"Jonas’s goal should be simply to follow Pogacar" - Bjarne Riis warns Vingegaard against poking the bear on stage 10 of 2025 Tour de France

On stage 10 of the 2025 Tour de France this Monday afternoon, the race heads into the mountains for the first time. Although it is widely expected that Jonas Vingegaard and Team Visma | Lease a Bike will continue to try and put the pressure of Tadej Pogacar and UAE Team Emirates - XRG, Bjarne Riis has uttered a word of warning.

“I’m really curious to see how they’ll ride on Monday — it’ll be a long, gruelling day. I expect Visma to ride aggressively, and I’m keen to see how they go about it. We should get a clearer picture of the power dynamic between Visma and UAE,” Riis begins his analysis for BT.dk. “It all depends on whether Jonas dares to go for it, and how strong he’s feeling. But I’d be careful — if he attacks, I worry he’ll end up with Pogacar breathing down his neck. He’s clearly flying at the moment.”

Visma have consistently been keen to press down a high pace at the front of the peloton so far this Tour, hardly giving Pogacar a moment of relaxation. Throughout it all though, the Slovenian has so far looked supreme.

“Personally, I’d be cautious. Test UAE, yes — but don’t blow everything too early. Keep Jonas protected. See what Pogacar’s team can manage without Joao Almeida (who abandoned on Sunday), turn the screw on the climbs and see who’s still there,” says Riis of Visma's stage 10 tactics. “I think Jonas’s goal should be simply to follow Pogacar — unless he’s feeling absolutely phenomenal. He needs to be patient and race smart. My guess is the two teams are very evenly matched.”

And rather than Vingegaard himself making any moves, Riis urges to play the numbers game if they are to attack. “Matteo Jorgenson needs to be aggressive. Really aggressive. He’s the one who has to test UAE and Pogacar,” explains the former Tour de France winner. “If I were Visma, I’d send one of their strong riders up the road in an early break — someone like Tiesj Benoot. Let that group get a few minutes. Then Visma should crank up the pace in the peloton, try to shed as many UAE riders as possible. And then launch Jorgenson. They should be willing to take some risks from range. Jonas should ride conservatively. That could be the way to go.”

Again though, Visma's biggest problem could be Pogacar himself. “Pogacar’s no fool. He’ll see that move coming, and UAE probably won’t let Jorgenson go. They’ll just keep him under pressure,” Riis concludes. “It all depends on how aggressively the bunch races. It might take 55 kilometres before the break is even allowed to go, and until then, it’ll just be a matter of staying in position.”