"I've now been on the Tour de France podium five times!" — Jonas Vingegaard reflects proudly on 2025 season

Despite not reaching the very top step of the Tour de France podium this summer, Jonas Vingegaard insists there's still plenty to be proud of as he reflects on a 2025 season marked by resilience, perspective, and one major Grand Tour triumph.

The Danish superstar wrapped up his professional racing commitments for 2025 following a bittersweet Tour de France campaign and a redemptive Vuelta a Espana victory. While he will make a brief appearance at a criterium in Japan later this year — bringing his family along for the trip — Vingegaard has effectively closed the book on a season that has given him plenty to reflect on.

“I’m on the Tour podium for the fifth time now, and that’s something I can be proud of,” Vingegaard said, speaking to Feltet and other media. “It wasn’t the result I came for, and I can’t say I’m fully satisfied, but when you step back and look at the consistency — five podiums in the biggest race of them all — that means something.”

Vingegaard finished second in this year’s Tour de France — a race he has previously won twice — before going on to claim overall victory at the Vuelta a Espana. That triumph, he admits, stands as the clear highlight of his 2025 campaign. “There’s a lot to choose from, but my victory in the Vuelta is something I’m especially happy about,” he said, without hesitation.

While some may view 2025 as a step down in terms of raw numbers — Vingegaard won 15 races in 2023, including the Tour de France, compared to just 6 in 2025 — the man himself is keen to stress that this season was far from a disappointment. “All in all, I think it’s been a good season. Not my best, but not my worst either,” he reflected. “I think I can be pleased with how I’ve ridden this year.”

It’s a refreshingly honest assessment from a rider who has spent the past few seasons operating at the absolute pinnacle of the sport. And when asked to name his best season to date, there was little hesitation.

“I think my 2023 season — winning the Tour and coming second in the Vuelta — clearly, when it goes in that order, it’s the better one,” he said.

If 2023 was about dominance, and 2024 about recovery (after a major injury setback), then 2025 may go down as the year Vingegaard quietly reinforced his legacy.

A fifth Tour de France podium places him among an elite group of modern greats, and his consistency in the Grand Tours continues to underpin Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s position as one of the sport’s most formidable outfits.

And while the European Championship disappointment may have marked an anticlimactic end to his season on European soil, Vingegaard’s focus remains as steady as ever — as does his motivation.