"It’s really great to see him racing so aggressively" - Tom Dumoulin shares delight at Jonas Vingegaard's Dauphiné performances

Tom Dumoulin, winner of the 2017 Giro d’Italia and former teammate of Jonas Vingegaard at Jumbo-Visma, has weighed in on the form and prospects of Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, and Tadej Pogacar as the Criterium du Dauphiné enters its decisive mountain stages.

Speaking to Wielerflits, the retired Dutchman expressed his excitement at Vingegaard’s return to racing form after a long layoff.

“We knew the least about Vingegaard heading into this period. He’d barely raced, suffered a heavy crash, and had a concussion. That made him the biggest unknown,” Dumoulin explained. “So it’s really great to see him racing so aggressively straight away — attacking with a knife between his teeth. And to nearly beat Mathieu van der Poel in a sprint? That says a lot.”

While the rivalry between Pogacar and Vingegaard has defined recent Grand Tours, Dumoulin hopes Evenepoel can join the conversation and turn a two-horse race into a full-blown battle royale. “A head-to-head between Pogacar and Vingegaard is already special — but throw Evenepoel into the mix and it becomes even more exciting.”

With the high mountains of the Dauphiné looming this weekend, Dumoulin believes everything could change. Until now, Pogacar has looked every bit as dominant as he did during his spring campaign — but will that continue when the road kicks up?

“So far, we’ve seen the same Pogacar who’s been dominating all season — just like last year. He’s carried that form into June," adds Dumoulin. "But will it still be the case this weekend? Or will we see Vingegaard already climbing better than him? Or Evenepoel really inserting himself into the fight?”

Dumoulin remains particularly curious about Evenepoel’s progress after what many saw as a solid, but slightly underwhelming, Tour debut in 2023.

“He finished third last year but was clearly a step below the other two. I’m very curious to see if he’s made that leap. A two-man battle is great — but a three-way fight would be even better. I really hope Remco can make things difficult for both of them this weekend,” said the 34-year-old enthusiastically.