"I only see Primoz Roglic capable of threatening Tadej Pogacar" - Danny Nelissen expecting Slovenian Tour de France winner
Cycling
After his comprehensive win of the 2024 Giro d'Italia earlier this year, Tadej Pogacar heads to the Tour de France as the pre-race favourite to win the Maillot Jaune. Given the uncertainty surrounding his main rival Jonas Vingegaard, who could emerge as Pogacar's main challenger is something that splits opinion.
According to ex-pro Danny Nelissen, himself a three-time Tour de France competitor, Pogacar's Slovenian compatriot, Primoz Roglic is the man best placed to emerge from the pack and give the UAE Team Emirates leader something of a challenge. "I only see Primoz Roglic capable of threatening him," Nelissen tells Wielerrevue.
Even with Roglic however, Nelissen is unsure Pogacar will truly be challenged over the coming month. "It has been quiet around Roglic lately," the Dutchman analyses. "There is still quite a bit of time before the Tour and I hope we see a battle between the big 3, namely Pogacar, Vingegaard and Roglic. It will be very important that Pogacar has recovered well and does not get sick between the Giro and the Tour."
Despite already having a Grand Tour in his legs, the fact Vingegaard, Roglic and Remco Evenepoel were all disrupted by a mass crash at the Itzulia Basque Country, ensure Pogacar's heavy favouritism is well placed according to Nelissen. "His competitors have all had inadequate preparation," the Dutchman explains. "Certainly Vingegaard with his collapsed lung, he has lost a lot of condition after the Itzulia Basque Country. I don't see him appearing in top form at the start of the Tour. Vingegaard had to stay in bed in hospital for a very long time and he could not be transported."
"I was always taught that if you don't cycle for one day, you have to train two days to make up for it. If he can train well in May and June, it is possible, but at what intensity was he able to cycle? If you follow the logic a little follows, then Pogacar could win the Giro and the Tour," Nelissen continues. "I don't think you can conclude from the Giro that Pogacar is more dominant than ever before. Who will he win against? Ben O'Connor. With all due respect, that is not the greatest classification rider. I have not yet mentioned Evenepoel for the Tour. He may have won the Vuelta, but I still have to see him in the absolute high mountains of the Tour."
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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- A very true statement made by Johan Bruyneel: "We don’t know for sure about Jonas, 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." That's exactly what I've been saying the last six months. If Pogi races with Jonas, the most he can be is second... UNLESS... Pogi crashes out or makes a BIG mistake, which is not likely to happen. Either Bruyneel thinks the way I do or he reads my posts. Ad acta!!!PogiSloFans13-11-2026
- TADEJ POGAČAR !!! "Anatomy of a G.O.A.T." OK, that's great!!! I've been saying all along: Tadej Pogačar-Pogi is the G.O.A.T... period. Not only in cycling... but he's the greatest sportsman that ever lived !!! But let's take a look of what real foolishness looks like: We have many many fools, also on this site, saying that Pogi is "boring,"... he's making cycling "boring"??? I can't believe what's comming out of their deteriorating smelly mouths. So I guess Merckx, Hinault, Indurain, Fasto Coppi and Anquetil were also boring!?!? I guess Michael Jordan, Le Bron, Gretzky, Messi, Ronaldo, Shumacher, Novak Džoković, Federer, Rossi, Marquez, Phelps, Michaela Shiffrin, Venus Williams, Bolt, Lewis Hamilton... etc. were all boring. PS: Many cycling "fans" that think that way, have to get a brain scan. Ad acta!!!PogiSloFans13-11-2026
- Ayuso has had enough time. He's always going to be a mediocre to good cyclist... nothing special or astonishing. But he does have many excuses, just like Remco, but Remco delivers good wins on occasions, Ayuso doesn't. Ad acta!!!PogiSloFans13-11-2026
- I agree, Johan Bruyneel made big mistakes, he was involved in the biggest doping scandal in the history of sports... BUT NEVERTHELESS... Bruyneels analysis on bike racing and cyclists is among the best. That's a fact... period!!! I love listening to Spencer Martin and Johan on WEDU-THE MOVE PODCAST, but I don't care about Armstrong and Hincapie. They are both american bull shi***s who like to exaggerate and talk nonsense.PogiSloFans13-11-2026
- the headline is poorly written too. it makes it sound like their plan is to simply wait until he stops.mij13-11-2026
- 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
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Primož Roglič’s new profile photo. 👊🏼
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