"I fought for stage wins, but then it usually ended with Tadej Pogacar or Jonas Vingegaard coming" - Uno-X star on breakaway suffocation at the Tour de France
Cycling
At the 2024 Tour de France, Tadej Pogacar bagged himself a stunning six stage victories, with Jonas Vingegaard taking one. Although this brilliance was great viewing for the supporters, for those riders that rely on breakaways for success, things were somewhat suffocated.
One of those riders that attempted multiple breakaways escapades at the 2024 Tour de France, was Uno-X Mobility's Tobias Johannessen, finishing 11th on stage 15 and stage 20. "I'm very happy that I ended up doing the Tour in the end, which was the big goal. Even though the road to get there was quite bumpy," the 25-year-old Norwegian tells Max, noting an injury hit campaign this year. "I felt good, but Pogacar felt a little bit better," he adds with a wry smile.
As mentioned, Johannessen was active in the breakaways during the Grand Tour, getting himself in the mix for a first ever Tour de France success without any ultimate reward. A big reason for that, was the relentlessly attacking and aggressive racing from the likes of Pogacar behind as the Slovenian leader of UAE Team Emirates secured his third Maillot Jaune with six stage wins en route.
"In some of the breaks I was in, I fought for stage wins, but then it usually ended with Pogacar or Vingegaard coming from behind and taking those victories," Johannessen recalls with a tinge of disappointment. "So I'm left with the feeling that if I'd had a bit of a margin, it could have been really good. You'd look at it completely differently than you do now."
"It wasn't just me who didn't manage to take a stage win. He (Tadej Pogacar ed.) was just enormous," the Uno-X Mobility star concludes. "So we have a job to do over the winter, but I don't think it's impossible that if we get to the Tour next year we'll be able to take a stage win."
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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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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