"Vingegaard always transforms at Tour" - Vincenzo Nibali optimistic about the Dane's chances to win Tour de France
Cycling
Tadej Pogacar is the main favourite to triumph at the Tour de France according to, well, pretty much anyone you ask. The one rider that can upset the World champion is Jonas Vingegaard, winner of the 2022 and 2023 editions.
Vincenzo Nibali, winner from 2014, would know a thing or two about upsetting odds as his triumph eleven years ago was quite special. Looking at the two overwhelming favourites, he still rates the Slovenian extremely high, but the same applies to his Danish counterpart.
"On a scale of 1 to 10, Pogacar gets a 10. But when it comes to the Tour specifically, Vingegaard gets a 9. So he's not that far off," the former Tour champion points out in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.
While Pogacar is usually seen winning here, there and everywhere throughout the year, Vingegaard is a bit more economical with his efforts, focusing primarily on stage racing. But Nibali knows that the Visma | Lease a Bike always blooms at the Tour de France. "Vingegaard can transform himself in the Tour. He has it as the center of everything, and he always shows his best," he highlights.
The parcours in 2025 are also certainly going to play in Vingegaard's favour. Without any big mountains that would provoke Pogacar to some big action in the first week, Vingegaard can gradually get into a racing rhythm before riders head south for some real climbing.
Nibali is confident that the Dane will thrive there: "In addition, there is a factor that is hardly mentioned. It is the difficulty of the route: 50,000 meters of altitude and five mountain finishes. All of that will certainly not make Vingegaard upset," is his assessment.
And that Jonas Vingegaard came to Tour prepared is evident from the get-go when alongside Pogacar (and Enric Mas) the two men already gained 39 seconds on all of their opponents on a day that was supposed to be a simple sprint stage. If this is the way the next three weeks will look like, we're up for a great race!
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 2visitors 2
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- 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
Loading
Write a comment