"Looks like he’s playing mind games" - Is Jonas Vingegaard testing Tadej Pogacar in early stages of 2025 Tour de France

Jonas Vingegaard has made a bright start to the 2025 Tour de France. Over the course of the first two stages, the Dane has been a constant presence at the front of the peloton, and has gained some big time on noted rivals in the process. Still though, Vingegaard finds himself 2 seconds behind Tadej Pogacar in the general classification.

"He showed a willingness to race even in the Dauphiné. Today he made a little move," reflected ex-pro turned Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team sports director Luke Rowe on the post-stage 2 episode of The Geraint Thomas Cycling Club podcast. "But then at times he’s shaking his head, doesn’t want to work."

Joining Rowe on the post-stage 2 recap, was INEOS Grenadiers rider Ben Swift, and the British star had noted something interesting about Vingegaard's riding. "I was watching him. Looks like he’s playing mind games," says Swift. "Or maybe just not sure how he feels. But that third place in the sprint? Impressive. He beat Pogacar in a finish like that last year too. He's underestimated on those punchy finishes."

As mentioned already, the attacking start to the Tour de France by Visma has caused some notable general classification time loss too. "Two days in — Carlos Rodriguez and G are 1:20 down, Ben O’Connor 41 seconds, Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic 49 seconds," Rowe explains. "But Pogacar got it right though. Front group in the echelons — boom."

"Yeah, it's got to be tough mentally. Nobody expects to lose time in the first two days," adds Swift. "You’re already on the back foot against the two best riders in the world."

With both Rodriguez and Thomas having already lost time however, it's been a far from ideal start for Swift's INEOS Grenadiers. "Losing Filippo Ganna was a massive shame," he says, referencing the Italian's stage 1 abandon. "Yesterday they were in position all day, then drifted when it mattered. Today, they sat back, tried to move up, but missed it again. G and Axel Laurance were there, but maybe G had to go so deep to stay there that he paid for it later. Slightly off the back when the final split happened. It's not where we want to be, but maybe it reflects where we’re at."

"I think the issue is that riding as a unit doesn’t come naturally right now," adds former INEOS Grenadiers road captain Rowe. "It’s something we spent our whole careers learning at the team — how to be at the front at the right time, how to stay together."

"Yeah, and if you overthink it, you’re in trouble," Swift agrees. "You’ve got to trust the guys around you. I remember that Paris-Nice with you, me, Ian Stannard, G, Nico Roche — we didn’t even say a word to each other. Just nodded. All on the same wavelength."