“He’ll finish outside the podium” - Jonas Vingegaard faces 2027 Tour de France nightmare, warns Michael Rasmussen
Cycling
Michael Rasmussen expects Jonas Vingegaard to finish outside the podium at the 2027 Tour de France, despite a record of first or second place in every edition he has completed. The former yellow jersey holder delivered his verdict following Thursday’s unveiling of the route.
“Jonas has shown recently that he’s struggling a little when it comes to flat time trials,” Rasmussen told Viaplay. “He finished 13th in the Giro, and he’s also taken some hefty beatings in the most recent flat time trials at the Tour.”
Vingegaard lost 1:21 to Remco Evenepoel over 33km in Caen during the 2025 Tour, finishing 13th on the stage. His eventual second place overall extended a sequence that began with runner-up honours in 2021, continued with victories in 2022 and 2023, and included another second place in 2024.
The 2027 course offers 71km of individual time trialling, the most since 2012. The first test covers 38 flat kilometres between Blois and Chambord on stage seven; the second runs for 33km around Toulouse on stage 16, including the Cote de Pech David.
There are three summit finishes among six mountain stages. Both time trials come before the closing Pyrenean double-header, with the Tourmalet and Col du Portet on stage 18 followed by the mountainous route to Laruns.
Evenepoel and Seixas in contention
Rasmussen considers Evenepoel and Paul Seixas better suited to the flatter time trials. Evenepoel has won an individual time-trial stage in each of his three Tour appearances.
“I actually think he’ll finish outside the podium,” Rasmussen said of Vingegaard. “I put a lot of weight on what the bookmakers say, and they’re rarely completely wrong. It makes a lot of sense. Jonas hasn’t really been handed any gifts by this Tour de France route.”
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Vingegaard went on to win the 2026 Giro on his debut after placing 13th in its time trial. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader also won Paris–Nice and the Volta a Catalunya before attempting the Giro–Tour double.
Vingegaard started stage 15 of the Tour in second place, 4:30 behind Tadej Pogacar, before a crash fractured his collarbone and forced him to abandon. Evenepoel moved into second that day and retained the position through to Paris.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- I actually expect Remco to crash or have a bad day due to the aircon or something.abstractengineer24-10-2026
- Pogi took 3 minutes in one stage over Remco and Remco gave up. Pogi beat Pantani's record by a Minute on Alpe DHuez while taking 2 minutes over Remco. Remco only relies in crashes and TTs for his GC.abstractengineer24-10-2026
- He wont get the moneyabstractengineer24-10-2026
- PogiFanSlobberBoy once again clowning here! Look in the mirror and you'll see the foolish one!frieders324-10-2026
- Yawn ! Another ridiculous comment from a bike doper !frieders324-10-2026
- What is Roll smoking? McNulty would never contend in the big mountain stages...ever!frieders324-10-2026
- blah blah blah !frieders324-10-2026
- Not countering your facts but sometimes context is also important. The TT against Roglo wasn’t exactly a TT as most people think of them, with almost 1000m gained over less than 40km it was more a mountain top stage finish without the preliminaries.Jumpyjohn23-10-2026
- I believe organizers would do well to just focus their efforts on improving safety, for both riders and spectators. Let the riders compete against each other, that is their job. The organizers' job is to provide a safe venue for the riders to exhibit their talents, for the enjoyment of the fans. Pogacar, the sport's top rider, crashing in La Vuelta in a freak accident, because of a rock strewn on the road, and missing 4 major events as a result, is just disgusting for the fans, no matter what the results may turn out to be. No justification for trying to influence the outcome in any way to favor any competitor.FredMan23-10-2026
- Good luck with that. Pogacar is the best ever and UAE best team ever. I understand why organisors try but its impossible they are to good and the combo is insane.miguel23-10-2026
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