"He doesn't race much, but he often wins" - French agent leaps to Jonas Vingegaard's defence after Johan Bruyneel's criticism

Jonas Vingegaard is one of the top riders in the peloton today, but compared to his arch-rival, Tadej Pogacar, opportunities to see the Danish leader of Team Visma | Lease a Bike in full flow are much less, with Vingegaard's young family understandably being as much of a priority as his career.

Well, although we say understandable, not everyone seems to think so. On the latest episode of The Move podcast, former sports director Johan Bruyneel caused a stir with his comments about Vingegaard. "Yeah but, having a child is not really a reason to finish your season," Bruyneel said when reviewing the Dane's absence from Il Lombardia. "He didn't race much at all, during the whole year. I don't really know why he doesn't race more. Just to stay active, stay motivated and to have some goals. Obviously you know, he knows better than we do and his team knows what they're doing, so I'm not criticizing that. But, I find it a very long time to be without competition. Not just from the physical point of view but also, you kind of have to keep your points of reference to know where you are at with your rivals."

As mentioned, these comments have caused quite a stir in the cycling world. Despite Bruyneel being a persona non grata for some, for others his opinions still hold weight. In response to the comments about Vingegaard though, Bruyneel has opposition from an unnamed French agent, who quoted to Eurosport a fierce defence of the Dane.

"If the aim is to win the Tour de France, it's still worth a try, isn't it? He doesn't race much, but he often wins. What do you want? We've been through this before. Not everyone is called Tadej Pogacar or Eddy Merckx," the agent explains. "It's up to each team to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of the situation."