"We run on different fuel than Armstrong did" - Jonas Vingegaard tackles doping speculations head on

Stages 16 and 17 saw a dominant Jonas Vingegaard. After his time-trial triumph questions were raised all throughout social media and other media outlets including L'Équipe. Vingegaard, who has said to have been tested 4 times in 48 hours, was already asked about the topic of doping but that has now increased substantially.

“I understand the skepticism. I understand that it is difficult for some people to believe in cycling given what has happened in the past. But we are all different riders than then," Vingegaard told Het Laatste Nieuws. "And I can say with my hand on my heart: I don't take anything, don't do anything that is forbidden. I don't take anything that I wouldn't give to my daughter."

This Wednesday saw an incredibly eventful day for the Dane, having (alongside all Jumbo-Visma and UAE Team Emirates riders) undergone an extra blood test, survived a gruesome queen stage and seen Tadej Pogacar implode on the Col de la Loze - where he had to put a foot down because of stopped vehicles on the steep road. After all this chaos he was asked multiple times once again about his reaction to the speculation that circulates the validity of his performances.

In the microphones of NOS, after repeatedly being asked about the topic, his answer was sharper: “I can say that these are not times like with Lance Armstrong. We run on different fuel than Armstrong did. The sport is clearly different now. I am happy that I won the stage on Tuesday and I am 100 percent sure that no one will ever take those victories away from me.”