‘You don’t win the Tour de France with words’ – A clash of styles in Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard’s endless duel

A duel thrives on contrasts. As riders, Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard probably have more in common than either man would admit, but the longer the pair define this era of the Tour de France, the more their rivalry has come to be defined by their differences.

As with McEnroe and Borg or Senna and Prost, the idea has taken hold that Pogačar and Vingegaard represent two very different modes of interpreting their sport. On a superficial level, it helps that Pogačar’s smiling exuberance contrasts so readily with Vingegaard’s more reserved detachment.