I tried to illustrate this article with a picture of Mathieu van der Poel and Jonas Vingegaard together, but I couldn't find one.
I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but the fact that it's very difficult to find one with both of them perfectly exemplifies my idea: I think that a sector of cycling fans are very critical of the Danish rider for choosing his calendar in the same way as the Dutch rider, who nevertheless seems to have the approval of all.
Both ride like Armstrong, only that in Vingegaard it is not something new, but with Mathieu van der Poel it is. Let me explain...
Since Miguel Induráin won his last two Tour de France, and after he stopped racing the Giro and several classics along with the Grande Boucle, it was believed that whoever wanted to win the Tour had to practically discard any other goal during the season. Essentially, the entire season should revolve around the Tour.
To do so most riders would ride 2 or 3 one-week stage races, to get in shape for the Grande Boucle, which is how Vingegaard prepares for the Tour. Then, from time to time, riders would race the Vuelta after the Tour, a tactic both Vingegaard and Chris Froome experimented with.
This has been completely broken by Tadej Pogacar, who does not have the yellow jersey as his only goal for the year, and who has dared to race the Giro and the cobbled monuments as well. This has led to unbridled criticism of his Danish rival, who is simply doing what he normally does to try to win cycling's most important race in July.
And here we come to the moment of comparing Van der Poel and Vingegaard.
The Alpecin rider plays the same as the Visma rider, except he does the polar opposite: with Monuments in mind. Not even in classics. He races the minimum, even cyclocross, to arrive in shape for Milano-Sanremo, Flanders and Roubaix. He doesn't care about the rest.
If one year it suits him to ride the E3, he rides it. If another year Gent-Wevelgem, he rides it. But he doesn't have a full classics season like someone like Mads Pedersen, nor will he be involved in the Ardennes in the coming weeks.
His calendar is very short. In grand tours his track record is small in terms of his talent (just compare it with Van Aert's) and, despite having surpassed Tom Boonen in number of monuments, he is a long way behind Tom Boonen in the number of classics won.
There was a day, especially since the beginnings of Lance Armstrong, when it seemed that the only thing that mattered for most cycling fans was the Tour. Now the day has come when it seems that the only thing that matters to some are the Monuments. Some may feel that the Giro and Vuelta don't matter too.
And there are two cyclists who exemplify this perfectly: Jonas Vingegaard and Mathieu van der Poel: both ride the minimum to win the maximum.
I'm not criticizing either of them, I think their strategies are wonderful. I'm just saying that if you criticize one, criticize the other as well. Are they are two sides of the same coin?
Juan LarraCycling Journalist
Juan Larra is a writer for Cyclinguptodate and editor-in-chief of Ciclismoaldia, where he has played a central role since its inception. Under his leadership, the website has become a trusted source for professional cycling coverage, offering in-depth analysis, news, and feature stories.
A sports journalist with over 20 years of experience, Juan earned his degree in Journalism from the University of Seville in 2007. He began his career covering a wide range of sports—including football, basketball, Formula 1, MotoGP, tennis, and cycling—for platforms such as the official La Liga app, Vodafone and Movistar websites, NBA Blogdebasket, and Cadena Cope, honing his skills in writing and editorial management.
In addition to his work at Ciclismoaldia, Juan contributes to Cyclinguptodate and serves as editor-in-chief for the tennis-focused site Tenisaldia. Throughout his career, he has conducted exclusive interviews with cyclists and sports figures, provided detailed analysis of competitions ranging from local Spanish races to major international events, and acted as a special correspondent at prestigious races including Paris-Roubaix, the Tour de France, and the Vuelta a España.
Juan’s combination of experience, expertise, and direct access to athletes has established him—and the platforms he leads—as authoritative voices in professional cycling.
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- On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And yet, it attracts people, even you. What’s more, it attracts the rival fanboys to fill cyberspace with endless pointless my hero is better than your hero blabla that’s all been heard before and only helps sell the site as an advertising platform. You know what the solution is but most can’t resist. No different than women who follow and discuss celebs through gossip magazines.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- he is doing 460 watts for 35 min to achieve 7 w/kg with VO2 at 96 , just unreal numbers.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just do it, and put up with the consequencesJumpyjohn08-11-2026
- "was a headliner at the Tour de France" Nobody cared about Piddie. Only rivals that were there for Pogi, Jonas, Remco, Sexias, Lipo, Del Toro and they were all expected to lose. Piddie was not even in any conversation.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- exactly, he had an amazing season, but with these overstatements they don‘t do him good.Ketterechts08-11-2026
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