Jonas Vingegaard's Tour frustration recalled in team video

Jonas Vingegaard’s frustration with Tadej Pogacar’s dominance has emerged in a recently released Visma-Lease a Bike video. The Dane’s attempt to respond to the Slovenian ended before he could execute his next move, after a crash led to a fractured clavicle and pushed his return to competition back to 2027.

Vingegaard had taken the yellow jersey after the opening stage, but Pogacar separated himself from the main contenders five days later. On stage 14, finishing at Markstein, Vingegaard was dropped on the Col du Haag and crossed the line 44 seconds behind Pogacar. The result left him four and a half minutes behind the eventual five-time Tour winner in the overall standings.

The Danish rider felt the route favoured Pogacar’s explosive style. He believed the climbs alone were not the only problem, pointing to the descents, flatter sections and valleys where he continued to lose time. Visma-Lease a Bike performance director Marc Reef offered the same assessment of those transitions between the major climbs.

Vingegaard still considered his own condition a positive sign before the summit finish at Plateau de Solaison. That plan collapsed when he crashed shortly before the final climb of stage 15 and was unable to continue. The injury ended his Tour challenge and altered his competitive timetable.