“With Tadej you need to expect everything” – Can Jonas Vingegaard upset the one day specialists at the European Championships?
CyclingSunday, 05 October 2025 at 12:11
Jonas Vingegaard lines up at today’s European Championships road race in Drôme–Ardèche stepping back into unfamiliar territory, a rare
one-day appearance against two of his great rivals, Tadej Pogacar and Remco
Evenepoel. For the two-time Tour de France champion, it’s his first major
one-day outing since Il Lombardia in 2022, a gap he was reminded of with a grin
before the start.
“Yeah, 2022,” he laughed to Cycling Pro Net. “That’s already some years ago. I
think I got dropped, as I remember it, but I’m not sure.”
The Dane, who opted to skip the World Championships in
Rwanda to focus on this race, admitted much has changed since that last
appearance. “Of course, a lot has happened since 2022. I’m a lot better
compared to how I was then,” he said. “But the competition is also a lot
better. We just have to do our best and see what the result will be.”
The 203-kilometre course, with its three climbs of
Saint-Romain-de-Lerps (7.1 km at 7%) and six punishing ascents of Val d’Enfer
(1.5 km at nearly 10%), will test endurance and climbing tactics, terrain that
suits Vingegaard, but one that leaves little margin for error. “I think the
parcours is very, very hard,” he said. “It will be a very hard race again, and
it will be with the best riders, for sure.”
Read also
Vingegaard is fresh off of winning the Vuelta a Espana for
the first time in his career, and will co-lead Team Denmark alongside Mattias
Skjelmose, a plan he’s fully behind. “Matias is a very good guy,” he said. “The
plan is that we go for it as a team. If he wins, I’ll still be very happy.”
As for strategy, Vingegaard expects a chaotic race. “With
Tadej, you need to expect everything,” he said with a wry smile, aware of Pogacar’s
tendency to attack from long range.
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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- Jonas managed to keep the gap to Pog at under 40 seconds for a long way down the descent. So Pog seemed to be simply more consistent in the long run. The chasing group also started getting closer to Jonas. I was wondering if they might all have closed the gap significantly if Kuss had pulled the chasers close to Jonas and Jonas had helped them on the last climb before pulling away again.Hills3309-07-2026
- There is nothing more predictable than Evenepoel losing his shit in the chase. He'll try to milk this "Lipowitz is my leadout" narrative till he gets dropped in week 3.LumbarDeniro09-07-2026
- Its a 3rd place podium fight between Ayuso, Bull, Redballers and Sexy. So why does Crazy Remco want to chase Jonas when nobody is interested. Because while Remco got balls he got no brainsabstractengineer09-07-2026
- Jonas can rest easy knowing that he's the second-best rider in the TdF. Del Toro or Seixas can't match him just yet. Second place will be easy to defend.
PogiFan2Day09-07-2026 - What stage did you watched? Remco was behind Lipo. He is the one closing gaps on his own teammate...MajorPayne09-07-2026
- I don't think Vingegaard believes in himself. He didn't continue pushing to the finish line and wasn't bothered to pursue every second, as he has done in the past. But he also didn't specify whether he believes he can beat Pogačar later in the race or whether he can stay ahead of the chasing pack. And Pogačar's insensitiveness is nothing new. At the Dauphiné last year, on stage 6, he commented that "I had to hurry up to watch the finish of Urska" which many deemed insensitive as it trivialised his rivals who'd given their all. It is, however, extraordinary that he isn't an arrogant pratt like Roger de Vlaeminck, considering his greatness. I think there is a correlation between the number/severity of setbacks a rider has suffered and whether they come across as arrogant or not. Why is Wout always praised for having never lost his dignity?
Rafionain-Glas09-07-2026 - What’s the Mike Tyson phrase? Everyone has a plan until the first punch? What a huge gap to open on a single day.RidesHills09-07-2026
- Damn...To soon.... I preferred that UAE didn´t atack so strong this stage...an so early in the grad boucle ! Now theres no to little competition foi maillot jeune in thenext weeks..... Beside that, i was expecting Seixas to go with Vingegard... But not bad for him! He is only 19... Go SEIXAS!!!Alexcavalera09-07-2026
- I'm not claiming he doesn't have the right to be angry, but the way he spills his beans in public hurts his public image.Ride197409-07-2026
- I was thinking the same! Could we have 2 Place tight competition this year? Or in the third week, in the Alps, we will see a Premium VIngagard??Alexcavalera09-07-2026
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