"If you had told me four months ago that I would be second, I wouldn't have believed you" - Jonas Vingegaard disappointed but proud of his Tour de France

The Tour de France came to a wrap with Sunday's time trial in Nice, for many it was a final chance to either go for a stage success, or make up some time in the GC. However the podium was already settled and with Tadej Pogacar absolutely smashing the course, Jonas Vingegaard could already prepare his interview reactions on the way to Nice.

"Under any other circumstances I would have been disappointed," the Dane opened, before coming up with a logical but. "But after everything I've been through this year, with my crash, I don't have the right to do that now. My preparation wasn't optimal, but I also reached a very high level. So Pogacar deserves to win. If you had told me four months ago that I would be second, I wouldn't have believed you."

"It was a special race," the Dane told TV2. "Of course I hoped I could win, but I think that considering the build-up I had, it's quite normal the way it went. I fought for the win for two weeks, but in the last week I broke down and had a few bad days. Somehow I've also never been as tired as I am now."

"I haven't really had a break since November last year," he indicates. "Mentally I'm completely exhausted," the rider said. "If you had told me a few months ago that I would come second, I wouldn't have believed you. At that time I didn't even know if I would ever ride a bike again. So it feels like a victory, to come second here in the Tour. Even at my highest level I would have had a hard time beating Tadej."

"I haven't even had time to let it all sink in," Vingegaard said in his first reaction afterwards. "From the moment I got out of the hospital, I've been focused on the Tour. So everything that happened still has to sink in."