"Few people would have predicted this in advance" - Jose De Cauwer assesses Jonas Vingegaard's incredible powers of recovery after Tour de France stage 11 win
Cycling
Just a few weeks ago, there was a black cloud of uncertainty surrounding Jonas Vingegaard's condition following his very nasty crash at the Itzulia Basque Country earlier this year, which resulted with time spent in intensive care. On stage 11 of the 2024 Tour de France however, Vingegaard put all uncertainty to bed in style.
There is now little doubt that the two-time, back to back Maillot Jaune winner is a very viable contender once again for the overall win at cycling's most famous race. On stage 11, Vingegaard matched his great rival Tadej Pogacar, recovering strongly from initially being dropped to get back to the UAE Team Emirates leader and then win the stage in a two-up sprint for the line.
"I think few people would have predicted this in advance," reflected a stunned Sporza analyst Jose De Cauwer in his post-stage reflections. "You could say he stunned us, because we all assumed he was effectively doubtful to start, which is what they wanted us to believe. We thought: we can already be happy that he is at the start. And then in the 11th stage he does this. That's sublime. And only makes it more beautiful."
Was it more than Vingegaard won the stage or Pogacar lost the stage though? When the UAE Team Emirates leader attacked solo, quickly building his advantage over 30 seconds, things looked bleak for Vingegaard and the rest of the challengers. As Pogacar began to notably tire though, even having some fuelling issues and having to ask the neutral service car, Vingegaard clawed his way back to his storied rival.
"I especially remember Pogacar saying in the interview afterwards that he didn't train on the steep climbs. Don't forget that Vingegaard got support from Primoz Roglic on the descent of Puy Mary, so he didn't lose an extra 20 seconds," De Cauwer analyses. "You should also look at all those scary moments today, where it was almost over and out each time: Pogacar putting his bike across, that skid by Vingegaard, Van Aert almost taking his whole team with him... All in one day. A lot happened."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- the 'No different than women who follow and discuss celebs through gossip magazines' comment was unfortunately a bit off. didn't you just boast about your principles in the comments section of another article?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- Are you MrMauMau 2.0? Nothing you are saying is really relevant. Vaguely connected, but irrelevant. The conversation is whether Schreiber impeded Brand or not.
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Tadej Pogacar: "Jonas Vingegaard is in the best shape of his life. He surprised me." Jonas Vingegaard: "I can't be in the best shape of my life if I did just one month and a half of training..." Via @Gazzetta_it #TDF2024
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