"To win the Tour, I have to be able to beat him" - Jonas Vingegaard is not looking for shortcuts to win Tour de France over Tadej Pogacar
Cycling
Jonas Vingegaard has given an interview to RTVE before the Tour de France in which he makes it very clear who is the rival to beat after losing the 2024 edition to him:
"To win the Tour you have to be at the same level as Pogacar. I think Pogacar will arrive at the Tour in better shape than in previous years, and that forces me to surpass myself more than ever," Vingegaard said in an interview with RTVE.
"I think that I and the others who aspire to win the Tour de France must be like Tadej. I know he is one of the best riders in history, and to achieve that you have to give your best every day. When I train, I focus on giving my best and reaching the highest level. To win the Tour, I have to be able to beat him".
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The Dane has done it before, and although he did not have the ideal spring (with a crash and a concussion suffered at Paris-Nice) he trained back to the level he had hoped for in time for this summer's main appointment. "I'm feeling good. I had a crash at Paris Nice that kept me out for almost two weeks. Since then I've been training for about a month and a half, and I feel like I've improved a lot in my recovery and fitness."
"This year there are many important stages and several very hard ones, both in the Pyrenees and in the Alps, as well as a demanding stage in the Massif Central. In the first week there could be crosswinds and uphill finishes. I think there won't be many opportunities to relax," he admits. "You can't pick one stage as the most decisive, neither the Col de la Loze nor La Plagne, because they will all be equally important."
Against the clock he won time on Tadej Pogacar at the Dauphiné, but he nevertheless doesn't look too forward to the flat effort in Caen on stage 5: "Honestly, I prefer the second time-trial, the time-trial climb, although it can also be complicated. The first time trial of 33 kilometers is fundamental and has forced me to train on the time-trial bike. The time-trial can make a big difference in the overall".
The Dane also criticized the addition of the Montmartre circuit on the final day of the race, stating that "it could be a very dangerous stage. In recent years there has been a lot of talk about safety in cycling, and adding Montmartre as a finish can increase the risk. We saw at the Olympics how complicated it was, with people on both sides of the street."
"Last year only 15 riders reached Montmartre together in the Olympic race, but this year there will be more than 100 riders, probably 115 or more, and after 21 days of racing they will be very tired. I think this will make the stage even more dangerous".
The Dane lastly admitted that his idol was Alberto Contador: "My idol and who is the best are two different things, but my idol when I was growing up was Alberto Contador, I loved his style of racing, he always attacked without fear of anything. When you talk about who is the best in history it's a complicated question, but of course Tadej is there".
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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