"I don't care at all" - Jonas Vingegaard shrugs off back-and-forth with Tadej Pogacar at Tour de France

Stage 11 of the Tour de France has started off full speed and not only are the stage hunters attempt to all attacks, but the GC riders too. Jonas Vingegaard has not been able to explore the roads of the Massif Central ahead of the race however he certainly knows that he has to be ready for anything.

"No I haven't had time to recon it. It was in my plan but of course because of the crash I couldn't," Jonas Vingegaard said in words to ITV Cycling this morning. The day features a rather flat start but the finale has four consecutive categorized climbs. Some of them with very high gradients whilst the descents can also be very technical and tricky in this part of France. In the high mountains Vingegaard and Visma have the experience and quality, but on this terrain the explosivity of Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel can really make for a dangerous stage.

The Danish climber starts the day in third place and certainly, despite being behind his rivals, his tactic will once again be conservative today as it is far from the terrain where he typically makes the difference. "They say that it's very tough climbs so yeah we have to be ready for attacks and do our best there," he warns.

He was, naturally, asked about the words of Evenepoel and Pogacar over the past days, which were of discontent of Vingegaard's overly defensive tactics. Yesterday Pogacar put down the idea that Vingegaard is racing smarter than his rivals. "In the Tour de France, racing intelligence is important, but above all you need good legs to win the Tour.”

But the defending champion remains solid as steel in his stance in this race, when asked if it is true that he's scared or only focusing on the Slovenian. "I don't care at all" was his response.