"Keep on praying because it's not going to change" - Bob Roll & Christian Vande Velde analyse Jonas Vingegaard's chances of beating Tadej Pogacar at 2025 Tour de France

Friday, 08 November 2024 at 10:45

The route and profiles of the 2025 Tour de France are here and we look set for another thrilling spectacle at next summer's edition of the Grand Tour. Can Tadej Pogacar go back to back? Will Jonas Vingegaard reclaim the Maillot Jaune? Or can Remco Evenepoel or another dark horse emerge from the chasing pack?

"The favourites should be the same as they were this year. Primoz Roglic, Remco Evenepoel, Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar," begins experienced US cycling expert Bob Roll in his analysis via NBC Sports Cycling's Beyond the Podium podcast. "Tadej's season went from fantastic, to unbelievable, to the greatest season ever and that's including Fausto Coppi, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault. It was just an astounding season. His ability was on such a different level, even in the Tour de France."

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As such, Pogacar is likely to start the 2025 edition with the mental advantage. "What's going to be going through the mind of the big favourites in the off-season, especially Jonas Vingegaard? What do you think he's thinking about after seeing what Tadej did in 2024? What kind of improvements can he (Vingegaard ed.) realistically make between now and next year's Tour de France?" Roll asks co-host and former 4th on GC finisher at the French Grand Tour, Christian Vande Velde.

"If I was Jonas and I was in Visma, I think I'd just worry about myself and just do the best you possibly can to get the best numbers, be surrounded by the best riders and that's it," the American answers. "Because at this point in time, if you're just fretting and trying to beat Tadej by doing the things he's doing, you're always going to be behind."

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Vingegaard & Pogacar have had an all-time great Tour de France rivalry over the last four years

"We've seen this for decades now. People try to emulate what the best teams in the world are doing and you'll never catch them, because you're always going to be 18 months / 24 months behind whatever they're doing," Vande Velde continues. "I have to say though, for Jonas this year, what we all saw was nothing short of remarkable. What he came back from and to able to due the numbers that he did in the Tour de France, it was incredible. So his mental perseverance is the best I've ever seen."

In trying to take on Pogacar though, Vingegaard has a very unenviable task. "You can't say enough about the guy! His thirst for wins is endless and I don't think this year is going to be any different," Vande Velde analyses. "He's just going to go hambone from the beginning to the end again, and you know it's coming. You can pray for something different but you'll keep on praying because it's not going to change."

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