Tadej Pogacar's UAE teammate feared Jonas Vingegaard for Tour de France - "I thought it would be the closest Tour in many years"
Cycling
UAE Team Emirates - XRG and Tadej Pogacar arrived to the Tour de France confident of securing a record-equalling fifth yellow jersey. However, according to one UAE rider, Jonas Vingegaard was as dangerous as ever following his Giro d'Italia domination in May.
Pogacar's eternal Tour de France rival Vingegaard arrived at the Tour following a different approach to the season. After the Slovenian took comfortable victories in 2024 and 2025, Visma and the Dane opted for a Giro-Tour double.
Racing just Paris-Nice and Volta a Catalunya before his Giro tilt, Vingegaard appeared comfortable throughout his debut Giro, taking the pink jersey with ease and winning five stages on his way.
According to Mikkel Bjerg, who rode the Giro for UAE, he feared that the Dane was in his best shape in many years as he believed that the two would be set for a tightly-contested jostle for yellow in July.
"I had a feeling that this was the best Jonas we've ever seen," Bjerg said on Eurosport's Radio Tour.
Jonas Vingegaard
"I thought it would be the closest Tour in many years"
"Going into the Tour, I thought it would be the closest Tour in many years. It didn't quite turn out that way, but I definitely felt he had stepped up a level."
Of course, a three-week battle between the two didn't come to fruition as Pogacar took the yellow jersey for keeps on stage six, going solo on Col du Tourmalet before putting over 2:30 into Vingegaard and even more into the rest of the overall contenders.
Vingegaard kept things tighter in subsequent stages, but never dropped Pogacar before his team appeared to be teeing up an attack on stage 15 before the Dane's unfortunate crash before the day's mountain-top finish.
At the time, Vingegaard was 4:30 behind Pogacar, but had publicly expressed his desire to keep fighting for yellow - with the stage's finish at Plateau de Solaison understood to be a major goal for attempting to put Pogacar under pressure.
That fall saw him abandon the race with a broken collarbone. He underwent surgery before it was confirmed that the two-time winner's season was over.
Looking ahead to 2027, former Danish national coach and current Eurosport expert, Anders Lund, wants Vingegaard to keep the Tour de France as his main objective, but surround it with a far more ambitious one-day programme featuring Strade Bianche, the Ardennes Classics, the World Championships and Il Lombardia.
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“He needs to start racing one-day races,” Lund said on Eurosport.
“He needs a season where he really commits to it properly, instead of turning up under pressure once at Lombardia and failing, or once at the European Championships and failing there too.”
For a rider with Vingegaard’s stage-racing record, his one-day CV remains remarkably sparse. His best WorldTour Classic result is eighth at Clasica de San Sebastian in 2021, while his only one-day victory came at the Drome Classic in 2022.
He did not contest a one-day race in 2023. His only such start in 2024 came at San Sebastian, where he failed to finish, and his return to championship racing at the 2025 European Championships also ended in a DNF. He did not start a one-day race at all in 2026.
“It is a discipline he has not learned yet,” Lund said. “He should have the attributes for it, but he has not managed to make it work yet.”
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- I think Jonas would have lost the TDF by 4+ minutes (at the least) and might not have even been in the top 3. Too much talent in the younger riders to say anyone not named Pogačar would have been top 3md197503-11-2026
- this is just stupid. you already have 23%, gravel is over the topabstractengineer03-11-2026
- There was once a time when Lance was supremely popular and he used his artificial "It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life" persona to lead his mob in going after Greg. There was no one Lance did not abuse in protecting his phony hero image. Lance promoted himself as a divine megastar and he let down millions of cancer victims and gullible devotees who clung far too long to the charade. Lance is the epitome of a corrupt person and because of his power, many around him, including business enterprises, succumbed to the evil. All who got in Armstrong's way were mercilessly attacked by him and his minions. This remarkably continues today with a new generation. LeMond was a number one enemy and paid a huge price. Who do you think slandered who?Yepperoni03-11-2026
- You despise him because he calls out the truth....OK clown !frieders303-11-2026
- JV is really slighting himself with not doing the 1 dayers.. 🤷
leedorney02-11-2026 - Watch the interview on youtube. I don't speak French. I do speak English and Spanish and you can hear it in his voice. Years ago LeMond had real personal problems I imagine in no small part because of Armstrong. then Armstrong goes round "full blast" re: LeMond having drinking and drug problems. The same way Andreu was expelled from mainstream cycling so was LeMond. On the positive side the clips of the ride and chatting with old teammates and was good. To seemed like a fun day and experience and good reason brush up his French.atom02-11-2026
- and another no-news article around the ‚2 tokyo jogging rounds‘ headline, this time spiced with some days old ‚news‘ that the LA and japan vacation trips come during or after the tdf route release. i am getting more and more annoyed by this time-stealing no-news crap. but who am i to complain? nobody forces me to come back for more ‚news‘ day after day …Ketterechts02-11-2026
- It would likely be a very steep section of 4.1 km, not changing the average gradient considerably, with the climb remaining 10.1 km at 11.8%. It would reach 20% on the gravel. It would start 1.6 km in, and finish with 4.2 km left to climb (before the short final descent)
Rafionain-Glas02-11-2026 - Welcome to the off-season.
santiagobenites02-11-2026 - guillaume martin in this list is quite a surprise as a gc rider.Ketterechts02-11-2026
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