PRESS CONFERENCE: “Tadej is probably the best rider who's ever been in a bunch” - Jonas Vingegaard draws confidence from rare ability to drop Pogacar
CyclingThursday, 02 July 2026 at 19:02
Jonas Vingegaard enters the 2026 Tour de France with a Giro d’Italia title already in his legs, a completed set of Grand Tour victories on his palmares and the familiar challenge of trying to beat Tadej Pogacar in July. CyclingUpToDate were present at the Dane’s pre-Tour press conference to document every word.
After changing his usual build-up and racing the Giro before the Tour, Vingegaard insisted he has recovered well enough to fight for yellow again. He said he did not come out of the Giro “completely on my knees”, allowing him to resume proper training quickly and complete a final altitude block in Tignes with Team Visma | Lease a Bike.
The absence of Wout van Aert remains a major setback for Visma, particularly for the opening team time trial and the wider battle to control the race. Vingegaard called it “a big blow”, but pointed to a line-up he believes can handle the Barcelona opener, the flat stages and the mountains.
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Pogacar’s status has not changed the target. Vingegaard described the Slovenian as “probably the best rider who has ever been in a bunch”, but said his own past experience of dropping him gives him motivation to try to do it again and confidence that he remains one of the few riders capable of challenging him.
Full Jonas Vingegaard press conference Q&A
Question: Can you say how your preparation between the Giro and today went? Did everything go according to plan?
Jonas Vingegaard: It did, yes. I had a good time. At first, I took a bit of time off just to enjoy the victory at the Giro and then afterwards also to recover from the Giro.
For about a week I started really training again. In the last week I was in Tignes in France together with the team and I had a good build-up. I think I am ready for this race and I am really looking forward to it. It has been an amazing year for me so far. I am looking forward to hopefully continuing.
Question: Carrying on from that, only eight other riders have won the Giro and the Tour in the same year. I was speaking to Chris Froome earlier and he said he ran out of steam in the final week of the Tour. Some people have suggested that maybe you did not have to work as hard to win the Giro as other people have. How do you feel physically?
Jonas Vingegaard: Of course, without taking anything away from anyone from the Giro, it is true that I did not have to completely kill myself. I did not get out of the Giro completely on my knees.
That makes it so you can recover faster afterwards and start your training and get into a good rhythm quicker. If you are on your knees after the Giro, you need two weeks, maybe even more, to recover. Then it is hard to start building towards the Tour because then the Tour is already coming. For me at least, I came out of the Giro in a good way and pretty quickly I could start building towards the Tour de France.
Question: Not everything went well, I guess, because Wout van Aert is not here. Did you have any contact with him, and how much will you miss him in the Tour de France?
Jonas Vingegaard: It is obviously a big blow for us that he is not here. He was a very important guy, first of all on Saturday, but throughout the whole Tour. I think he has shown many times how good a guy he is. I also had a short talk with him and it is really unfortunate that he is not here.
Question: In which areas do you think your team, Team Visma | Lease a Bike, is stronger than UAE Team Emirates – XRG?
Jonas Vingegaard: I think it is hard to compare like that. When you look at it, UAE have a very, very strong team. They have a very strong line-up and in my opinion so do we.
We have a very good team for the mountains and also still for the team time trial. Instead of focusing on what their strengths are, we try to focus on our own strengths. We have built a team here that I believe in and that the team really believes in.
Question: Jonas, how do you feel at the start of this Tour compared to last year? Do you feel better, stronger?
Jonas Vingegaard: Yeah, both better and stronger. I would even say more happy in a mental state also.
I have had a very good year so far this year. I have enjoyed riding a bit more this year than I did last year. We tried something new, which was also the plan, because I think we realised after last year that it was not really so enjoyable to do what we did every year. So now we tried to mix it up with the preparation for the Tour, and it has been going really well this year. Also in a mental state, I am in a very good place.
Question: There has been a lot of talk about the composition of your team, especially with the absence of Wout. How important is it for you that you get along on a personal level with your teammates?
Jonas Vingegaard: I think, of course, that is also a very, very important step to having a good team. But that is actually something we have had basically every year, that we have had a very good atmosphere within the team.
Sometimes it is the Tour de France and a lot of things blow up and get big for no reason. Sometimes it looks like there is some kind of problem within the team, but there has never been a problem within the team.
