Saturday, July 13, 2024 at 6:44 PM
Video Jonas Vingegaard had to give up time to his great rival Tadej Pogacar in the fourteenth stage of the Tour de France. The Dane lost a battle, but not the war, he thinks. The leader of Visma | Lease a Bike remains confident that he can still win the tour, he said followingwards to, among others, CyclingFlash.
Of new Tour special from RIDE Magazine is a must-have for true cycling fans! Our new 236-page summer edition is the most complete Tour guide of this summer and is full of great cycling stories regarding Tadej Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel, Fabio Jakobsen, Gio Lippens, Christian Prudhomme and Charlotte Kool. Ensure yourself of a wonderful sporting summer and order it online now for only €9.95. Would you like to receive RIDE extra cheaply? Then take out a subscription now and receive a 20% discount!
“Tadej has a very strong attack in his legs,” Vingegaard began. “I performed very well myself, so I can’t be disappointed regarding that. Of course it’s a shame that I lost forty seconds (39 seconds plus four bonus seconds, ed.). The last three kilometers of the climb were a bit flatter and even a bit downhill, so that suited him a bit better. On the steep parts I took back some time. I think he took some time on the flatter and downhill parts, because he has more absolute power.”
Vingegaard takes that as a positive point. “In that respect, this gives confidence for tomorrow. Then we will finish on a different kind of climb,” he refers to Plateau de Beille. At the same time, UAE Emirates seems a lot stronger in the mountains than Visma | Lease a Bike. Isn’t Vingegaard worried regarding that? “He had a very strong team today, but so did I. I always had someone with me. Matteo (Jorgenson, ed.) rode hard at the front and he might have ridden even harder when Yates attacked. So I think I can be happy with the team’s performance. Do I need someone like Sepp Kuss? Of course we miss him, but the rest of the team is also doing very well.”
To trust
After the first Pyrenees stage, Vingegaard is almost two minutes behind Tadej Pogacar. The difference is one minute and 57 seconds to be precise. Still, he thinks it is still possible to win the Tour. “It is definitely possible,” he sounds determined. Finally, he emphasized once once more that he has gained confidence: “I came back on the steeper parts, that is a good sign.”
