Vingegaard will ride the Tour de France after all, but can he threaten Pogačar?

Danish cyclist Jonas Vingegaard has managed to recover enough to defend his Tour de France triumphs from 2022 and 2023, but the question is how fit he will be after his serious injury. Does he even have what it takes to compete on equal terms against this season’s sovereign, Tadej Pogacar?

Serious injury in the Basque Country

Vingegaard suffered serious injuries in a crash in a stage race around the Basque Country in April. He broke several ribs and his collarbone, in addition to suffering a pneumothorax and bruising his lungs. Moreover, until recently it was not at all certain whether he would take part in the famous race.

Eventually he managed to recover enough to actually take part in the Tour de France. The question, however, is in what role, now that he has completed three months of convalescence. The first week will tell a lot about whether he will even have the opportunity to defend his title, or if he will rather play the role of superdomestique to, for example, Sepp Kuss.

One can assume that he will focus more on winning a mountain stage, as the long break especially in the hardest cycling race in the world must be felt. But the Danish cyclist certainly doesn’t want to ride this year’s Tour de France just for numbers.

Will Pogačar reach the Double?

Tadej Pogačar is virtually unbeatable this season. He has won almost all the races he has entered this season. And to be honest, he didn’t put too much effort into winning the Giro d’Italia this year, as he had virtually no serious competition.

He dominated the race from the second stage onwards, steadily increasing his lead at the head of the classification. Add to that the monument he won and two stage races. The fact that his most serious rival is not in top form makes the situation easier for him.

Pogačar has already won on the old lady in 2020 and 2021, and in the other two years he always finished second just behind Vingegaard, always burning out in one mountain stage. So it can be assumed that the most serious competitors for Pogačar will be Remco Evenepoel and Primož Roglič.

Source: UCI, Cycling news