'There are certainly questions lingering after his crash' – Tour de France director doubts whether Tadej Pogačar can reach his previous level, referencing Eddy Merckx's famous 1969 crash

Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme has questioned whether Tadej Pogačar will be the same again after his Vuelta a España crash, saying next year's Tour de France route will put the five-time champion to the test.

The 2027 Tour route was unveiled on Thursday in Paris, with the 21-day race featuring two time trials totalling 71km, seven sprint stages, and just three summit finishes.

Speaking to L'Equipe after the unveiling, Prudhomme said there are "certainly many questions lingering" following Pogačar's Vuelta crash, which left him out of racing for the rest of the year with a concussion, broken collarbone and a fractured vertebra.

"The real question for me – and I obviously wish him all the best – is how well he’ll have recovered from his very, very, very serious crash in the Vuelta a España," Prudhomme said.

"Because 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. As you get older, after such a massive crash, are you still the same person? Do you take as many risks?"

Pogačar remains the overwhelming favourite to win next year's Tour, even if he has fewer chances to gain major time on his opponents. Meanwhile, Remco Evenepoel will eye the two long time trials as personal opportunities.

It remains to be seen what his mindset is upon his return to racing next season, though. Pogačar has said he'll target the Tour, Vuelta, and Road World Championships in 2027, though he has yet to confirm his season start.

Prudhomme drew a comparison with another five-time Tour winner, Eddy Merckx, who crashed hard in a derny track race in Blois in 1969, suffering a concussion, displaced pelvis, trapped nerves in his back, among other injuries.

Merckx later said: "Blois was the worst experience of my career. I could have been dead. The accident cost me a few years of my career, because afterwards, with that back, I never had the same feeling uphill as I had in that very first Tour of 1969."

There's no suggestion Pogačar suffered any similar lasting physical damage in his Vuelta crash, though Prudhomme still left it open for debate.

"There are certainly questions lingering after his crash. Whether it has left its mark on him and what the consequences will be," he said.

"Eddy Merckx has always said that he was never the same again after his crash in Blois; he was undoubtedly scarred morally and mentally, but he also says he was never the same in the mountains afterwards.

"But that didn’t stop him from winning four more Tours de France after that," Prudhomme recognised.

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