Christian Prudhomme compares Tadej Pogacar & Jonas Vingegaard rivalry to that of Rafa Nadal & Roger Federer: "I really hope that both are in top form"

After the metronomic Team Sky dominance of the 2010s, the Tour de France entered a new era in 2020 with the incredibly dramatic Maillot Jaune victory of Tadej Pogacar. In the four editions since, the Slovenian's iconic rivalry with Jonas Vingegaard has lit up the sport every summer, forging a place in the annals of cycling history.

In the four Tours de France both Pogacar and Vingegaard have faced off, it is two victories for the UAE Team Emirates leader and two for the Team Visma | Lease a Bike star, with neither having finished lower than 2nd in any of the four editions. According to the boss of the Tour de France, race director Christian Prudhomme, the rivalry of Pogacar and Vingegaard can best be compared to one of the all-time great duals in tennis, Rafa Nadal vs Roger Federer. 

Asked by Bici Pro if Pogacar's 2024 dominance causes concern for the future intrigue of the sport, Prudhomme answers, using Nadal and Federer as a metaphor. "You ask me this question at a time when we are mourning the farewell of a champion like Rafael Nadal and the matches that have taken place over the years between him and Federer," he explains. "When Pogacar won the Laval time trial in the 2021 Tour, everyone was convinced that he would win 6, 7, 8 in a row."

As we've seen though, that wasn't the case, with Vingegaard firing back to take two Maillot Jaune victories of his own. "In the following two years, however, Vingegaard arrived and the dominance seemed to be able to reverse. What I hope is that both protagonists are at the start of the Tour de France without having to recover from a very serious fall," Prudhomme concludes, noting the bad luck both have suffered in preparation for recent editions. "In the last two years the imbalance has been caused by falls and injuries, which have affected both. So I really hope that both are in top form, and then we'll see."