"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
Cycling
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."
Read also
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.
claps 6visitors 6
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- What kind of sauce is on that rice? Ketchup?Kbd05-11-2026
- 18 broken bones. 78 crashes, among 30 rider per year is a lot. so for a rider over 15 seasons, they will break their bones 7-8 times and crash 38 times.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- i dont think he is ready ot win against the top 2 or the 2nd rung of evenepoel, del toro , Almeida. In the third week in the TDF he was very very defensive, no attacks. i think he was exhausted. right now he needs time not the brutal Giro or the intense TDF.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- Rota is an excellent rider to get in a break with because he always does his turnchapmanesque04-11-2026
- That 3000 extra that the Tour de France is built up in the flat stages
Rafionain-Glas04-11-2026 - maybe this is something else they can protest in the streets of France.mij04-11-2026
- his Roubaix win was amazing. not to take anything away from him - arguably one of MVDP's wins was at the expense of a WVA flat - but so many things need to line up to get one of these. He had a perfect race with fewer bike issues on an attritional course. And crazy strong as usual. Glad he got this done.mij04-11-2026
- Orts was a super smart signing with the new rules regarding cross and UCI pointsmij04-11-2026
- yeah... you're right...PogiSloFans04-11-2026
- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
Loading
Vor drei Monaten schwer gestürzt, heute 2. der #TDF2024 Bravo Jonas Vingegaard ❤️
3 Comments