"Jonas Vingegaard should never have won a Tour, given the difference in class to Tadej Pogacar" - Jose de Cauwer's harsh assessment of Visma leader

Over recent years, the showdowns between Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar have defined the Tour de France every summer. In terms of years they've gone head-to-head, both have taken two victories over the other, but according to Belgian cycling expert Jose de Cauwer, the Visma leader can count himself lucky at this. 

Evaluating the potential of his compatriot Remco Evenepoel to take the Maillot Jaune in the coming years for Het Nieuwsblad, De Cauwer throws some shade at Vingegaard. "As long as Pogacar maintains this level, there will remain a clear difference," the Belgian analyst begins his assessment. "I really don't dare say that Remco will never win the Tour. In terms of talent, I certainly don't rate Vingegaard higher than Evenepoel. Actually, Vingegaard should never have won a Tour, given the difference in class to Pogacar."

More than a criticism of either Vingegaard or Evenepoel though, De Cauwer insists his comments are more of a big piece of praise to Pogacar. "He can steer incredibly. I saw something of him in Lombardy. He rides through everything with elegance," he explains, noting how Pogacar's bike-handling differs from some of the other notable talents in modern history. "That is different from Peter Sagan. He also rode among them, but you watched him with clenched buttocks. Pogacar is one of the best pilots in the peloton, together with Mathieu van der Poel."

After taking the disappointment of losing his Maillot Jaune back to Pogacar in 2024, Vingegaard is set to focus intently on regaining the most iconic jersey in all of professional cycling in 2025. Given the record breaking and all conquering season that the Slovenian had last year though, if the Dane could complete the comeback in France this summer, it would arguably go down in Tour de France history as one of the most impressive victories of all time.