"He was very emotional. We both were" - Wife of Jonas Vingegaard explains rider's post-stage 19 heartache at 2024 Tour de France

On stage 19 of the 2024 Tour de France, Jonas Vingegaard was put into a position he's not often been in over past years, as he was conclusively and decisively distanced by main rival Tadej Pogacar, all but officially ending the Dane's dream of three Tour de France victories in a row.

After crossing the finish line, an exhausted Vingegaard was visibly overcome with emotion. As he burst into tears still on his bike, the Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader's loving wife, Trine was first on the scene to console her husband and offer her sympathies in a tender moment captured by the TV cameras.

"It's just a culmination after another hard day. Now it has been almost three weeks and he has fought every single day and given everything he has," Trine reflected afterwards in conversation with Ekstra Bladet, explaining her husband's deep emotions in the immediate aftermath of the disappointment. "He is very emotional - we both are - so it just has to come out."

For a long while, even being present at the start line this year looked a difficult task for Vingegaard following numerous broken bones, a punctured lung and time spent in intensive care following a horrific Itzulia Basque Country crash earlier this year. So to put up such a strong fight against probably the best version of Tadej Pogacar we've ever seen, there is still plenty of reason to be positive for the Dane.

"After everything we have been through, you don't have time to process it. Quickly after the crash we were in 'mode' again to make a plan for the Tour. So there is a lot inside one that has not come out," says Trine Vingegaard. "It depends on how you measure it - whether he's hitting or not. I do think he's hitting his stride. It's clear that he wants to win. But the fact that he just finishes is a total success for us. And the fact that he's won a stage is a mega bonus."