"It’s a shame to lose time" - Jonas Vingegaard disappointed to lose time but not pessimistic on chances to win Tour de France
CyclingWednesday, 03 July 2024 at 10:52
Jonas Vingegaard set himself up to fight for the Tour de France win after he resisted the attack of Tadej Pogacar on the second stage. However in the high mountains, where the Dane usually thrives, he was not able to match his closest rival and has shed significant time today.
“It’s a shame to lose time. But honestly, when we started the Tour, we expected to lose time in almost all of the first four stages," Vingegaard said in words to Wielerflits. "The fact that this only happened in one of these stages is something we can be quite happy about. It’s also true that I lost most of the race in the second part of the descent. In that part, weight was more important. I think we can be happy with how it went in the first four days. We expected to be 3-0 down already, so it feels like a small victory.”
Visma did not work at the head of the peloton today, but was vulnerable when UAE Team Emirates really pushed the pace up the final kilometers of the Col du Galibier. Matteo Jorgenson was in the GC group until a few kilometers to the summit but was not able to match UAE's two main domestiques for Tadej Pogacar. UAE did not attack with their depth, however Tadej Pogacar had the legs to drop the Dane.
The gap at the summit of the climb was only of a few seconds, but Pogacar really made the difference then on the descent. “It went quite well. Until we turned left, I kept the gap at about ten seconds. But after that he had a bit more advantage of gravity. That worked out well for him and he gained some time. I have to accept that.”
At the end of the day, taking time on the road and bonifications, Vingegaard lost 50 seconds on Pogacar. Not a deadly loss, but a meaningful one which now puts Vingegaard on the back foot. “Of course it always helps to have someone with you. Maybe I would have put him in front, you never know. But this is how it was today. I know what Matteo and Wilco can do, so I am sure they will be there later in the race," he concluded.
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- Jonas is a great rider but only rides stage races so i would have to say he & Mads are about equal now. Stage racing in general is overvalued i think... (vs the power required to win one day races)Xrider5113-05-2025
- Jonas only does stage raXrider5113-05-2025
- First goats and now great danes, all we need now is a showdown at the tour of turkey, that could maybe slide into grease. Sorry, always happens when I get tired.Mistermaumau13-05-2025
- I think this kind of thing will become quite common in future in light of the way pros have had to up their game and risk-taking. Means more precarity but also a bigger pool.Mistermaumau13-05-2025
- Its difficult to compare the two, since both are fundamentally different as cyclists. Jonas is essentially a stage racer, whereas Mads excels in classics as well as in sprint stages at GTs. At this point of time, Jonas with his two Tour wins, beating Pogacar no less, has the better credentials. If Mads wins a few monuments and some Points Jerseys, the comparison may be closer.Cooldude13-05-2025
- I thought he did quite well in that team if not for the illnesses and strings of bad luck.
KerisVroom13-05-2025 - For his sacrifice, he was rewarded with nice haircut by his team lead. It's heartwarming to see a team lead who appreciates his domestique.KerisVroom13-05-2025
- Have you gone Mads? Jeez, this is the Giro, and apart from there being other races and riders not participating, there are over 150 riders with plots and subplots, including a thing called the GC for which I doubt VERY much he’ll come into contention. Are there no other stories or topics to propose currently? Does every article have to include MP? Comparisons to Wout, to Danes, how hell fare on every single stage. Soon Pogi will start feeling like he’ll have to do some publicity stunt to become relevant again. How about updating us on how his UCI ranking is evolving with all the frenzy?Mistermaumau13-05-2025
- I wonder if Mads' resurgence has something to do with Lidl-Trek electing to go with Jonathan Milan for Tour de France, thereby relegating Mads to the Giro and missing TDF for the first time in his career. The way he's performing now, he looks like he's out to prove he's still viable as top gun.FredMan13-05-2025
- Let's not forget that Pedersen won the Worlds in Yorkshire in true North of England conditions which are hell basically, when it's bad..
leedorney12-05-2025
missed Kuss today, who in his best shape could have gotten him back to the wheel.
No.
Kuss has never be able to do that when Pogacar has attacked like that. What Kuss could have done was maybe make UAE a little more unsure of when to attack and be afraid to go too early. He could have maybe disrupted the climb a little bit, but nothing more than that.
I feel like if Pogi had attacked with 2km to hit the summit, he might have put close to three minutes into Jonas. And then again maybe not, it's subjective.
I doubt it. Remember stage 14 last year when he attacked too early and Jonas came back to his wheel? Jonas will go into red, but he will also very quickly come out of it. So it could also easily have ended up with Pogacar losing power and Jonas being able to get back on his wheel. Pogacar also only beat Jonas with 10 seconds on the actual climb. He took the majority of the time on the descent.
That's 10 sec in less than 1km and Tadeg was pulling way even in that short period of time. A longer steeper climb with a longer attack would have closed Jonas and Remco down.