Ex-rider far from confident in Pogacar ahead of Tour de France: "If I were UAE, I would be nervous about him"

So, 2020 and 2021 belonged to Pogacar, while Vingegaard – initially the second lead rider behind Primoz Roglic – took the yellow jersey to Paris in 2022 and 2023. Last year, Pogacar dominated the race and won, and so far this year, the Slovenian rider has been particularly impressive. Nevertheless, Blythe does not consider the Slovenian world champion the absolute favorite. "If you go back to two years when Jonas took 2.5 minutes (1.38 minutes, ed.) out of him in one day in a time trial," said the English former rider at TNT Sports, not quite getting the figures right. "I think that's forgotten about."

"And even a day where he took six minutes out of him on one mountain," Blythe continues. Vingegaard won the Tour in 2023 with a lead of almost 7.5 minutes over Pogacar, while Pogacar won by a comfortable margin last year. The Slovenian rider had a lead of just over six minutes in Paris, although Blythe believes there is an explanation. "I think they forgot that through last year and Jonas being injured," says the 35-year-old Englishman.

According to Blythe, it was mainly that horrific crash in the Tour of the Basque Country that ruined Vingegaard's chances last year. He, therefore, believes that the Dane from Visma | Lease a Bike will be in a completely different shape this year in the Tour de France. “I don't think they're underestimating him, but I think if you look at what Jonas did last year... where he won that on stage after being on his back for six weeks ahead of the Tour de France,” the Englishman said, referring to the eleventh stage of last year's Tour.

From Blythe's words, we can gather that the former rider sees Vingegaard as a slight favorite. This is partly due to his performance last year. "He was still able to beat the best Tadej we have ever seen, barring this year. He has got a much better prep than what he did last year. So, if I were UAE Team Emirates - XRG, I would be nervous about him. When Jonas is on top form, Tadej has never beaten him," Blythe concludes his analysis.

Vingegaard and Pogacar have not yet faced each other this year, but they will meet in competition before the Tour de France. Their paths will cross again in the Critérium du Dauphiné, which starts on June 8. With Remco Evenepoel, last year's number three in the Tour de France, also at the start, the French stage race is expected to deliver a spectacular week of racing.