Jonas Vingegaard has been defending himself after stunning performances have aroused suspicion from the media. The Dane had a phenomenal time trial where he decimated his rival, Tadej Pogačar, putting 1 minute and 38 seconds into him, and upping his overall lead to 1:48. The next day, he put the Tour to bed by beating the Slovenian by six minutes. With Paris looming, the yellow jersey is all but locked in.
Jonas Vingegaard went so fast he thought his power meter was broken
After the time trial performance, social media was a flurry of questions about the incredible rides. The French daily sports paper, L’Équipe even took a not-so-subtle jab with the headline: “D’une autre planète.” For those who remember, it was the same sentence the news outlet used when Lance Armstrong would go on to win the 1999 Tour de France, in one of the greatest comebacks of all-time. The American recovered from cancer, and transformed himself from a one-day racer to Grand Tour winner. He would later admit to doping for all seven Tours de France.
Jonas Vingegaard claps back about doping after incredible climbing speeds
Given the tainted history of cycling, it’s no wonder that some are apprehensive about otherworldly accomplishments. Facing a barrage of questions about his race, the Dane continues to deny any use of illegal products. “It’s hard to tell what more I can say. I understand that it’s hard to trust in cycling with the past there has been. Nowadays, everyone is different than it was 20 years ago,” he said. “I can tell from my heart that I don’t take anything. I don’t take anything I would not give to my daughter, and I would definitely not give her any drugs.”
His answer to the Dutch outlet NOS referenced the disgraced American cyclist, saying that times have changed.
“I can say that these are not times like with Lance Armstrong. We run on different fuel than Armstrong did,” he said. “The sport is clearly different now. I am happy that I won the stage on Tuesday and I am 100 per cent sure that no one will ever take those victories away from me.”
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