“I actually find them quite stupid remarks" - Jonas Vingegaard at the centre in war of words as Brian Holm launches defence of Visma leader
Cycling
Brian Holm has hit back at criticism aimed towards Jonas Vingegaard, insisting that Johan Bruyneel's comments declaring the Dane wouldn't win the Tour de France again as 'nonsense'.
Former Danish team manager Holm was critical of the former team manager's assessment of the Visma rider, with Bruyneel stating that the Dutch team's project around Vingegaard and the Tour de France was over and that the Dane could retire in the near future.
Vingegaard won Paris Nice, Volta a Catalunya and dominated the Giro d'Italia before coming face-to-face with Tadej Pogacar at the Tour de France. However, he crashed out of stage 15 with a broken collarbone while in second place - 4:30 behind the Slovenian in the yellow jersey race.
Speaking after Vingegaard and Pogacar's 2026 seasons were officially in the books, Bruyneel believes that Vingegaard is 'at his limit' in the race to match Pogacar in a conversation about the rise of Paul Seixas.
"Something tells me—and I don't have any information on this, it's purely a hunch—that Jonas is at his limit," Bruyneel declared on The Move Podcast.
"We don’t know for sure, because he dropped out of the Tour de France, but he would never have come close to Pogacar. Maybe he would have finished second. He won the Giro in dominant fashion and the Vuelta the year before, but Visma wants to win the Tour."
Johan Bruyneel
Bruyneel thinks Vingegaard could retire in near future
Bruyneel believes the 29-year-old, contracted until the end of the 2028 season, could be entering the final years of his career.
Bruyneel added: "And Jonas isn’t going to win the Tour, unless something happens to Pogacar... Project Jonas for the future is over.
“From what I understand from people who have some inside information from Denmark and the surrounding area, Jonas won’t be racing much more. He has other priorities, but he won’t race until he’s 35. He’ll ride for another two or three years.”
Holm, who is currently a sports director at Soudal Quick-Step, slammed the Belgian's comments as he defended his compatriot - pointing to his Giro success in 2026.
Holm defends Vingegaard
“I actually find them quite stupid remarks when they say that he can't keep up anymore and will probably quit soon," Holm responded to Eurosport.
"Just look at the results he is achieving this year. Isn't that insane? And then we have to read such nonsense."
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Focusing on Bruyneel, Holm referenced his past with Lance Armstrong, who managed the American during his comeback from retirement in 2009.
He added: “A man who is writing Jonas off now, while he himself tried to bring Armstrong back after he had retired for three or four years. That is quite funny, isn't it?”
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- It doesnt take a genius to understand that Pogi is 1 level above and Pogi is younger that Jonas, so Jonas will not win under ordinary circumstances. Pogi has to crack hard for Jonas to win. It doesn't matter whether you defend Jonas or not , facts remain facts. Jonas himself says his numbers are better than 2022/2023, so Jonas is more or less optimized and we are just see the stochastic variation due to other factors. I think he will retire along with Pedersen in WC denmarkabstractengineer13-11-2026
- They only raced each other during the 2026 Tour, but here's a few metrics to look at. Stage 3 (Granollers to Les Angles): Pogačar won the stage, finishing 2 seconds ahead of Vingegaard (2nd). Del Toro finished 24 seconds behind Stage 6 (Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre / Col du Tourmalet): Pogačar won solo, Vingegaard finished 2nd (losing 2:38), and Del Toro finished 3rd (at +2:57, finishing 19 seconds behind Vingegaard). Here, Jonas Vingegaard outclimbed Isaac del Toro by 19 seconds on the mountain stageawp13-11-2026
- your clinging to the past. Jonas was dropped by del toro many times last year and jonas never managed a climbing numers del toro did in dauphine last year -entire year. Trend is also evident theres no discussion your living in the past, its beent he same with jonas for many years now and only developing, meanwhile del toro is rising and developing greatly. This is all obvious stuff and im not even a del toro fan. No point discussing numbers or this i suspect you dont watch much now but rather think its 2022 still cause this aint hard.miguel13-11-2026
- We can go through metrics if you like, Del Toro, who I do admire and support, is not on the same level as Jonas just yet. You will see that in early 2027 if they have any crossover races. I do hope they both race the Giro. You are correct though, Jonas is getting older and will not be able to hand on much longer. I see 2027 as a good year for him. Obviously behind Tadej though.awp13-11-2026
- What wins? Are you LA operating under a pseudonym?mij13-11-2026
- My point is this - Tadej, Remco, Seixas are all the outliers. Many riders don’t hit their peak until 28. It’s way too early to write him off. And the pogi slo guy that hates him - he’s also immature. Ayuso needs time.mij13-11-2026
- Then you need to use ur eyes or head if you have cause del toro already dropped jonas two times and beat him in tdf stages already this year.. Del toro climbed(dauphine) better numbers than jonas did all year too. So ur feelings and wishful thinking doesnt amtter del toro himself has already surpassed jonas infact just facts. Its also very evident for anyone objective that Jonas is declining alot, its just the truth and super obvious.miguel13-11-2026
- None of those victories stand, so there's that,wrsty13-11-2026
- No surprise there; it is British Sycling, yes, with an S
Rafionain-Glas12-11-2026 - I like Del Toro but he's not on the level of Jonas, by a large margin.awp12-11-2026
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