“Pogacar is holding a grudge against Jonas... He wants to put him in a coffin mentally” – Vingegaard compatriot sees personal edge driving UAE's Tour de France dominance

Tadej Pogacar added another stage victory and 54 seconds to his advantage over Jonas Vingegaard at Le Lioran, the same finish where the Dane defeated him two years earlier.

Before Stage 10 of the 2026 Tour de France, Vingegaard’s Danish compatriot Michael Valgren predicted that Pogacar would target the scene of his 2024 defeat not only to extend his lead, but to inflict another psychological blow on his closest rival.

“To the media, Pogi is happy and all that,” the former Amstel Gold Race winner told Domestique. “But I think he’s kind of holding a grudge against Jonas. He wants to put him in a coffin, at least mentally.”

Less than 24 hours later, Pogacar returned to Le Lioran, attacked with 15.5 kilometres remaining and extended his advantage over Vingegaard to 3:36.

Vingegaard produced one of the defining victories of his rivalry with Pogacar at Le Lioran during the 2024 Tour. Having already lost time earlier in the race after returning from serious injuries, the Dane followed Pogacar’s attack before beating him in the sprint.

The result challenged the assumption that Vingegaard was merely limiting his losses and offered hope that the momentum of the Tour might be changing. Pogacar ultimately dominated the remainder of the race, but the sight of Vingegaard passing him at Le Lioran remained a rare setback during an otherwise extraordinary campaign.

Two years later, UAE Team Emirates – XRG returned with Pogacar already leading the Tour by 2:42. Valgren suspected that the history of the finish would encourage UAE to race even more aggressively than the general classification required. “I think they’re going to go all out and try to bury Jonas once more, to really cook him mentally,” the EF Education-EasyPost rider said. “It’s almost as if Pogacar is thinking: ‘This was the last time he beat me, but now I’m going to beat him even more emphatically.’ That’s my kind of fear for tomorrow.”

UAE controlled the mountainous Bastille Day stage before Pogacar attacked on the Col de Pertus. Vingegaard initially limited the gap to around 10 seconds, but Pogacar continued gaining ground across the descent and final climb. He reached Le Lioran alone to claim his third stage victory of the 2026 Tour, while Vingegaard finished seventh at 44 seconds.

Valgren’s EF teammate Ben Healy believes the extreme temperatures experienced throughout the opening block have increased the differences between the strongest riders and the rest. “When the conditions are extreme, it just exaggerates the gap between the better riders,” Healy told Domestique.

His assessment came from personal experience after nine consecutive days above 35°C. “It’s such a big Achilles heel for me,” the Irishman admitted. “I’m just not one hundred percent sharp at the moment, and at the Tour de France you have to be.”

Stage 10 was again raced in temperatures above 30°C. The conditions left less room to absorb repeated accelerations or recover between the final climbs.

Pogacar acknowledged afterwards that the 2024 defeat had remained in his mind and that UAE had targeted the stage well in advance. His victory reversed Vingegaard’s previous success on the same roads.

The Slovenian has now beaten Vingegaard decisively on both major climbing tests of this Tour. He gained 2:42 on the Col du Tourmalet before adding another 54 seconds, including the winner’s time bonus, at Le Lioran. Valgren believes those attacks are also aimed at eroding Vingegaard’s conviction that the Tour can still be turned around.

Vingegaard remains Pogacar’s nearest challenger, with Remco Evenepoel another 30 seconds behind in third. But after 10 stages, the two-time Tour winner trails the Maillot Jaune by more than three and a half minutes and has now been emphatically beaten on the terrain where he delivered one of his most important psychological victories two years earlier.