Jonas Vingegaard finds himself over three minutes behind Tour de France leader Tadej Pogaฤar after the Pyrenean stages, but the Dane isn’t giving up on winning the race for a third time. The Visma-Lease A Bike leader lost 43 seconds on Pla dโAdet and 1:12 on the climb to Plateau de Beille, placing him 3:09 down on the yellow jersey. However, Vingegaard is still optimistic about making an impact in the final week, with several challenging stages in the Alps and a hilly time trial to Nice still to come.
โIf someone is better, you have to accept that. He is better at the moment. Hopefully, I can still do something in the third week,โ Vingegaard said during Visma-Lease A Bikeโs rest day press conference. โI will not simply accept this result. I have already won this race twice. I didn’t come here to come second. Iโll do everything I can to achieve that.”
โPogaฤar looks very strong at the moment, but we also know that he has had a bad day in the past in the third week. A lot can still happen. Mentally, I will never crack. Iโll keep fighting with everything I have. I havenโt lost faith yet,โ Vingegaard added.
While Vingegaardโs focus remains on the top spot, he is not looking back to defend against third-placed Remco Evenepoel, who is currently 5:19 adrift of Pogaฤar.
Team dynamics and challenges
Teammate Wout van Aert has acknowledged the teamโs challenges, particularly missing key riders like Sepp Kuss and Steven Kruijswijk in the climbs. โWe miss Sepp Kuss and Steven Kruijswijk in particular on the climbs,โ he said. โOn Sunday, we tried to tire everyone out as much as possible with our pace throughout the day. We succeeded but it just didnโt have enough influence on Pogaฤar. We have to accept that.โ
Van Aert highlighted the overall high level of the race, noting that Pogaฤar, Vingegaard, and Evenepoel broke Marco Pantaniโs 26-year-old Plateau de Beille climbing record. โThe level in the peloton is higher every year anyway,โ the Belgian said. โJust look at the numbers in the last five years โ all climbing records have been broken again and again.”
โYou also have to realise that everything develops โ the bikes, training, methods, you name it. As a result, we as riders ride faster and faster,โ he added.
Van Aert’s personal goals
In addition to his support role for Vingegaard, van Aert is also pursuing his own ambitions at the Tour de France. He has secured three podium finishes so far but aims for a 10th career stage win. โThis is the Tour de France and Iโm here for a result. I do have confidence that my fitness can improve with the rest that follows after the Tour,โ he said.
โI do not start any stage with the idea of taking a step forward in terms of fitness. I start every stage with a goal. Sometimes that is trying to win the stage; last weekend it was to help Jonas as best as possible. That will also be the division for the coming week,โ van Aert explained.
Van Aert expects the stage to Superdevoluy on Wednesday to be a battleground for escapees due to its tough terrain and uphill finish. โThere is a big chance that there will always be a better climber in that group than I am at the moment so that will be difficult for me,โ he noted.
However, he sees a better opportunity on Thursdayโs stage 18 to Barcelonette. โI think my chances are better on Thursday, but there will be more riders who think the same. Being in the breakaway on that day will be a battle in itself,โ he concluded.
Main photo credit: ASO – Charly Lopez
