Shots fired: José De Cauwer went in on multiple Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard of Visma – Lease a Bike in his final interview of the year for Het Nieuwsblad. The former Belgian clearly favours Tadej Pogačar, saying that had he been in top form, there’s no way the Dane would have ever won.
“As long as Pogačar maintains the level he has, then the difference will continue to stay significant. Also, I wouldn’t dare say that Remco will never ever win the Tour. In terms of talent, I certainly don’t rank Vingegaard higher than Evenepoel. To be frank, Vingegaard should never have won a Tour, considering Pogačar’s absolutely superior talent,” he said.
In 2024, Pogačar won the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France, and the road worlds — the first rider to take the Triple Crown since 1987, when Stephen Roche achieved the feat. The other male rider to complete it was the great Eddy Merckx. One female rider has also done it: Annemiek van Vleuten.
The Slovenian took 25 wins — many beyond impressive. The most remarkable was the 2024 UCI road worlds. He broke away with 100 km to go, bridged to the leaders, and then soloed the last 50 km.
De Cauwer says that Pogačar is simply an incredibly gifted athlete, but, like many, sometimes wonders about his extraordinary performances.
“According to his former coach, Iñigo San Millán, Pogačar has a hyper-efficient metabolism. Am I suspicious of him? Well, I give him the benefit of the doubt. I also discussed it with Tom Dumoulin recently. Nutrition has completely transformed the sport.”
Pogačar landed an C$11-million contract extension with UAE Team Emirates, complete with a huge C$270-million buyout clause. This deal cements Pogačar as one of cycling’s top riders.
In 2023, Pogačar entered the Tour with less-than-optimal form. He crashed at Liège-Bastogne-Liège and broke his wrist, which totally derailed his Tour de France preparation. He began the race with just two races under his belt post-crash — the Slovenian national TT and road race championships. Although he put up a good fight, he ultimately cracked on Stage 17.
In 2024, a similar situation befell Jonas Vingegaard. He crashed early in the year at the Tour de Pays Basque. It was only with a week to go that he announced he’d race the Tour and, like Pogačar the year before, didn’t have the benefit of the Tour lead-up races.
In 2025, could we have a battle royale between the two of them at peak form? Here’s hoping,…
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