'I'm stronger than ever' - Jonas Vingegaard ready for Pogacar duel at Tour de France

The problem with racing against Tadej Pogačar is that the bar keeps getting shifted higher. Jonas Vingegaard maintains that he is in the best condition of his life as he lines up for his fifth Tour de France, but he knows that still might not be enough to beat the world champion to the yellow jersey in Paris.

Twelve months ago, Vingegaard’s build-up to the Tour was hampered by the effects of his horrific crash at Itzulia Basque Country, though he recovered sufficiently to win a stage at Le Lioran and claim second overall behind a rampant Pogačar.

Vingegaard’s approach has been altogether smoother this time out, a crash-interrupted Spring notwithstanding, but he suffered a sobering defeat against Pogačar in the mountains of the Critérium du Dauphiné. The Visma | Lease a Bike rider sets off from Lille on Saturday, mindful that his best still might not be good enough against this particular iteration of Pogačar.

“I think for sure I can say that I'm stronger than ever,” Vingegaard told reporters in Lille on Friday. “Of course, last year I was also on a very high level in the Tour de France, but it was in a different way. I had a lot less muscle, but I was also a lot lighter. I’m heavier now than last year, but it’s muscle, and we know that it gives a lot more power as well. So I can say that I’m on the highest level that I've ever been, and then we’ll just see if it’s enough or not.”

Like Pogačar, Vingegaard has never placed lower than second at the Tour, but unlike the Slovenian, he views each of his podium finishes as a resounding success. “The first year was my first Tour de France, so second place felt like a victory. Then the two victories felt like victories, and last year left like a victory after my crash,” he smiled. “I almost feel like I have four victories in the Tour.”

In Vingegaard’s view, his biggest win so far in 2025 was not his triumph at the Volta ao Algarve, but the realisation that he had finally stopped feeling the lingering effects of his 2024 crash.

“There is a really big difference compared to last year,” Vingegaard said. “Last year, I came back from the terrible crash, and honestly, it took me way longer than I thought to actually come back. It’s only in the last few months that I would say that my body feels the same as it did before the crash. It has taken me almost a year to get back to the same as it was prior to my crash. And obviously, then, being in bed for two weeks after crashing, you lose a lot of muscle. We tried to regain that, and we succeeded.”

Vingegaard has worked on some specifics in a bid to improve his armoury against Pogačar – “We felt I was a bit weak on the accelerations, so we tried to increase that” – though the results from the road test at the Dauphiné were mixed.

The Dauphiné is not the Tour, however, and Vingegaard has always placed a lot of emphasis on his traits as an endurance athlete. The seemingly deadlocked 2023 Tour turned into a route in the high altitude of the third week, and one imagines Vingegaard will retain belief in his ability to trouble Pogačar at Mont Ventoux and the Col de la Loze. Even so, he was coy when asked if his rival had any weaknesses.

“I think in recent years he hasn’t really had many weaknesses, I would say,” Vingegaard said. “But to be honest, if he had any, I wouldn’t sit here and say it. That’s a card we will keep for ourselves.”

Vingegaard’s teammate Matteo Jorgenson was a little more forthcoming about one of the cards Visma | Lease a Bike might play, pointing to the team’s aptitude for the cut and thrust of the Tour’s fraught opening week.

“I think we have a Classics team with a few climbers along for the ride,” Jorgenson said. “For me that’s the key to this Tour de France – getting through this first ten days and treating them like Classics, and trying to take advantage there.”

Vingegaard, for his part, suggested the focus in the opening ten days was simply about avoiding danger, and he politely downplayed the idea that Visma would also chase secondary targets in the first part of the race. “I’m happy if Wout wins a stage and rides a few days in yellow,” Vingegaard said. “But the main goal is to win the yellow jersey in Paris, and we don’t want to compromise that.”

Ultimately, one senses this Tour will play out much like the last four, as a slugging match between Pogačar and Vingegaard in the high mountains. The world champion has reached new levels over the past 18 months, but perhaps Vingegaard’s greatest gift is that he has never been fazed by the outrageous strength of his rival.

“If we were afraid of Tadej, then we wouldn’t be here,” Vinegaard said. “If we were afraid, it’s better not to show up. Obviously, we’re not afraid, but we have a lot of respect for what he can do.”