“People think he’s had a bad season because he finished 2nd at the Tour de France” – Criticism of Jonas Vingegaard’s 2025 season “insane” claims Danish legend

Danish cycling legend Rolf Sorensen has leapt to the defence of Jonas Vingegaard, dismissing the suggestion that his compatriot's 2025 campaign fell short of expectations as “insane” and pointing to a season that saw him finish second at the Tour de France and claim overall victory at the Vuelta a Espana.

They say you're only as good as your last race and that seems to be the feeling towards Vingegaard as criticism has stemmed largely from his subdued showing at the European Championships, following a late decision to skip the UCI Road World Championships in Kigali. Sorensen, speaking on Café Eddy podcast, argued that Vingegaard’s absence from Rwanda shouldn’t distort what remains an incredibly successful Grand Tour season.

“People seem to think he’s had a bad season because he finished second at the Tour de France. That’s just insane,” Sorensen said. “This is a rider who’s been on the Tour podium for five years in a row and just won the Vuelta. It’s a fantastic season.”

When Vingegaard announced on 21 August — two days before the Vuelta start — that he would not ride Worlds after all, it raised eyebrows. Kigali’s demanding course was expected to be tailor-made for Tadej Pogacar, but Sorensen believes Vingegaard was the one rider capable of following him, at least deep into the final.

“If anyone can follow Pogacar, it’s Vingegaard,” Sorensen insisted. “He probably wouldn’t have beaten him, but I really believe he could have won a medal. His form from the Vuelta was still there.”

The Dane ultimately chose to focus on the European Championships in France a week later, citing the need to recover properly from the Vuelta and arrive fresh. That gamble didn’t pay off. He was anonymous at the Euros, later admitting that he’d either had an off day or hadn’t fully recovered after a two-week training pause post-Vuelta.

Had he gone to Kigali instead, Sorensen argued, the sharpness from his Vuelta-winning form might have given him a better chance to contend. “We’ll never know,” Sorensen reflected. “But that opportunity is gone now.”

Despite the disappointing end to the season, Vingegaard’s year remains a solid one by any measure. In addition to his Tour runner-up spot and Vuelta victory, he took second at the Critérium du Dauphiné and won the Volta ao Algarve. He finished the year ranked world number two — only the third Dane ever to reach that position after Mads Pedersen and Jakob Fuglsang — and for the fifth straight season, he ended as the highest-ranked Danish male rider.

Before Vingegaard, only Bjarne Riis had ever stood on the Tour de France podium for Denmark. Vingegaard has done so five times in succession, winning twice and finishing runner-up three times. “You’ve got to tear that one bad race out of the book and look at the bigger picture,” Sorensen concluded. “His Worlds absence doesn’t change the fact that we’re witnessing one of the most consistent Grand Tour riders of his generation.”