Criticism from experts for "wheel sucker" tactics of Jonas Vingegaard on stage 9 of 2024 Tour de France
CyclingMonday, 08 July 2024 at 10:29
Jonas Vingegaard continues to show an incredible shape, given the circumstances, at the 2024 Tour de France. As the first day is reached the still recovering Dane sits 3rd overall at 1:15 off the Maillot Jaune of Tadej Pogacar.
On the gravel stage 9, Vingegaard was in full defensive mode after an ill-timed mechanical saw the Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader on a teammate's bike and the unrelenting pace not allowing the Dane any opportunity to switch back to one of his own. The tactics of the defending Tour de France champion on the gravel of stage 9 was not without criticism however.
"If it looks like a wheel sucker, it rides like one and it acts like a wheel sucker, then it is a wheel sucker. Signed, Jonas Vingegaard," wrote former commentator Maarten Ducrot on his official X (Twitter) account.
He wasn't the only one either with Tadej Pogacar himself expressing confusion at Team Visma | Lease a Bike tactics. "At some point, Remco, Jonas Vingegaard and I went up the road. I think it was a great opportunity for us to put some time on the rest of the GC favourites and secure the podium, but Jonas refused to cooperate," he recalled in his post-stage interview. "I think Visma is just focusing on me and underestimating the other GC contenders. They just follow me, without thinking of Primoz Roglic or Remco."
There was some defence of the Dane however, with the experienced Danny Nelissen sticking up for Team Visma | Lease a Bike. "Vingegaard doesn't let himself get carried away, riding along wouldn't have been smart. It's not his bike and he has a lot of teammates in the group behind him," the analyst explains in quotes collected by Wielerrevue. "Vingegaard does that well. Staying on the wheel and letting Pogacar race. It's doable in the third week. Team Visma | Lease a Bike does not see Evenepoel as a major competitor, otherwise they would have worked together. It's Pogi versus Jonas and the other way around."
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- If you want good teamwork, don't group Ayuso with Pogacar or Almeida. Ayuso couldn't work well with these 2, especially Almeida.
KerisVroom05-05-2025 - You obviously want to arrange every story to suit your agenda. Your logic here is like claiming we don’t need police because you heard a story of an officer stopping a woman who’s lost her waters for document checking on her way to hospital. It was just a stupid person exploiting his powers, am sure he was not specifically instructed to do this at this event by management in Switzerland. It is far more likely he could have been given some ( maybe financial) incentive by someone to be difficult, cycling isn’t always as friendly a family as it tries to portray.Mistermaumau05-05-2025
- Oh boy, that discussion again. The car fad is what prevents the cycling industry from becoming more creative. NOBODY cares about efficient bike shapes, look at how many people know who did or what the records for HPVs are. Look at what the vast majority of citizens in cycling countries like the Netherlands ride. If normal people, or even amateur cyclists were so interested in efficient biking, they’d be investing in TT bikes or just hacking any bike with 50€ triathlon handlebars instead of wasting 1000s on pseudo marginal gain pro development knock offs. The UCI does wonders for the bike industry, it boomed over the last decade and when it’s not one type, it’s another. In fact, what’s the point of promoting efficient super designed bike shapes when we teach people to be lazy by plonking an e- onto any fashionable shape so they don’t have to pedal at all? And finally, even if the industry sleeps with the UCI when it’s of interest, is it really the UCI’s job to help the bike industry become more progressive, profitable, popular, whatever?Mistermaumau05-05-2025
- Chapeau XDS Astana Team 🫡
James2631805-05-2025 - If anyone still thinks the UCI is a good thing for cycling, I wonder what evidence would be sufficient for convincing them otherwise?acem8205-05-2025
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- He didn't have the legs to stay with the top guys in case you hadn't read that !frieders305-05-2025
- Of course the dimensions have to be checked as long as pro cycling continues to be defined by a traditional bicycle definition, otherwise you open the door to all sorts of weird vehicles, like recumbants to keep the technical side easy. Obviously there can ve a completely different procedure for the check than how it was carried out here. If all went according to how reported, the team/rider should sue the official/UCI for result manipulation, this incident shows among other things, how the door is (left) wide open to corrupting officials to disadvantage people. Would be so easy to do those checks well without stressing riders. Maybe the triathlon system would be a solution ?Mistermaumau04-05-2025
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Each rider has their own tactics based on their form and what they believe they can achieve. Jonas seems really good, maybe overly good based on his lack of racing, which is just unheard of going into a Tour.
So Jonas is still a big question mark going into the last four big mountain stages and the incredibly technical final time trial. I think he loses some big time across those five stages.
The biggest question mark is Remco, can he have four stages of mountains and still stay on the podium?
Anybody would be crazy to waste their energy with 70 k to go and work with their closest competitor depleting their energy thereby allowing competitor to attack them in the final when their team is present and un-utilized. These experts are crazy
Considering none of these "experts" ever won le Tour, I think we can take thier opinions with a grain of salt...
How do we know they have never won the tour and are not Ex pro riders. Opinions are like ars***les every one has one . Right or wrong unless slanderous makes for good healthy debate.😁😁😁😁
But let's not forget how Matt Jorgensen brought Vingegaard back to Pogacar's wheel.
Either Remco is crying again, as he regularly does, or he’s trying to get into Jonas’ head. Probably not going to work. You don’t win two TDF by being undisciplined.
Pog has a tendency to use a lot of matches - wonder if this will come back to bite him in the third week?
Remco is opinionated, that's just who he is, his DS probably taught him this tactic lol
No need to be hot headed. Jonas is spot on and plenty of time for racing in the mountains.