Question: Sepp Kuss was with you in the four Grand Tours you have won. How important is it to have him here?
Jonas Vingegaard: I think Sepp has been in all the Grand Tours that the team has won, except last year in Europe. So he is obviously also a very important guy, not only for me, but for the team as well.
He is good for the atmosphere. Sepp is a good guy. Also on a personal level, I always enjoy being together with Sepp. For me, in the Giro, that he could win the stage there was really incredible.
Question: I heard a fun anecdote from your friend Nathan Van Hooydonck in a podcast. He said you were going to Tignes, you landed in Switzerland and there was a big traffic jam going there. What was that like for you? Was it stressful? Given it was part of your Tour preparation, you had to spend the night outside the training camp.
Jonas Vingegaard: I would not say too stressful. We landed at Geneva Airport, not knowing about this G7 meeting they had. I did not follow. Maybe I could have searched a bit, but I was not aware.
Then we landed in Geneva and we basically could not get out of the country, almost. So we drove until I think 11.30 or 12 at night. Finally we could pass the border and then we had to sleep just on the other side.
Question: The biggest difference between this year and previous years is that you came here after winning the Giro d’Italia title. From a mindset point of view, is it important for you to approach the Tour de France with the possibility of not having to win at all costs, and not finishing without any title this season?
Jonas Vingegaard: On one hand, of course, I have had a very good season so far already with the three races I have done. Of course, it takes some pressure off me and off the team, obviously.
But the Tour de France is still the biggest race. It is still the race you really want to win. I am not saying that I am not happy with what I have already won this year, because I am extremely happy, especially also winning the Giro d’Italia title and now having won all three Grand Tours. But again, the Tour de France is just the biggest race of the year and I am here also to go for the victory.
Vingegaard arrives at the Tour fresh from his Giro victory
Question: Can you be a little more specific about switching things up this season? You switched personal trainers, for example. Did you do completely different things in training? Did you have other focuses? What did you do differently?
Jonas Vingegaard: I think switching trainers came a bit later and a bit more suddenly. I was very happy having Tim as a trainer when he was in the team. He trained me for eight years and I am really grateful for what he did.
But he chose to leave the team and I respect his decision, so I had to change trainer. Now I have Mathieu Heijboer and he is also a very good trainer. It is not that I am lacking a good trainer since he left.
Training-wise, it is not because we are doing a lot of things differently. It was more the whole schedule going to the Tour. I did not really fancy doing what I had done for the last five years this year.
It did not motivate me so much to just do the same thing over and over again, and I personally needed a change. We then decided to mix it up completely and do the Giro.
Question: Were you more at home?
Jonas Vingegaard: I do not think so, days-at-home-wise. I am not sure actually. Maybe a little bit more at home.
Question: I want to ask you about the team time trial on Saturday. How much work did you put into preparing for it? Was this a huge focus, or were you more focused on the mountain stages? We saw you racing on the Barcelona circuit. Can you talk about that experience?
Jonas Vingegaard: We have trained quite a lot this year because it is very important. It is a day where you can either lose some time or win some time. Of course, you would rather win time there than lose something.
That is also why we have a lot of big guys in the team for a flat team time trial like this. It is obviously a focus point for us. But we also have a big focus on the mountain stages because they are very important too. I think we have a very well-balanced team for both the team time trial, the flat stages and the mountain stages.
Question: You have been in an interesting situation where Tadej Pogacar has dropped you, but you have also been one of the few people who has actually dropped Tadej. Can you explain what those two situations are like? What do you hope will happen this year?
Jonas Vingegaard: Of course, I still think that Tadej is probably the best rider who has ever been in a bunch. For me personally, to have been able to drop him is something really incredible for me. It is something that I am extremely proud of.
Also, it gives me motivation to try to do it again and to try to do it this year. It also gives me the confidence that I am one of the guys who can actually challenge him.
Question: Jonas, I would like to ask you something on a lighter note, which is about your legs, literally. You have not shaved them, which is something Primoz also used to do in the past. Are you also holding out until you take a win?
Jonas Vingegaard: No, I just did not have time yet after I travelled. Normally, I always shave for races, but I do not shave for training.
I just let it grow and then once I get to a race, I shave my legs. But yesterday and today have been quite stressful. We had a lot of things to do. So far, there has not been time, but tomorrow it will go off.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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