"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

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."