Viral video showing Pogačar slalom through heavy traffic emerges the day after Tour de France director Prudhomme questions his appetite for risk after brutal crash.
(Photo: Getty Images / Noah Alfrink Instagram)
Updated October 25, 2026 08:52AM
Tadej Pogačar heard the Tour de France director questioning his appetite for risk after his brutal crash at the Vuelta a España and said, “Hold my beer.”
Fan footage shot last week showing the 28-year-old slalom through traffic in busy Monaco suggests Pogi has bounced back confident as ever.
The videos, filmed Thursday and shared on Instagram by French amateur Noah Alfrink, are a white-knuckle watch.
The grabs show Pogačar resplendent in his UAE Emirates-XRG jersey cutting lanes, squeezing alongside buses, and flirting with the bumpers of moving cars in the hectic roads of his adopted home.
The videos went viral this weekend and have drawn a very mixed response.
Not even the GOATed fan favorite is spared from criticism of “reckless riding,” a “lack of respect for safety,” and a whole lot more. The 19-year-old Alfrink isn’t shown mercy either, as commentators hit out at the latest example of fans “cyclo-stalking” superstar riders.
“I don’t know which is dumber, Pogačar, or the one following him,” reads one comment.
— Avituallamiento Ciclista (@EVTMO_) October 23, 2026Imágenes de un aficionado siguiendo a Tadej Pogačar durante su entrenamiento de ayer por Mónaco
➡️ El esloveno iba vestido con el maillot del UAE
📹 @noah_alfr pic.twitter.com/fs0nr6sbxI
Tour de France boss Prudhomme: ‘There are questions lingering after his crash’
The videos emerge at an ironic time.
Only one day earlier, Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme pondered whether Pogačar would be the same after his brutal crash at the Vuelta a España.
The 28-year-old broke his collarbone, a vertebra, and suffered a concussion when he hit the tarmac hard in late August.
It cost the Tour de France dominator the chance to win the Vuelta’s red jersey, defend his titles at the world and European championships, and win a sixth Il Lombardia.
Speaking to L’Equipe on Thursday, Prudhomme questioned whether the crash pierced Pogačar’s sense of invincibility, too.
“The real question for me – and I obviously wish him well – is how well he’ll have recovered from his very, very, very serious crash in the Vuelta a España,” Prudhomme said. “His talent lies not only in his physical superiority, but also in his riding skills.
“His descent of the Tourmalet last summer was mind-blowing and jaw-dropping. But as you get older, after such a massive crash, are you still the same person? Do you take as many risks?”
Prudhomme spoke the day he and ASO unleashed a route for the 2027 Tour de France that’s been labeled “anti-Pogačar.”
The race director suggested 71km of time trialing might not be Pogačar’s only problem when he defends his yellow jersey next July.
“There are certainly questions lingering after his crash,” Prudhomme told L’Equipe. “Whether it has left its mark on him and what the consequences will be.”
Pogačar seems to have brushed off any mental hangover of his 60kph crash just fine.
Some may say his comfort on the bike might be a little too good.
Pogačar, his teammates, and the staff at UAE Emirates-XRG meet next for a 2027 planning and admin camp. It doesn’t look like Pogačar will be nervous in the wheels of any group rides.