Jonas Vingegaard had to settle for second place once again in the recent Tour de France. According to renowned Danish cycling journalist Brian Nygaard, Vingegaard risks becoming a 'secondary figure' in the Tadej Pogacar era. Nygaard is notably critical of his fellow countryman on The Cycling Podcast.
“The score is now 4-2 in Pogacar's favor,” Nygaard points out, referring to Pogacar having won four Tours while Vingegaard has ‘only’ two. “Before the Tour, I already asked the question: is Vingegaard a secondary figure in the Pogacar era if he can’t challenge Pogacar again? I think we can now say that this is the case. He could not compete with Pogacar.”
Nygaard believes Vingegaard must be disappointed with his second place in the Tour. “He has won the Tour twice and is the only one who can challenge Pogacar in the grand tours. He has to be the best version of himself then. But I get the feeling he probably didn’t bring out the best in himself. That was my impression when I read the interview with his wife saying he should skip the altitude training camp, that he was away from home too much, that he should be spending time renovating the kitchen...”
“He says he did everything he could, but if that was the case, it clearly wasn’t enough. And then maybe he needs to do other things. I’m not saying he should become a plumber, but maybe he should set different goals. And I’ll say it again: he needs to spend more time on the bike with a race number on his back. Race more. Then you’ll win more races, especially if Pogacar isn’t there."
Visma | Lease a Bike Tactics
Nygaard also wants to comment on Visma | Lease a Bike’s tactics in the recent Tour. “They made the race hard in the first part of the event. But if you bring a rider like Jonas Vingegaard who has had only twelve to fourteen race days since August last year, I think that wears him out. I’m not a movement scientist, but starting the second half of the race – where you need to be your best and ride against the strongest rider ever – with so little racing rhythm, I don’t understand that.”
Right now, it’s 'not realistic' that Vingegaard will ever win the Tour de France again, Nygaard believes. “It depends on Pogacar’s motivation, and that’s beyond his control. Vingegaard is at a point where, if he wins the Vuelta, he should consider going for the Giro next year. Even if he wins those races, it’s a form of defeatism. It shows that you can’t win the Tour when Pogacar is competing.”
Nygaard states that Vingegaard has no advantage over Pogacar. He also doesn’t believe Vingegaard is stronger than the Slovenian in the third week or on long climbs. “That’s a myth. A myth that Danes like to believe. They always say Vingegaard is better in the third week and on longer climbs. But going into this Tour, it had been a long time since he was superior in the third week. It’s a myth that needed to be debunked to see what Vingegaard is really capable of in the presence of Pogacar.”
“Against other riders, he is certainly better on long climbs and in the third week, but if Pogacar is present and in form, Pogacar has no weakness. He has no disadvantage compared to Vingegaard. Not on long climbs, not on short climbs, not in the second, third, or – if there was one – fourth week, As much as the Danes would like that,” Nygaard says, adding that he claims to have been ‘slaughtered’ in Denmark because he has previously criticized Vingegaard.
Vuelta
To salvage the 2025 season, Vingegaard will need to win the Vuelta a España, Nygaard says. “He has something to prove. If he had won the Tour, he probably would have skipped the Vuelta too. He tends not to race too much,” says the Dane, who does see Vingegaard as the absolute top favorite for the Vuelta. In fact, Nygaard believes his compatriot will 'dominate' the three-week race.
“I expect him to crush everyone. The more he races, the stronger he is. With the Tour in his legs and the form he built there... That supports my earlier point. I don’t think he finished the Tour fatigued, I think he ended the Tour extremely strong. Mentally, he’s where he needs to be. He knows himself very well and understands where he stands now. I think he will have very little competition at the Vuelta."
