"I have doubts about Pogacar's form" - Contador believes in Vingegaard's comeback after Mont Ventoux surge
Cycling
The Tour de France 2025 saw a new chapter in the fight between Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard on Tuesday. Unfortunately, it's coming to an end. But the two UAE and Visma riders gave away a beautiful fight on Mont Ventoux before the general classification is decided in the Alps. In addition, something happened on the aforementioned final climb that may restore the Dane's hopes.
At least, that's what Alberto Contador has pointed out in statements to Eurosport. Pogacar did not have a dominant version throughout the climb. In fact, what he devoted most of the time to was stopping Vingegaard's constant attacks.
The Visma | Lease a Bike leader pushed the UAE Team Emirates - XRG star to the limit (confirmed by Pogacar himself). After the stage, Jonas noted that, despite losing an extra 2 seconds at the finish, he felt he had won morally, and Contador fully understands that:
"There are several things that raise doubts about Pogacar's form. The first one is that UAE didn't finally control the race so that Tadej would win the stage. Everyone took it for granted that this was going to be the case, thinking about getting the victory on a mythical climb like Mont Ventoux," began the Spanish cycling legend.
Pogacar only attacked Vingegaard twice. First strike caused little to no damage. With an acceleration in final meters, Pogacar gained 2 seconds, but he didn't make any attacks comparable to the one on Hautacam.
Vingegaard constantly attacked Pogacar on Mont Ventoux
"Then we saw that in front both Marc Soler and Pavel Sivakov, either because they couldn't or for another reason, UAE couldn't fight for the victory with another rider because they were in Ben Healy's group. UAE's tactic was just to hold on," added Contador.
"Pogacar gave the impression that when Jonas Vingegaard started, the Dane pushed him a little harder. Although it's true that he almost never stood up and countered him sitting down, he seemed to struggle. Also, then when Tadej counterattacked, Jonas was able to close the gap on him. That's why I understand 100% why Vingegaard said that he has recovered morale for the Alps," concluded Alberto Contador's analysis.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when 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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