"It's boring anyway” - Dutch Pundit takes aim at Jonas Vingegaard

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.

Smeets went even further, questioning the significance of nearly the entire Tour peloton. "There are 176 starting this year. That means that 170 men have absolutely no business being there. Just riding along and bringing a little water."