Vingegaard explains why he could not match Pogacar’s punch on Montjuïc’s final drag

The Dane finished fourth on stage 2 of the Tour de France, behind Isaac del Toro, Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel, after a sharp finale on the Montjuïc circuit. It was not a day that exposed him on the climbs, but it did underline a familiar difference between him and Pogačar when the race comes down to a short, explosive effort.

Vingegaard accepted that openly afterwards.

“I could follow well on the climb, but the final sprint was very explosive,” he said at the press conference, in quotes collected by In de Leiderstrui. “That is an anaerobic effort and, honestly, that is not my strongest point. So if I am really honest, I am quite satisfied with how it turned out.”

The final metres were dominated by UAE Team Emirates-XRG, with Del Toro launching through the last corner and Pogačar sitting behind him in control. Vingegaard was close enough to defend yellow, but not close enough to prevent Pogačar from cutting the gap in the general classification.

His lead is now down to six seconds, yet Vingegaard did not present the stage as a warning sign. For him, the main takeaway was that he had passed a test on terrain that did not naturally suit him.

“As I said yesterday and again this morning, I enjoy every day in yellow,” he said. “Of course, at some point it can be tactically beneficial to give the jersey away, but for now I am just enjoying it.”

That final sentence also hinted at the tactical balance Visma | Lease a Bike now has to manage. Wearing yellow brings responsibility. Vingegaard knows that better than most, although he was not about to reveal whether Visma would prefer to control the race or let the jersey move elsewhere in the coming days.

“Our advantage is not very big, so the situation is more or less the same,” he said. “I do not think this really changes our approach. But of course, I am not going to explain our tactics here.”

Barcelona, however, did not offer a clear reading of where the Tour’s biggest duel really stands.

“This time he did not attack on the climb himself,” Vingegaard said. “So we did not really get to see exactly how strong he is. But that also applies to how strong I am. Time will tell.”

Pogačar’s generosity in the final metres, choosing not to come around Del Toro when he looked capable of fighting for the stage himself, did not catch Vingegaard off guard either.

“No, not really,” Vingegaard said when asked whether he had been surprised by the gesture. “I think Tadej is a great guy. It is very generous of him to give a stage victory to a teammate. But to be fair, that teammate really deserved it as well. He is a huge talent and he is incredibly strong. It was an impressive ride from both of them.”