"It was an intense battle with Tadej" - Jonas Vingegaard reflects on Tour de France he'll never forget

For the second time in his career, Jonas Vingegaard stood on top of the Tour de France podium in Paris adorned in the Maillot Jaune. Reflecting on his win during the Team Visma | Lease a Bike presentation, the Dane called it an unforgettable race.

"It is a bit easier if you have already won the Tour once, although the pressure was still as high," begins the Dane who has also signed a contract extension it was announced earlier in the day. "Even if we didn't win it again, we could always say in the future that we won it once. That was something positive for my mental state of mind. It made me a little calmer."

As has become the Tour de France routine in recent years, the battle for the Maillot Jaune came down to either Vingegaard or UAE Team Emirates leader, Tadej Pogacar. "It was an intense battle with Tadej," Vingegaard recalls. "We were both super strong. That resulted in great duels. In the time trial and the day after, I finally managed to make the difference. It's something I'll never forget."

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In 2024, with Pogacar set to ride a Giro/Tour double and the likelihood of both Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel leading the respective charges of BORA - hansgrohe and Soudal - Quick-Step, could we see the Vingegaard/Pogacar stranglehold of the Tour de France broken?