"It is very accurate" - Jonas Vingegaard confirms that unbelievable W/Kg on Plateau de Beille are true
Cycling
Stage 15 of the Tour de France had almost 5000 meters of climbing and was raced at a very high pace from start to finish. Hence, after climbing Plateau de Beille in less than 40 minutes, a whole 3:44 minutes faster than Marco Pantani in 1998, a whole conversation began on the unreal watts that were pushed by Tadej Pogacar but also his rivals. Jonas Vingegaard confirms that the estimates are 'very accurate'.
As soon as the stage finished, several analysts stopped the timer and quickly confirmed the unreal pace that was ridden on the Pyrenean climb. Pogacar raced up the 16-kilometer climb in 39 minutes and 44 seconds; Jonas Vingegaard in 40 minutes and 52 seconds; Remco Evenepoel in 42 minutes and 35 seconds... And the previous record of Marco Pantani was of 43:28 - a similar time to that of fourth place Mikel Landa.
Behind were times of riders such as Lance Armstrong in 45:40 (2004), Jelle Vanendert who won stage in 2011 with 46:26 and the GC group including Chris Froome back in 2015 with 45:39 - six minutes slower than Sunday's time by Pogacar. It was estimated that Pogacar pushed 6.98W/Kg for the whole climb, unseen numbers in the world of cycling.
Pogacar's time up the climb itself was aided by the monstrous work of Matteo Jorgenson and Jonas Vingegaard. The latter also put in his career-best performance up the ascent, said to have averaged 6.85 W/Kg for over 40 minutes.
"...The others on the team said that someone has estimated how many watts per kilo we have stepped on. To put it bluntly, it is very accurate," Vingegaard said in words to TV2 Denmark. "Of course I don't know what they rode in the old days, but it's at least the best I've ever ridden".
There is no question on whether this ride is one for the history books, at least for the time being, it is possible that more will happen in the coming days. It is palpable the evolution in climbing performance in cycling, which does not stop growing due to the constant evolution in technology, nutrition and training methods ahead of what is the biggest race in the calendar.
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- What a travesty ! That little deviation did nothing to impede Brand !frieders307-11-2026
- I also wanne beat Pogacar in the tour but it aint gonne happen. Jonas unfortunately getting dropped by del toro and seixas several times this TDF and jonas team is very weak and joinas on way down, it aint happening thats clear. its also clear it only happened cause Pogacar was hurt and had a broken wrist that time everytime both full strenght its not close we just have to be honest about it :/miguel07-11-2026
- They do this but literally let cars on courses to run over riders.mij07-11-2026
- Looking at that photo she appears to be several feet from her. I’m not sure how that impeded brands sprint.mij07-11-2026
- I hope you are wrong but I suspect you will be proved correct. It might do something for Scottish tourism - although due to logistics the route skips the most spectacular parts of Scotland. It will bring in short term money no doubt, but will cycling overall in the U,K benifit? I doubt it. Even at £2 a litre the bits love thei cars,Cyclingsbestfan07-11-2026
- Lucky to not get disqualified
leedorney07-11-2026 - The road from Holyrood to Edinburgh Castle is a nice steady climb of just over a mile that is cobbled in many parts. (Very slippery if wet!) If the teams are going by one by one that will give fans an even better view of the riders up close than the castle esplanade.Cyclingsbestfan07-11-2026
- wtf dudemij07-11-2026
- big rival … ridiculous.Ketterechts07-11-2026
- It would be great if the World Champion's jersey could be rotated among McNulty, Simmons, and Jorgenson. They threaded the needle perfectly. If each hadn't done exactly what he did, exactly when he did it, the race would have gone to one of the more heralded superstars. That said, how nice that this humble and hardworking guy gets his moment in the sun.
MarkFour07-11-2026
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🇫🇷 #TDF2024 Rest day. Where pause is power . 💙 #PauseIsPower
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