The silent assassin Jonas Vingegaard begins Tour de France programme with key mountain recons

While Tadej Pogacar has dazzled with a dominant spring campaign that included multiple Monument victories, his key rival for the upcoming Tour de France, Jonas Vingegaard, has kept a much lower profile.

The Dane's most notable performance so far this season was his overall win at the Volta ao Algarve, although his form there raised more questions than answers. His momentum was abruptly halted in March when he crashed out of Paris-Nice. Since then, Vingegaard has remained absent from competition, with his next scheduled appearance not coming until the Critérium du Dauphiné in June, his first head-to-head encounter with Pogacar since last year’s Tour, where the Slovenian stripped him of the yellow jersey.

Despite the radio silence, Vingegaard is far from idle. The Visma | Lease a Bike rider has been quietly preparing behind the scenes, recently undertaking reconnaissance rides in the Pyrenees, home to several pivotal stages in the 2025 Tour de France.

This week, he tackled the ascents of Col du Soulor and Hautacam, which feature prominently in Stage 12. He also explored the Col de Peyresourde, a key part of the grueling Stage 14, which also includes the Col du Tourmalet, Col d'Aspin, and a summit finish atop Luchon Superbagnères.

The Pyrenees were where Pogacar sealed his emphatic victory in the 2024 edition of the Tour. Heading into Stage 14 to Pla d’Adet, Pogacar led Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel by just over a minute. After Vingegaard outsprinted Pogacar on stage 11 of the Tour, some thought the tide was turning in the Dane’s favour.

But two consecutive mountain masterclasses on Stages 14 and 15, finishing at Plateau de Beille, saw the UAE Team Emirates leader carve out a commanding lead of 3:09 over Vingegaard and 5:19 over Evenepoel, effectively putting the race out of reach.

Reflecting on Vingegaard’s current trajectory, Geraint Thomas weighed in on the Watts Occurring podcast saying, "Let's face it, cycling needs a good Vingegaard in the Tour, otherwise it could be a bit boring."

Thomas also commented on the Dane’s cautious racing calendar, "Dauphiné is his next race now, that's a bit mad, isn't it? I did speak to him briefly after Catalunya, and he said he was going to be [at the Tour de Romandie], but he had a bit of concussion, didn't he, so I think they were just playing that safe.

"I like the bit of mystery around him. These days, so much is just accessible, it's nice to have a bit of old-school 'This is our plan, I'm not telling anyone other than the team', let them speculate, let them chat whatever they want about us, but we've got our plan, we're going to believe in it."