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."
Jonas may be boring, but he is a great champion, something Smeets will never know.