"He could have pulled away from Jonas at any moment" - Vingegaard's compatriot believes Pogacar held himself back in Superbagnères
Cycling
Bjarne Riis has been watching and commenting on the current edition of the Tour de France. The Danish pundit, former winner of the Tour in the 90's, saw a very strong Tadej Pogacar on the summit finish of stage 14 and believes the yellow jersey held himself back.
The day saw almost 5000 meters of climbing including the Col du Tourmalet, Peyresourde and a 17-kilometer long climb to the finish in Superbagnères where UAE held a constant pace throughout the climb, instead of attacking as they had two days prior. Jonas Vingegaard then tested Pogacar to see how much of it could be bluff or not.
Pogacar also did attack, but it can't be said with full certainty if he went all-out or if it was also a test for the Dane. Vingegaard led the way to the finish where then in a final sprint, the Slovenian took another four seconds on the road against his rival.
"First of all, I want to say it was great that Jonas dared and tried several attacks. He's certainly trying. But it's also clear that Pogacar is too good right now. He probably could have dropped him if he wanted to," Riis said in an analysis for BT.
It's also possible that Pogacar had realized Thymen Arensman was very distant and the stage win was quite unlikely, so decided to remain conservative in the face of what could be an unnecessary effort. "There's a difference between racing after you've won a stage and then choosing not to try. Maybe Pogacar thought it was better not to try when he didn't have the legs. That's a possibility, but I don't believe it. If I'm wrong, that's fine with Jonas. But I want to see it first before I believe it".
Overall however, even though Pogacar said he didn't have the legs to go all the way solo, Riis believes there wasn't really difficulty for the race leader and that he was riding within his limits. "I didn't see Pogacar under pressure. I think he could have pulled away from Jonas at any moment. You also saw how frustrated Jonas was at the end, and how strongly Pogacar accelerated. Jonas was practically standing still compared to him."
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- Love this guy. He is such a pure racer.mij07-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas06-11-2026 - Thats only cause he rides for UAE. In any other team he would be captain in many races atleast. UAE is just to crazymiguel06-11-2026
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MarkFour06-11-2026 - As much as I admire and even revere Wout, the less I know about his backside the better.MidnightRider06-11-2026
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