"It can't be a coincidence that Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel & Remco Evenepoel are childless" - Analyst sees Jonas Vingegaard's family life as disadvantage
CyclingTuesday, 10 June 2025 at 09:25
On stage 1 of the 2025 Criterium du Dauphiné, the four biggest names in the peloton all came out to play as Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel, Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard launched attacks. According to one Dutch analyst however, taking a wider look at the cycling calendar, Vingegaard is at a distinct disadvantage compared to his rivals.
According to 42-year-old Dutchman Stef Clement, who ended his pro career riding for Team LottoNL-Jumbo - the now-Team Visma | Lease a Bike - Vingegaard's disadvantage when compared to the likes of Pogacar, Van der Poel and Evenepoel, is the fact that the Dane has more of a life away from the bike, with his priorities sometimes being split.
"He’s competing against Pogacar, who seems to have a completely different attitude to life. It can hardly be a coincidence that the wonderkids of the current peloton – Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel, and Remco Evenepoel – are all childless,” says Clement in conversation with Helden Magazine. “I get the sense that they ride with a greater sense of freedom, they find it easier to throw themselves into a race, and they seem able to focus entirely on cycling in a way that’s just a little more complete.”
This split in focus is used as a criticism of Vingegaard from some fans, with the fact that the Dane's season is based around the Tour de France being compared to the year round exploits of his Maillot Jaune rivals Pogacar and Evenepoel. The attitude of Vingegaard is also a let less carefree, according to Clement's colleague Karsten Kroon.
“Vingegaard has previously admitted he struggles with the pressure he feels. That’s something Pogacar doesn’t seem fazed by in the slightest. He just doesn’t care – he’s smiling before the start, during the race, and afterwards,” Kroon analyses. “I believe Vingegaard could absolutely handle racing more frequently – physically, that is. But mentally? I’m not so sure he could cope with that much more racing.”
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DareDevil29-06-2025 - Is the participation of pro riders in national championship compulsory in Belgium? If it is, then report of illness is less reliable. I can see why some riders may want to skip it to prepare for the Tour and use illness as an excuse to avoid punishment. I'm not implying that Wout is doing so.
KerisVroom29-06-2025 - He believes in Roglic BUT the lineup (changed at last minute, after Meeus victory) has only 3 climbers (one of these co-captain) and the rest of the team is made up of sprinter/train of sprinter. I notice a contradiction...
maria2024202429-06-2025 - Nah... the Lion of Keyboard (a defaming criminal) explicitly CLAIMS TO KNOW there's a lot of money to cover up Tadej's doping. According to him, the substance is known, tests are positive, but a corrupt system is hiding it. There's no a super evil Gianetti brewing magic potions for Tadej. I don't like Gianetti at all, but let's not exaggerate, he was one more of the culture of his time, like many others who now are managers, DS, and so on.maria2024202429-06-2025
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If you say that, then you’re probably considering a pretty old-fashioned type of fathering but as you have no idea of Pogs’ (or Urska’s, assuming it would happen with her) conception of fathering, I don’t think you’re in a position to know what it would change for him, he might even de ide to retire completely to focus on family. In Denmark and quite a few countries now, fathers are expected to (and actually do) spend considerable time RAISING their children, that would affect EVERY riders’ training and more importantly, racing schedule and frequency. Luckily for cyclists, careers tend to end by the time riders reach optimal parenting age so most can and do put it off until after.