Tadej Pogacar says there is nothing illegal about his bike at Tour de France

Team UAE Emirates Tadej Pogacar of Slovenia wearing the overall leaders yellow jersey rides in the pack during the 19th stage of the 108th edition of the Tour de France cycling race 207 km between Mourenx and Libourne on July 16 2021 Photo by AnneChristine POUJOULAT AFP Photo by ANNECHRISTINE POUJOULATAFP via Getty Images
Team UAE Emirates' Tadej Pogačar wearing the overall leaders yellow jersey on stage 19 (Image credit: Getty Images)

Matej Mohoric’s spectacularly ill-judged ‘zipped lips’ victory salute in Libourne on Friday afternoon echoed Lance Armstrong’s infamous gesture of 2004 and seemed to send an icy message to observers of this Tour de France: watch, but don’t ask questions.

Officers from France’s Central Office for the Fight against Environmental and Public Health Damage (OCLAESP) have questions about this race, of course, which is why they searched the hotel rooms and vehicles of Mohoric’s Bahrain Victorious team in Pau on Wednesday evening.

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Barry Ryan
Head of Features

Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.