"He wants to put him in a coffin, at least mentally" - Jonas Vingegaard's compatriot believes Tadej Pogacar holds a personal grudge
CyclingTuesday, 14 July 2026 at 16:10
The ongoing Tour de France is a deja vu of the 2025 edition when it comes to Tadej Pogacar's domination over his rivals in the overall classification. Behind the scenes, EF Education-EasyPost rider Michael Valgren - compatriot of Jonas Vingegaard - believes the World Champion holds a grudge over the Dane.
Tadej Pogacar holds a grudge on Jonas Vingegaard
“To the media, Pogi is happy and all that, but I think he’s kind of holding a grudge against Jonas," Valgren argued on the Domestique Hotseat podcast. "He wants to put him in a coffin, at least mentally.”
Valgren spoke of the matter during the ongoing Tour where he and the American team are out of the fight for the overall classification. But the duo's rivalry has taken over the spotlight for another year.
Since 2021, Pogacar and Vingegaard have finished first and second on every edition of the Grand Boucle, something that seems to be on par to happen once again in 2026. On the stage to Gavarnie, the Slovenian put in a massive gap over his rivals that has already put him in a comfortable position.
After Vingegaard won the Tour in 2022 and 2023 - coming in the way of Pogacar's Tour de France record, which would've now already reached the top with six triumphs, Valgren believes that Visma and their tactics take Pogacar into a different mindset, where it's not only the victory that matters.
Into stage 10, the shorter climbs are better adapted to Pogacar, and Valgren believes that UAE Team Emirates - XRG will seize the opportunity to torture their rivals and try to extend the lead in the fight for the yellow jersey on roads where Vingegaard beat Pogacar two years ago.
“I think they’re going to go all out and try to bury Jonas once more, to really cook him mentally,” the veteran argues. “It’s almost as if Pogacar is thinking 'this was the last time he beat me, but now I’m going to beat him even more emphatically.’ That’s my kind of fear for tomorrow.”
Tadej Pogacar and Isaac del Toro have been getting the best of Jonas Vingegaard thus far
Read also
EF Education-EasyPost looking for a stage win at the Tour
For those looking to win stages from breakaways, it is bad news, and that iincludes Valgren. “Maybe if you look at each of us as an individual, we’re not the strongest,. But as a group, I think we are probably the best breakaway team that’s here.”
Richard Carapaz came in as a leader for EF Education at the Tour, but has since dropped out of the fight for the overall classification. The team lacks a sprinter to fight for the flat days or a time trialist, and so is exclusively betting their chips on breakaways.
So far no luck, but Alex Baudin has spent some days in the lead of the KOM classification and the form looks promising for a few riders. “I wouldn’t say it’s been a successful Tour if we stop now, but it also wouldn't be the worst".
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.
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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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- But he caught him didn’t he ?vaughanstar14-07-2026
- Remco doesn’t even seem to be the top rider on his own squad. He’ll probably lose his composure again, and if I were Red Bull, I’d let him go after that and put the money into strong support riders for Lipo (I admit that this point of view obviously ignores remco's strength in the classics). Both of them often end up riding on their own, with no teammates around them, while Pogacar always has riders like Politt, McNulty, Del Toro, Yates, and others backing him up. That kind of support is something Lipowitz can only wish for.Ketterechts14-07-2026
- Interview with Tadej Pogačar by a Slovenian TV reporter after the stage: Reporter: Did everything go according to plan? It looked like you were riding for the stage win from the start. Tadej Pogačar: To be honest, the plan was a bit different. We wanted to set a really hard pace all the way to the final climb and then try something with Isaac. But in the end, the stage was so tough and the heat was so intense that things unfolded differently. We rode the penultimate climb at a really high pace, and you could see everyone's legs were already cooked. I attacked, saw that I had a gap, and decided to commit all the way to the finish. I thought, if I blow up, I blow up; if not, it'll pay off. Fortunately, it worked out. Reporter: When you bridged across to Carapaz and then found yourself alone, did you believe you could stay away? Tadej Pogačar: Yes, I did. I knew there was a tailwind on the final climb, which suited me perfectly.Ketterechts14-07-2026
- Remco is showing what I said he may before the race started. IF he has dialed in training and altitude, he could finish top 3 (4th to 5th at worst). As for Jonas he never regained his look of how he rode pre crash. I said before the race he may have to really fight to stand on the podium. It is starting to look like that no question. Lipowitz, Sexis and (shocking) Remco have been as good at times on climbs thus far. And I won't count out IDT unless he cracks very badly in the next week or so. Might be the year of the new podium positions, except Pogi who seems to have won already if he has no illness or fall. Curious, anyone else seeing the look on Jonas face? Kind of reminds me of when Lance was winning everything. Everyone else just had a look that said "Why bother to go after him? I can't beat him...better conserve energy for the 2nd and 3rd (at best) places. Seeing I can't win" I saw that look the other day. Pogi took off and Jonas didn't try to do much. I saw a few hard cranks and then he looked up and didn't seem to try. His face didn't look confident but rather defeated.md197514-07-2026
- I think Valgren was spot on. Jonas struggling now. Pogi is getting a lot of stick for making it look like an unfair advantage he has.Jerrychicken14-07-2026
- Apt comparison👌🤣abstractengineer14-07-2026
- No he just wants to win a lot of stages especially since UAE have to do the work and he can easily win. He did the same in the Giro where there was no Jonasabstractengineer14-07-2026
- Carpaz jumped and that slightly messed his plans up, but on the next to last climb he had Yates up there and I saw him reset his computer, which meant he was about to go.awp14-07-2026
- The germans are far worse than the french. Have you never been to a Tour?awp14-07-2026
- i was considering challenging mike tyson ...Ketterechts14-07-2026
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