Visma | Lease a Bike confident Jonas Vingegaard can beat Tadej Pogacar: “In 2025 it will be different again”
Cycling
Visma | Lease a Bike remains confident that Jonas
Vingegaard, the Tour de France winner in 2022 and 2023, will be able to compete
head-to-head with Tadej Pogacar for the 2025 Tour de France title. Vingegaard’s
performance this year was significantly impacted by his serious crash in the
spring, which left him facing a long recovery before the Tour began.
Frans Maassen, team manager at Visma, discussed Vingegaard’s
challenges and outlook with Wielerflits, sharing insight into the Danish
rider’s resilience. “Jonas went into the off-season with a good feeling,”
Maassen said.
“This year it didn’t feel like losing the Tour. The Tour
even felt like a victory to us. It was uncertain until the last moment whether
he would even be able to start in the Tour. We were really nervous before those
first stages whether he would even be able to hold his own and ride in the
peloton. That was a bit of a thing. Fortunately, it all went well.”
Despite the challenges, Maassen is optimistic about
Vingegaard’s chances. “Pogacar is simply the best. It is up to the rest of the
peloton to look to reduce the gap,” he explained, adding that it will take
combined efforts from multiple teams to challenge the Slovenian’s dominance.
“Hopefully the gap will be a bit smaller again next year.”
Read also
While the 2025 Tour de France route was just announced,
Maassen clarified that final decisions about Vingegaard’s 2025 racing schedule
have yet to be made. “The Tour remains the most important. The best riders
always go there. But the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta will also always be
well-attended,” he noted, suggesting that while the Tour is likely to remain
the primary goal, other Grand Tours could be in consideration.
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as 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. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
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- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- 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
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