Matteo Jorgenson is frustrated after his first week as Vingegaard support rider: 'It’s a challenge to deal with'
CyclingMonday, 13 July 2026 at 11:49
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Follow us on GoogleMatteo Jorgenson doesn’t look back on the first week of the Tour de France with much optimism. The 27-year-old American watched as his team leader lost nearly 3 minutes on Stage 6 over the Col du Tourmalet. But it was especially his own legs that didn’t perform as Jorgenson would have liked during the opening week. IDL Pro Cycling spoke with him.
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We caught up with Jorgenson before the start of Stage 9, when the temperature in Malemort had already climbed above 40 degrees. It seemed as though the Visma | Lease a Bike climber was hardly bothered by it anymore. “It’s a tough Tour de France; I can’t immediately recall a tougher edition. This is definitely the hottest one,” he said.
And it was (and is) precisely the heat that gave Jorgenson trouble during the first week. While he still played a leading role in the team time trial on Day 1 as one of the team’s driving forces, he didn’t play a role in the final stages of the explosive Stages 2 and 3. “The heat has a really bad effect on me. I’ve always been more of a cold-weather rider.”
It’s not ideal, in a Tour de France where temperatures have consistently exceeded 35 degrees in the first nine stages, and the forecasts for the second week don’t promise much improvement either. “It’s a challenge to deal with, though I managed the last few stages better and was able to conserve some energy. I didn’t have to push myself as hard anymore, so that’s a good sign heading into the second and third weeks.”
Continue reading below the photo
Matteo Jorgenson on the Col du Tourmalet
Jorgenson and Vingegaard still believe they can beat Tadej Pogačar
Last year, Jorgenson was still the shadow team leader for Visma | Lease a Bike at the Tour de France, but the American started this edition without any personal ambitions. He wanted to ride entirely in support of Vingegaard and therefore did not join the breakaway in Stage 9. “If we’re in the lead group, it’s for defensive reasons. We’re only focused on Jonas’s general classification.”
After nine stages, the Danish leader trails Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates-XRG) by 2.42 minutes, but he remains the most important—and only—asset for the entire Visma | Lease a Bike team. “Jonas leads by example. The way he takes on the best rider of all time—he believes in himself, fights for it every day, and wants to stay as close as possible.”
The hope is that Vingegaard will improve even further and that Pogacar might weaken a bit. “Jonas truly believes he can beat Tadej, and I appreciate that about him. We all believe in that, and it’s great to see. On the Tourmalet, we could only have supported him if we’d been in the breakaway earlier in the stage, but the sprinter teams prevented that.”
Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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Latest Comments
- No teammates on the Tourmalet. Too fast up the Tourmalet.
merganzer10-07-2026 - Reef is whistling past the graveyard by denying what was plain to see: Tadej crushed Jonas, beating him in the ascent and, even more decisively on the descent, where most of the gap was created. In the world of reality, rather than the fantsay that Reef related, Jonas will not become a better descender between now and Paris, and Tadej won't get less adept at the skill. Moreover, it wasn't only about the mano y mono, between the two Tour leaders, but the unraveling of Visma, and the dominance of UAE, especially IDT. Barring injury or some other anomalous occurrence, we'll look back at Tadej's win on stage six as the day he won the 2026 TDF.rjb10-07-2026
- Remco continues alternating between Dr. Jekyl and, as he did today post-race, Mr. Hyde, lashing out as others for not racing according to his preferences. This isn't the first time he's complained about opponents' tactics, but it's the first time I've heard him do it to a teammate, and that lack of discretion and team loyalty may come back to haunt him. I though he'd outgrown these childish pouts; obviously, I was mistaken.rjb10-07-2026
- - How many times has Pog actually worn yellow now? The article hints he’s lost count—anyone got the exact stat?robert6506-07-2026
- - Unreal start to the Tour: two punches in three days. If he’s taking yellow this early, the real game is load management before the first true summit finish.davidm06-07-2026
- - Grandissimo Tadej! Maillot jaune meritato, squadra perfetta oggi.sprocketspiny06-07-2026
- - