Tadey Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates) suffered his first trouble of the 2022 Tour de France on stage 2, crashing on the tense run-in to Nybor.

Pogachar, a two-time Tour de France champion, crossed the finish line a few minutes behind the main group and finished in 152nd place.

However, no time was lost, as the incident occurred in the last 3km of the race, when crashes or mechanical problems would invalidate the overall standings.

The day's biggest challenge, the 17-km Great Belt Bridge, had been passed, but with 2.3 km to go, there was contact in the middle of the pack, resulting in a major pile-up.

In the end, he was uninjured, with only a bright red abrasion on the knuckle joint of his left hand.

"In the end I couldn't avoid it. I hit the barrier. I'm okay. I stayed on the bike. I hit the barrier with my fist.

"The last three kilometers are very fast, especially with the headwind today, so the guys who pulled in front can't pull anymore and are coming back through the pack at a much lower speed. Especially today, because of the headwind, the riders who pulled in front and can no longer pull are coming back through the pack at a very low speed.

"I'm still a little sore, but I made it home safe.

Pogachar brushed off the idea that he had suffered an injury that would change the course of the Tour de France. Instead, he was more concerned about his colleagues and teammates, revealing that Marc Hirschi and Vegard Stake Rengen had also fallen in the same crash.

"For me, yes [I'm okay], but I'm still waiting for my teammates to be okay, so not everything is okay," Pogachar said.

"I hope all the guys who crashed are okay," Pogachar said.

Pogachar got off to a great start on Friday, finishing third in the opening time trial in Copenhagen, the best position among the pre-race favorites to win the Tour de France for the third straight year.

He holds third place overall, eight seconds ahead of race leader Wout Van Aert (Jumbo Visma), who earned a six-second bonus second for second place on stage 2. Pogachar is eight seconds ahead of Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) and nine seconds ahead of Primosz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma).