"This route is tailor-made for him" - Footage shows Jonas Vingegaard complaining about Tadej Pogacar and Tour de France route design
CyclingSunday, 23 August 2026 at 12:55
Jonas Vingegaard did everything in his power to try and dethrone Tadej Pogacar in the 2026 Tour de France. The Dane's Tour came to a halt in an abrupt season-ending injury on Stage 15, but less than 24 hours earlier, he was lamenting the course design.
Over the past five years, the pair have been first and second at La Grand Boucle - tied together through multiple editions before Vingegaard's abandon this summer. However, the past three editions have been dominated by the Slovenian.
With Vingegaard plotting a different route to the Tour tailored to rival Pogacar, targeting longer climbs to blunt the UAE Team Emirates- XRG rider's punch and explosivity. However, that strategy didn't seem to pay off in the first two weeks of the Tour as Pogacar stretched out multiple gaps.
Large portions of that time seemed to come on plateaus and descents after making a small difference on climbs, or followed by a shallow climb after a more difficult previous ascent. That came to the boil when the Visma | Lease a Bike leader shipped 44 seconds on stage 14.
Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar
Vingegaard on Visma's Tour de France documentary
And in Visma's post-Tour documentary, featuring previously unseen footage within the team, Vingegaard is seen complaining about Pogacar's strengths being amplified by the course design in an apparent dig at organisers ASO.
"This route is tailor-made for him [Pogacar, Ed.]. There was nothing we could do today, he's too explosive," Vingegaard said in the documentary.
With his strategy centred around trying to wear down Pogacar's edge, Vingegaard found that the mountainous terrain came at sub-optimal parts of the route to edge out the Slovenian.
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He added: "Even if I try to make the whole thing a little less explosive, there are the descents and the flat sections – there's nothing I can do about that."
That sentiment was seemingly echoed by sports director Marc Reef, who also lamented the fact that climbs were followed by valleys or flat sections - leading to a favourable situation for Pogacar.
"Unfortunately, after the climbs there's always a flat section or a valley. That's where Jonas loses the most time to Pogacar," he said.
After Vingegaard's stage 15 advantage, Pogacar continued to dominate the race. On stage 19, he put in perhaps the most impressive climbing performance of his career as he beat Marco Pantani's Alpe d'Huez climbing record in a stage-winning attack.
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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- He's only getting so much attention for this because he's Mathieu van der Poel. Adrien Boichis was one of Red Bull Bora hansgrohe's signings last year and he is a promising rider on the road too. He deserves a little more attention
Rafionain-Glas23-08-2026 - sexist...drinkwhkman23-08-2026
- Let's remember what Jonas said after the Giro: "I feel great, I'm my ownself again, I have good legs and it's time for me to win the Tour again." But now that he knows he will never beat Pogi again, I keep hearing excuses every day from him: "Visma didn't prepare me the right way for Pogi's style of racing." ... "The TdF stages were made for Pogi to win." What's gonna be next? Hey Jonas, stop crying and listen to me. I have a feeling that it will be crazy when the Vuelta comes to Spanish soil. The Spanish are fanatics and are eager to see Pogi because he has performed the least in Spain in his career. I expect an invasion of fans, bigger than at the Giro 2024. I hope you'll be watching from Glyngøre.PogiSloFans23-08-2026
- Someone tell Vingegaard already that the whole "I have an advantage on longer climbs because they suit me better" narrative fell apart way back in 2024. You'd have to be delulu to still cling to thatAyrton23-08-2026
- The F1 drivers cope with itCCooke23-08-2026
- Trine said...................
Senna196023-08-2026 - Guy has an excuse for everything. Just train harder or retire.zaz23-08-2026
- As I said in the last post: Every track is designed for Pogi! :) :) :)MajorPayne23-08-2026
- Oh dear what a silly woman. You should try and make more of your life than involve yourself with this trash.Cyclingsbestfan23-08-2026
- okei then we agree for the most part. But key riders and staff leaving is never a good sign. And the no money part is the most worrying to me along with this trend of key guys leaving to other teams. Lets hope it changes this off-season that would be awesome!miguel23-08-2026
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