"Jonas probably wasn't very happy at dinner table tonight" - Tadej Pogacar questions Visma teammates abandoning their leader
Cycling
Stage 15 didn't bring any major changes for the general classification, but the leaders of the race still had to stay on guard. Especially when a crash occured in early parts of the race, with numbers 2 and 3 overall; Jonas Vingegaard and Florian Lipowitz involved.
The yellow jersey Tadej Pogacar paid back the other GC men for waiting when he crashed the other day, but he was also shocked that Vingegaard's own teammates attacked with their leader off the back. "I can hardly tell what they're thinking," he told TV2. "There was a moment when Vingegaard tried to come back after the crash, while three Visma riders were up front. Tim and I, from that group, tried to calm things down so everyone could get back."
But contrary to his expectations that Vingegaard's teammates would wait to help him cruise back to the main bunch efforttlessly, the Visma | Lease a Bike riders continued to launch fireworks at the front with Wout Van Aert and Victor Campenaerts eventually joining the day's breakaway.
Visma's back-up leader Matteo Jorgenson who fell through the GC ranks was also involved in these activities. "I didn't know what to think. I blocked Matteo, so the three of them couldn't continue. Maybe I helped Jonas by doing that, because it was a pretty strange situation. If I were in Jonas's position, I wouldn't be the happiest at the dinner table tonight. Because I think he can still win the Tour."
Generally speaking, it seems as though Visma | Lease a Bike have already given up on the overall victory a bit with Vingegaard's teammates investing a lot of energy in efforts that don't necessarily seem to help the Dane improve his position in the general classification.
That catches Pogacar quite off-guard, sensing that his rival has been gradually improving during the second week: "He's second in the general classification and showed really good form on Saturday. I understand they want to win stages, but they could also win the entire Tour de France. I wouldn't be happy with that."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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