"Without Pogacar, I probably would have won five Grand Tours by now" - Comparisons with Pogacar motivates Jonas Vingegaard
Cycling
There is no doubt that cycling today is totally marked by the rivalry between Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar. Although the Slovenian also clashes with Mathieu van der Poel in the Monuments, the duels he fights with the star of Visma | Lease a Bike at the Tour de France are unparalleled. Thanks to the two of them, this era will be remembered as one of the most beautiful and highest level in history.
So far, Vingegaard and Pogacar have dueled as Tour de France favorites in 5 editions. The Visma | Lease a Bike rider won two, in 2022 and 2023, and the UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider has taken 3, those of 2021, 2024 and 2025 (in 2020 he faced another Visma star, then it was Primoz Roglic).
Fans often wonder what would have happened if one of the two riders hadn't matched up with the other. Jonas Vingegaard has it very clear, as he told Marca on the last rest day of the current Vuelta a Espana 2025 (which he leads).
"Without Pogacar, I probably would have won five Grand Tours by now. It would be nice, but at the same time, it's nice to race against him. He's a good guy, and it's nice to have a rivalry like this. I could have won either this year or last year. Also, maybe at my first Grand Tour in 2021, but you never know," Jonas Vingegaard began by pointing out about his fight against the Slovenian.
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As mentioned, Vingegaard is currently at the Vuelta a Espana. Before stage 17, the Visma leader holds the red jersey with almost 50 seconds ahead of Joao Almeida - another great climber from the Emirati team. As it appears, Vingegaard fatigued by the recent Tour de France is not in his most competitive shape which adds an extra tension to the red battle. But even then, the Dane is yet to stumble on his path to overall victory.
"I don't get tired of the comparison with Tadej. On the contrary, I think it motivates me because he is the best rider in the world today. If I want to win a race, I have to beat Pogacar. That gives me more motivation to improve," added the two-time Tour de France winner.
Jonas Vingegaard leads the Vuelta a Espana in the absence of Tadej Pogacar
The dream of the Giro d'Italia
Should he win this Vuelta a Espana, Jonas Vingegaard would add a third Grand Tour title to his palmares. Then the next goal would be obvious - to try and complete his collection at the Giro d'Italia - a race he has not even tried yet. If the Visma | Lease a Bike rider indeed wins this Vuelta that could change in 2026.
"Right now I have two Tours de France. If I win the Vuelta, I would have two of the three Grand Tours. It would be very important for me to conquer all three in my palmarès. So yes, I would like to go to the Giro d'Italia," Vingegaard confessed.
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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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- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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