Defending champion Tadej Pogacar suffered a crash on the 11th stage of the Tour de France on Wednesday, moments before a protester disrupted the sprint finish where Norway’s Jonas Abrahamsen claimed his first Tour stage victory.

Slovenian Pogacar went down about five kilometres from the line after touching wheels with another rider but quickly remounted and the peloton eased off to allow the overall race favourite to rejoin.

Pogacar thanked the group after crossing the finish line apparently unhurt and without losing time.

“I’m quite okay, a bit beaten up, but we’ve been through worse days, so it’s been a hectic day actually from start to finish,” the UAE Team Emirates-XRG leader told reporters.

“In the end, I had a little bit of a crash, and thanks to the peloton in front, they actually waited, obviously the race was more or less over back there, but still, they could have taken time.

“Really big respect to everybody in front. Thanks for your support, guys.”

Ireland’s Ben Healy, who retained the overall leader’s yellow jersey, explained that he had a brief chat with two-time Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard, seen as Pogacar’s main rival for the title, and both agreed they should wait for the Slovenian.

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As the stage reached its dramatic conclusion, a protester wearing a T-shirt reading “Israel out of the Tour” and waving a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf ran onto the final straight, just 50 metres from the line.

He was swiftly tackled by a security officer as Abrahamsen edged out Swiss national champion Mauro Schmid in a two-man sprint for the win.

“I broke my collarbone four weeks ago. I cried at the hospital because I thought I wouldn’t make it to the Tour de France,” Abrahamsen said.

“I hoped, and every day I did everything I could to come back. To stand here in the Tour de France and have won a stage is amazing.”

Tour organisers declined to comment on the incident while the Israel-Premier Tech team — which has no Israeli riders in this year’s race — told Reuters they would issue a statement later on Wednesday.

The protest came amid rising tensions over Israel’s military operations in Gaza, where more than 58,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, according to Gaza health authorities.

Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack, by Israeli tallies.

Sources with a direct knowledge of the matter have told Reuters that other protests are planned on the Tour route.

The day began at a blistering pace, with a five-man breakaway quickly forming ahead of a second group featuring classics specialists Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert.

The peloton eventually backed off, allowing the front of the race to shape the outcome.

On the punishing final climb — an 800-metre ascent averaging 12.4% — Abrahamsen and Schmid emerged at the front. Van der Poel launched a fierce pursuit but fell short.

The focus now shifts to Thursday’s stage 12, which brings the Tour’s first high-mountain showdown with a summit finish on the legendary Hautacam and all eyes will be on Pogacar the day after his crash.

The Indian Open Athletics Meet, scheduled to be held at Sangrur, Punjab, on July 27, will be extended by one more day due to heavy participation, a development happening for the first time in the domestic circuit.

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) said that around 900 competitors have made their entries, and that has necessitated the event to be a two-day affair.

“The Indian Open Athletics Meet, which was scheduled to be held at Sangrur on 27th July 2025, will now be held on 27th and 28th July 2025. The meet has been extended for one day because of more number of entries crossing almost 900 athletes,” the AFI said in a circular.

“The programme will shortly be put on the AFI website. The athletes are advised to book their travel and accommodation accordingly,” it added.

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The AFI had introduced eight Indian Open Meetings in the domestic calendar this season in different parts of the country to give more competitions to the athletes as well as to allow them to participate near their homes.

This will be the second time Sangrur will host the Indian Open Athletics Meet this season, having done so earlier on April 1, when around 130 athletes participated.

Such meetings have also been held at Nadiad in Gujarat on April 5, Ranchi on April 10, Chennai on April 15, Bengaluru on June 28 and Pune on July 12.

Patna will host the seventh such meet of the year on July 19, before Sangrur hosts the last one on July 27-28.

For the National Inter-State Senior Championships to be held in Chennai from August 20 to 24, the AFI has made it mandatory for the athletes to meet the entry standards set by it and achieved in events directly organised by the federation between May 1 and August 10.

The athletes are also required to participate in respective state meets organised by recognised units and another event organised by the AFI – Indian Open Athletics Meeting or Grand Prix.

In case the state meet is not organised during the period, then the athletes must participate and achieve the qualifying standard in two events organised by the AFI – Indian Open Athletics Meet or Grand Prix meets.

Welcome to Sportstar’s LIVE coveage of the 3rd Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh T20I match being played at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Lineups

Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Parvez Hossain Emon, Litton Das (c/wk), Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Shamim Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman.

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kusal Perera, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka (c), Dasun Shanaka, Maheesh Theekshana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Binura Fernando, Nuwan Thushara.

Toss

Sri Lanka wins the toss and opts to bat against Bangladesh.

Live Streaming Info

The third T20I between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh will be televised live on the Sony Sports Network in India and streamed on SonyLIV and FanCode.

SQUADS

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kusal Perera, Kamindu Mendis, Charith Asalanka (c), Dasun Shanaka, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Binura Fernando, Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara, Jeffrey Vandersay, Dinesh Chandimal, Chamika Karunaratne, Eshan Malinga, Avishka Fernando.

Bangladesh: Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Parvez Hossain Emon, Litton Das (wk) (c), Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Jaker Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Nasum Ahmed, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mahedi Hasan, Mohammad Naim, Shoriful Islam.