vollering was docked 20 seconds for drafting her team car for too long in the 2023 Tour de France Femmes. And in 2015, Vincenzo Nibali was kicked out of the Vuelta a España for drafting for too long, although he’d also held onto his team car.
It’s different if you have a mechanical though, so the ‘magic spanner’ where a mechanic hangs out of a team car and takes overly long to adjust your bike, while you hold the car is (sort of) accepted.
So are sticky bottles
Watch a pro collect a bottle from the team car and the handover can take ages. The way it’s done gives the rider a push, too.
Again, it’s technically illegal and can – and does – result in a penalty or disqualification, but is an accepted part of cycle racing.
The UCI limits handover times for each bottle to two seconds, though. With so much televised coverage, it’s become easier to enforce than in the past.
Collusion is technically illegal, but it’s fine
Another prohibition in the UCI rulebook is collusion between riders on different teams. But it’s often the case that multiple teams will have the same goal in a race and will work together to achieve it.
Sprint teams working together to close down a breakaway could be technically regarded as collusion, but it occurs all the time. It’s just a question of to what degree.
Riders on different teams are frequently friends and may have been teammates in previous seasons, and so are often inclined to work together.
It can go too far, though, as when Richie Porte, riding for Team Sky, punctured and was given a wheel by Simon Clarke of Orica-GreenEdge on stage 10 of the 2015 Giro d’Italia.
Further Aussie camaraderie came from Orica’s Michael Mathews, who helped him chase back.
The race jury disapproved and added two minutes to Porte’s race time.
