Dutch commentator
Mart Smeets appears notably unenthusiastic
about the 2025
Tour de France. On the cycling podcast De Kopgroep, Smeets
didn’t hold back, delivering a particularly blunt assessment of Jonas
Vingegaard.
"It's boring anyway if you field a Dane who rarely says
anything nice in his life," says Smeets. "Who has no charisma. Who
can cycle fast, but reduces cycling to a three-week small spectacle and who
happens to come from Copenhagen and surroundings."
His words were harsh, especially given Vingegaard’s track
record. The Dane claimed back-to-back Tour titles in 2022 and 2023, only losing
out to
Tadej Pogacar in 2024 after a build up disrupted by injury. Without
Vingegaard in the mix, Pogacar could well have been chasing a sixth consecutive
yellow jersey this summer.