Tadej Pogacar "not surprised" by Jonas Vingegaard's level at Tour de France: "It’s the cycling we should all love"

At the 2024 Giro d'Italia, Tadej Pogacar moved into the race lead on stage 2 and then never let go. On stage 2 of the 2024 Tour de France, the UAE Team Emirates has taken the Maillot Jaune, although this time it looks far from race over.

“A good day? Well, so-so," assesses the two-time Tour de France winner in his post-stage interview, having attacked on the final ascent of the San Luca climb, with only his old rival Jonas Vingegaard being able to match him initially. "Today, when the break went, we knew they had a good chance of making it to the finish. In the final circuit I felt super good and the pace was super high already the first time up San Luca because of how the Visma team pulled. Then, the second time, we decided to try so I could test myself a bit."

Given all the trials and tribulations Jonas Vingegaard has been through over the past few months, spending time in intensive care with a punctured lung most notably, some were incredibly surprised to see the Team Visma | Lease a Bike react so quickly and so strongly to Pogacar's attack on the steep slopes of the San Luca that even ordinarily would favour the Slovenian more than the Dane. Pogacar himself however, was not surprised to see his great rival keep contact.

"Jonas Vingegaard was really quickly on my wheel. I’m not surprised by his level," Pogacar notes. "We cooperated well together, but Remco Evenepoel and Richard Carapaz did it too and came back to our wheel at the very end."

Despite Evenepoel and Carapaz getting back to Pogacar and Vingegaard, it is the UAE Team Emirates leader who moves into the race lead after two stages. "The whole circuit in Bologna was super crowded, and the climb was insane! Really unbelievable. It’s the cycling we should all love," Pogacar concludes. "Am I going to keep the yellow jersey for long? Well, I prefer to take it day by day and stick to the original plan…”