"He races too little - what is he paid all year for?" - Roger De Vlaeminck criticizes Jonas Vingegaard
Cycling
In the Criterium du Dauphiné, the superiority of Tadej Pogacar over Jonas Vingegaard is being tremendous. The Slovenian has defeated his Danish counterpart in two summit finishes in a row and, with one stage to go, is more than 1 minute ahead of him in the general classification.
For Vingegaard and Visma | Lease a Bike, this situation is far from ideal. With the Tour de France just around the corner, the feeling was only really good in the time trial, but it didn't help much.
Perhaps Jonas Vingegaard is suffering from riding so few races. This is something the Dane has often been criticized for in recent years. Now, with the Tour approaching and with what we saw in Dauphiné, legends Eddy Merckx and Roger de Vlaeminck have been the latest to point it out.
Vingegaard can't beat Pogacar in Dauphiné
"Jonas Vingegaard races very little. And at the Paris-Nice at the beginning of the year he didn't make a good impression on me," Merckx began by pointing out. "It's true that Vingegaard is a good stage racer, but he doesn't race - what is he paid all year for?" added De Vlaeminck forcefully.
Pogacar already superior to Merckx?
It was through Het Nieuwsblad where the two iconic cycling figures had this conversation, where they also talked about the figure of Tadej Pogacar. Although the Slovenian is making history every time he races, De Vlaeminck wanted to make it clear that he still has a long way to go to surpass Eddy Merckx, if ever:
"Today, everybody talks about Tadej Pogacar. But when I watch the races, there is no one like Eddy, not even half, not even Pogacar. Maybe I exaggerate a little bit, but not much," stated Roger De Vlaeminck.
Barring a memorable comeback by Jonas Vingegaard on stage 8, Tadej Pogacar will win his first Criterium du Dauphiné and will continue to add to his already historic list of victories at the age of 26.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Roglic could not have won anyway, after Jonas followed him when Roglic decided it was his turn for a stage win. Jonas had already attacked Kuss twice, so it was Jonas who was within seconds of taking the lead before Kuss was 'gifted' the win. It felt a bit like Roglic was being thrown under the bus when the team made his unhappiness public.Hills3314-11-2026
- POG1, another nice doc about our favourite, I watched most of it with a big smile on my face (except for the bits about his crashes 😢 obvs!).Lozza14-11-2026
- Martinez had a good year! 5th at the Tour was a great result for him, albeit largely through getting in successful breaks, but he held it better than Pidcock who’d done the same.Lozza14-11-2026
- guess what Valgren, you're 34, and no you're not good enough. sorry to say.mij14-11-2026
- I'm a sepp fan and like to think he earned that LOL, indulge me : ) I think Jonas was fine. Roglic did not want to concede to Sepp. and I don't think you ever attack your own teammate in the leaders jersey if he is holding his own, which Sepp just about was.mij14-11-2026
- enough time? he's 24 years old. He's won 10 races over the last 2 years and some are significant. I won't argue about his attitude being good - it needs to improve. But with some coaching and mentorship he has a lot of winning ahead of him and has plenty of time to win a GT. I don't think he will ever beat Tadej, but everyone else is fair game Look at Mas and Valverde - they were 31 and 29, respectively, when they won the Vuelta.mij14-11-2026
- Pogacar has a fine head on his shoulders.Careful investments and a couple of coffee shops sounds like a wonderful way to chill after an intense career.Stay healthy GOAT.
Brucegel14-11-2026 - I live in Maribor.PogiSloFans14-11-2026
- I live in Ljubljana and often go on trips in the surrounding area, where I frequently see young cyclists in 'Pogi Team' jerseys training, either alone or in groups. By simply motivating so many young people to take up cycling, Tadej has already achieved something truly significant.Velijo14-11-2026
- That's an excellent point. It's interesting that Vader came to that realization only after he learned that his contract wasn't going to be renewed.
santiagobenites14-11-2026
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