"It was a special stage for me" - Jonas Vingegaard looks to roll back the years in Massif Central where he last beat Tadej Pogacar
Cycling
In 2024, Jonas Vingegaard sprinted to victory in Le Lioran, beating Tadej Pogacar in a photo-finish sprint. Today, the Tour de France peloton goes through the same roads and the same finale, where the Dane hopes to be able to replicate the performance of two years ago.
On that day, Pogacar attacked the climb to Pas de Peyrol but later struggled as a result of bad feeding. He was caught on the Col de Pertus and later on the two would ride together towards the uphill sprint where the Dane won. At the time, a big hit, but that would be days before Pogacar would begin his uncontested Tour dominance.
Ever since that day, Jonas Vingegaard has never been able to beat his rival, and Pogacar became the dominant climbing figure he is today, where not even the very best in the peloton can drop him on the longer efforts. Vingegaard recalls that day, one of the finest wins of his career.
Vingegaard reminiscent of an iconic win
“I never give up and also that day I never gave up,” Vingegaard told TNT Sports before the start. “It will be the same here in this Tour. I won’t give up until we’re in Paris.”
Vingegaard has lost significant time on stage 6, but his performance on the Col du Tourmalet was promising, as he also looked above the rest of the competiton. With today's shorter climbs, he may be closer to the yellow jersey than the previous week's decisive stage.
“It was a special stage for me. It was very, very nice win for me personally to win there, coming back from the crash I had and some very tough months before that. Bow we come back there… I have good memories and today is another fight there.”
Read also
Vingegaard expects UAE to go all-out
The leader of Team Visma | Lease a Bike is in strong form but on the other side of the spectrum is the Emirati team, who worked hard on stage 9 to control the breakaway and is expected to do the same on stage 10. Pogacar is the ultimate favourite, but the explosive terrain also favours Isaac del Toro who may want to make differences.
“We expect the UAE to go for the stage win. I hope I have good legs and the team has good legs, we’ll see," Vingegaard said in a pre-stage interview.
The Dane is not having as much support as expected as Matteo Jorgenson struggles with the heat; but the likes of Sepp Kuss and Davide Piganzoli could prove very important in a stage whose final half features a roller-coaster profile. "We’ll definitely do what’s best for me. Then we’ll see what happens".
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- It's going to happen at some point. It will happen to Tadej as well, we all get older. Jonas was in pretty great form at the tour. I still consider him a top two or three cyclist in the world, until he's not.awp15-11-2026
- mij, I am not so sure of that. I have been on a spine ward at a Denver hospital that had quite a few spinal injuries from mountain biking.BDBigGuy15-11-2026
- Pogi takes care of his teammates in races and training. Tadej Pogačar is widely praised within the cycling peloton for his fair and egalitarian leadership, actively supporting his UAE teammates both on the road during races and behind the scenes at training camps. Rather than acting like an untouchable superstar, he has intense team loyalty by sharing daily chores, giving up personal glory to help domestiques, and publicly praising their sacrifices. Unlike some Grand Tour contenders, like Vingegaard, who occasionally train away from their squads, Pogi consistently attends team training camps alongside his domestiques, making the exact same sacrifices to build friendship. I love how Pogačar shares his teammates-domestiques, either when they succeed or win in races or when they simply just do a good job for him. It has to be a great moral boost for them. And then they work even harder and go even deeper for Pogi. This is teamwork.PogiSloFans15-11-2026
- Yeah, what he said!Lozza15-11-2026
- I’m sure Jasper Philipsen would disagree with you.Lozza15-11-2026
- Article says he was “out for a spin around the town”, implying not off-road.Lozza15-11-2026
- let’s be honest, Alpecin is all about one rider - MVDP. I’m sure he gets whatever he needs, the rest get the scraps.mij15-11-2026
- there are more vicious injuries on a road bike than a mountain bike far and away.mij15-11-2026
- That'll be one crazy rider
Rafionain-Glas15-11-2026 - Many Europeans say that Austria, Switzerland and Slovenia are one of the most beautiful countries in Europe known for their stunning landscapes because of the Alp mountains, green forests, clean rivers and lakes and national parks.PogiSloFans15-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment