“Tadej is a good guy... very generous of him” – Jonas Vingegaard praises Pogacar after Tour de France rival gifts Isaac del Toro stage win
CyclingMonday, 06 July 2026 at 16:00
Jonas Vingegaard was not surprised to see Tadej Pogacar give up the chance of victory on stage 2 of the 2026 Tour de France, even though the gesture helped UAE Team Emirates – XRG close the gap to his yellow jersey.
Isaac del Toro took the biggest win of his career in Barcelona after accelerating in the final kilometre on Montjuic, with Pogacar following and then choosing not to come past his teammate.
Vingegaard finished fourth on the stage, keeping yellow, but Pogacar’s second place and bonus seconds reduced the Dane’s overall lead to six seconds.
Speaking to TV2 after the finish, Vingegaard said Pogacar’s decision matched the impression he already had of his great rival. “I think Tadej is a good guy, and it is very generous of him to give a stage win to a teammate,” Vingegaard said.
Vingegaard: Del Toro “deserves it”
Pogacar’s decision meant Del Toro collected ten bonus seconds, while the world champion took six for second place. Remco Evenepoel squeezed into third and picked up four, leaving Vingegaard still in yellow but with the top of the general classification already tightening.
For Vingegaard, though, Del Toro’s victory was not only about Pogacar stepping aside. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader also praised the Mexican’s own performance after a finale dominated by UAE. “But Isaac also deserves it, to be honest,” Vingegaard added. “He is really talented and super strong.”
Del Toro had already played a key role before the final metres. UAE used their numbers on the Montjuic circuit, with Brandon McNulty and Adam Yates helping to shape the selection before Del Toro responded to a late move from Mattias Skjelmose and then drove towards the Olympic Stadium.
Pogacar stayed behind him rather than sprinting for the line, allowing UAE to complete a one-two finish while still cutting into Vingegaard’s advantage. “It was well ridden by both him and Pogacar,” Vingegaard said.
Pogacar closes gap without taking the win
The stage left the opening GC battle finely balanced after two days. Vingegaard remains in yellow thanks to Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s victory in the stage 1 team time trial, but Pogacar has already clawed back half of his initial deficit after the first road stage.
Evenepoel is now third overall at 15 seconds, while Del Toro has moved up to fourth at 16 seconds and taken the white jersey. UAE also leave Barcelona with a stage win, the team classification lead and another rider high in the overall standings behind Pogacar.
Vingegaard still has the jersey, but the gap is down to six seconds before the Tour reaches its first tougher climbing tests. Pogacar left Barcelona closer to yellow, Del Toro left with a dream Tour de France debut win, and UAE left with two riders already inside the top four overall.
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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- I was expecting bigger gaps both yesterday and today for sure. The stage profiles seemed ideal for Pogi to take serious time, I am surprised to see Jonas right there.DAS06-07-2026
- It also is looking like IdT is legit and is going to help Pogi any time he has any issues. Especially after Pogi gifting him a stage win. Visma is looking weak in comparisonmd197506-07-2026
- 3th, haha. Love the use of language here, the smaller the margins the bigger the title superlatives, was expecting to see at least 30s if not a minute.Jumpyjohn06-07-2026
- Another MU?Jumpyjohn06-07-2026
- he said it himself, he celebrated too muchwhkman06-07-2026
- 37 max along the route, 39, maybe 40 max somewhere in France but not when they pass. Stop getting all overexcited by the weather, a tdf without a few days in the high 30s somewhere is a rare thing as it’s pretty normal in the south of France in July over a 3 week period. Most heat records there are late June, heat is worse in the north due to higher humidity and average temps have risen more away from the med coast. People forget a lot, 3 years ago Paris hosted the rugby WC in a September hotter than this week, nobody afforded the players any pity and they don’t have wind making vehicles to create ventilationJumpyjohn06-07-2026
- Just for the record: Armstrong isn't a former Tour winner. I am sure Gavin Quinn knows that but wants to earn some brownie points with Lance.MaMu06-07-2026
- Today DelToro should have attacked solo 2 km from the top of Toses, to see who will help Vingegaard because Kuss, Piganzoli and Jorgenson certainly won't be able to. I would like to see that show because I know Pogacar wants to have fun. That's fun for him :))mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales06-07-2026
- Geezz....Calm down man...There is more to it.. We know how strong is UAE team, but they are not riding alone...and they dont have all the best riders... They have some...and for their objectives it works, but there is more to cycling than this..Alexcavalera06-07-2026
- Tobias >>>>>>>> CianAlexcavalera06-07-2026
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