"I can still win the Tour" - Jonas Vingegaard defiant on second rest day of 2025 Tour de France

He might head into the second rest day of the 2025 Tour de France more than four minutes down on Tadej Pogacar, but that doesn't mean Jonas Vingegaard has given up hope of a third career Maillot Jaune victory.

"I can still win the Tour," stresses a defiant Dane in his rest day press conference for Team Visma | Lease a Bike. "I have to attack, and I will. I feel like I'm getting better every day. I remain hopeful because my level is much better than on the bad days. When you know that, you don't lose hope."

Whilst Pogacar and Vingegaard have been relatively evenly matched for the most part, a disastrous time trial in the opening week from Vingegaard and a destructive showing from Pogacar on Hautacam have seen clear separation between the pair.

"I never normally have those. We're still investigating the cause of these bad days, but so far we haven't found an answer," Vingegaard says, admitting the chances of Pogacar having a similarly bad day don't look likely. "He hasn't shown any weaknesses yet, otherwise I would have exploited them. He's the most complete rider."

Despite criticism from some quarters over their tactics in the race since Hautacam, Team Visma | Lease a Bike sports director Grischa Niermann insists the team have a plan to help Vingegaard, albeit he admits they are now fighting on multiple fronts as riders go off in search of stage wins.

"You don't make up four minutes with an attack in the last 800 meters. There are still big mountain stages to come, so you only win the Tour in Paris," Niermann explains, addressing criticism of the team's tactics. "We've been here with several goals from the start. It was my decision to let Wout van Aert and Victor Campenaerts attack and not to bring everyone back for Jonas."