"I'm not afraid of Jonas Vingegaard. Yesterday I was more afraid of Remco Evenepoel" - Tadej Pogacar assesses Tour de France rivals as race reaches first rest day
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar's dream of a historic Giro d'Italia - Tour de France double in 2024 is still very much alive at the Tour reaches its first rest day. In the Maillot Jaune after nine stages, the UAE Team Emirates leader holds a 33 second advantage in the general classification.
"Visma is trying to have confidence towards the third week, just like last year, but it doesn't affect me, because I also have a lot of confidence in myself. I have the yellow jersey and if everything goes well I should have good legs next week and in the final week," the two time Tour de France winner says in his rest day press conference, in quotes collected by Het Nieuwsblad. "On the second stage, when we rode up San Luca, we took the KOM there, but Jonas Vingegaard was able to keep my wheel. When you ride up San Luca so quickly, you are in shape. You can also see it in the way he rides in the peloton: Jonas is simply in shape."
As far as Pogacar's main rivals go, during the first week, Remco Evneepoel and the aforementioned Vingegaard seem to be the strongest. For Vingegaard especially, this is a slight surprise, given his near three month injury layoff following the horrific injuries sustained at the Itzulia Basque Country. "I didn't know how good he would be after his crash in the Basque Country, but when they announced Jonas for the Tour I knew they wouldn't let him start if he wasn't in shape," Pogacar assesses. "After stage 2 I knew I wouldn't be able to make big time differences with him. They tried to downplay Jonas' shape a bit. But I don't care about that and focus on my legs."
Nevertheless, on the gravel stage 9, it wasn't Vingegaard that Pogacar had to concern himself with as the Dane and his Team Visma | Lease a Bike teammates went into full on defensive mode. "Hats off to Remco. It's fun to race against him. He showed yesterday that he dares to race aggressively. He's really good and in good shape," Pogacar explains. "I'm not afraid of Jonas. Yesterday I was more afraid of Remco, but I'm not afraid of anyone as long as my own form is good. Yesterday I saw that Jonas was more afraid of me or others."
"When Remco had a gap, Jonas looked at me. He only focuses on me and is a bit afraid of me. We'll see how it goes in the mountains. If they try to get to me mentally, then I can say: that won't work. They're riding against me, but that's just me, that was the case in the past Tours too. I focus on myself," Pogacar continues. "The first part of the Tour consisted of nine stages, but it started rather quietly. Now there are stages where bigger differences can be made. I think we will see bigger time differences next weekend after stage 15."
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.
claps 3visitors 3
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Are you MrMauMau 2.0? Nothing you are saying is really relevant. Vaguely connected, but irrelevant. The conversation is whether Schreiber impeded Brand or not.
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
Loading
Message to Tadej Pogacar : Please do not attack during the rest day... #TDF2024
9 Comments