“I produce the best I’ve ever done and he just rides away from me” – Jonas Vingegaard asks Mattias Skjelmose ‘what more can I do?’ as Pogacar gap grows
CyclingFriday, 07 August 2026 at 11:00
Jonas Vingegaard has questioned what more he can do to get back on terms with Tadej Pogacar, according to fellow Dane Mattias Skjelmose.
Vingegaard defeated Pogacar at the Tour de France in both 2022 and 2023, but their rivalry has shifted dramatically since. Pogacar reclaimed yellow in 2024, successfully defended the title in 2025 and had already opened a lead of more than four minutes before Vingegaard crashed out of the 2026 race.
The frustrating part for the Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader is that he does not believe his own level has gone backwards. Vingegaard has repeatedly spoken of producing career-best performances even as Pogacar has become increasingly difficult to follow.
Skjelmose has now offered a glimpse of how Vingegaard discusses that situation away from the formalities of press conferences, having spoken regularly with the four-time Grand Tour winner during races.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Jonas is someone who has really developed as a person,” Skjelmose said on Christian Fuhlendorff’s Hva så?! podcast. “I have been lucky enough to speak with him quite a lot when we are racing. We have some good conversations.”
One of those conversations centred directly on Pogacar. “He says: ‘I produce the best I’ve ever done. I can’t do any more. What am I supposed to do? When I produce the best I’ve ever done and he just rides away from me. I can’t do any more.’”
Vingegaard’s 2026 season offered little evidence of decline. He won Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya before dominating the Giro d’Italia on debut, taking five stages and completing his collection of victories in all three Grand Tours.
Five weeks later, however, Pogacar again proved the stronger of the pair at the Tour. Vingegaard struggled particularly when the world champion accelerated on shorter and steeper efforts, a weakness he later suggested may have resulted from preparation geared too heavily towards the long climbs of the Giro.
Michael Rasmussen rejected that explanation after the Tour. The former Danish Tour contender called it a “poor excuse” and argued that Visma had enough time to sharpen Vingegaard between the two Grand Tours. Rasmussen went considerably further with his assessment of the overall rivalry: “Visma could have sent Jonas to the moon. The result would still have been the same: defeat to Tadej Pogacar.”
Vingegaard's DNF meant the 2026 Tour was the first since 2020 not to have Pogacar & Vingegaard 1st and 2nd in some order
Vingegaard still carries the expectation
Pogacar’s recent dominance has not produced another rider consistently closer to him in Grand Tours. Vingegaard remains the only man to have beaten the Slovenian twice at the Tour and finished either first or second in each of his first five appearances. His 2026 challenge ended through injury while he was again second overall.
“I think there is enormous pressure on him,” Skjelmose said. “Because he is the only one who has been able to compete with him and he is the one who is closest to him. Everyone’s expectations are on him, not just Denmark’s. We are just lucky that he happens to be Danish.”
That expectation has followed Vingegaard even as Pogacar’s advantage has expanded beyond the Tour. Since reclaiming yellow in 2024, the Slovenian has added further Grand Tour, Monument and World Championship success while remaining the benchmark Vingegaard is measured against each July.
Vingegaard will turn 30 in December and remains contracted to Team Visma | Lease a Bike through 2028. His immediate concern is recovering from the fractured collarbone suffered on stage 15 of the Tour, with no date yet confirmed for a return to racing.
Whenever their next Tour confrontation arrives, Vingegaard will do so having already beaten the performances that once made him a two-time champion. According to Skjelmose, that is precisely what has left him asking what more there is to find.
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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- By any standard other than Pogi Jonas had a fantastic season with 12 wins including the GC in the Giro and two major one week racesmobk07-08-2026
- Apparently you guys don't know much of the mindset of the elite athlete. Not a lot of athletes retire in their competitive prime. And they don't give up just because they can't beat so and so. Lots of elite athletes in the peloton sacrificing just as much as Jonas with far less to show for it.mobk07-08-2026
- Spectacular Kasia!mobk07-08-2026
- Quoting Cyclingnews not a rider...
Rafionain-Glas07-08-2026 - Who's talking about a quote? No one is talking about the Giro or Vuelta, that's what Cycling News wrote after the 2025 TdF, after Jonas lost to Pogi the second year in a row. Last year Jonas was producing his best numbers ever but still lost TdF. Even in 2024 Jonas said "My level is higher then in 2023, my numbers are better despite my crash, but Pogi is just too strong." ... So, what's your point?PogiSloFans07-08-2026
- Ridiculous... that's not a quote. How would it be if it says 03/08/2025 but says that Vingegaard had conquered the Giro and Vuelta? At that point, he only had 2 ToursRafionain-Glas07-08-2026
- This is pretty amazing to watch!RidesHills07-08-2026
- Vollering and Reusser are doing a Carapaz vs del ToroRafionain-Glas07-08-2026
- It's easy enough to look up his numbers and do some work on wikipedia or procyclingstats: He's tied with Rominger, Nibali, and Heras at 4 grand tour wins. That puts him in a tie for 13th most grand tour wins of all riders. The 21st century riders ahead of him are Contador (7), Froome (7), Pogačar (6), and Roglič (5). Binda, Bartali, and Gimondi are tied with Roglič at 5. Indurain and Coppi are tied with Contador and Froome at 7. Anquetil (8), Hinault (10), and Merckx (11) are at the top of the list, to nobody's surprise. It is impressive and worth celebrating that Vingegaard is one of only 16 people to win 4 or more grand tours.RidesHills07-08-2026
- I wish Jonas the best too ofcourse and ur right but in terms of cycling its not the best when ur hearth isnt in it that much anymore. All i meant.miguel07-08-2026
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