“We might have seen Jonas Vingegaard on the Tour podium for the last time”: Michael Rasmussen casts doubt on Dane’s future after crash
CyclingThursday, 30 July 2026 at 10:17
Jonas Vingegaard's hopes of winning a third Tour de France came to a heartbreaking end when the Dane crashed out on stage 15 of the 2026 edition with a broken collarbone. Now, former Tour de France king of the mountains Michael Rasmussen believes the Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader may never return to the podium of cycling's biggest race.
Pogacar remains too dominant for Vingegaard
Speaking as an analyst for Viaplay Sports News, Rasmussen questioned whether Vingegaard will be able to compete with Tadej Pogacar and an emerging generation of Grand Tour contenders in the years ahead.
“It could very well be that we've seen Jonas Vingegaard on the Tour de France podium for the last time,” Rasmussen said.
The former Danish rider based his opinion on what he saw before Vingegaard's crash, arguing that the two-time Tour winner simply could not match Pogacar's accelerations during this year's race.
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While Rasmussen expressed doubts about Vingegaard's future Tour ambitions, he was far more optimistic about Pogacar's prospects.
The Slovenian secured his fifth Tour de France title in 2026 and, in Rasmussen's view, remains comfortably ahead of the rest of the peloton. “I'd almost say until he retires. There's an enormous gap behind him that still has to be closed.”
He believes the difference between Pogacar and the rest of the field is far greater than the margins separating the other podium contenders. “The gap between first and second is much, much bigger than the gap between second, third and fourth.”
An uncertain return
Vingegaard had finished on the Tour de France podium every year since his debut in 2021, winning the race twice (2022 and 2023) before finishing runner-up in 2024 and 2025.
Following his crash on stage 15, the 29-year-old is currently sidelined with a broken collarbone, and it remains unclear when he will return to racing or what his next objective will be.
Félix SernaCycling Journalist
Félix Serna is a writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2025. He covers professional cycling across both the men’s and women’s calendars, with a focus on UCI rankings, race developments, and rider performance. His work includes interview-based reports, liveblogs, and tournament coverage designed to provide clear, accurate context throughout the season.
In his reporting, Félix regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical reference. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Studies.
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- Come on now little fella, don't make me take your paci away lolawp30-07-2026
- Can't beat Tadej, has nothing left to prove and never enjoyed cycling anyway. Time to go and enjoy life with family.zaz30-07-2026
- How can you spend 50M and have so little?zaz30-07-2026
- Lol ex Festina rider throwing dirt . If he is what about Sexias then 19 and finished 4th in the TDF 🫢🫢🫢🫢🫢 Typical French last won TDF 1985. You just have to look at the management teams running the French teams all old school who just have not moved with the times like FDJ I did not even know they were racing until last 2 stages to show how poor the French teams and riders are. It was when Froome and Sky dominated the French moaned.paultryan200230-07-2026
- Foss for 2 million was dud Carlos became a dud Onley is going to be a dud Kevin is going to be a dud Bernal became a dud due to injuries Thymen is fatigued, Tarling is injured, Carlos is not selected The rest are basically high end domestiques who cannot win on their own but are highly paid. they literally shot themselves in the foot year after yearabstractengineer30-07-2026
- oh Brian, I don't think you have been paying attention to the last 3 TDFs.Pedalmasher30-07-2026
- Are you going to start telling mom jokes next? Who cares about likes? You can’t be that insecure that you honestly care about getting likes on a comment section. Shocking you couldn’t answer the above questions. Feelings over facts boy.textrips30-07-2026
- None of these doping conversations would be taking place if Pogi didn't exist. Ad acta!!!PogiSloFans30-07-2026
- assuming pogacar is clean, why would he associate with gianetti? I'm sure one word from tadej and gianetti would be replaced at uae. why cast doubt on your achievements by keeping this guy around?whkman30-07-2026
- Everyone is doping. That includes the guys fighting the time cuts. Enjoy it for what it is.Vpotts30-07-2026
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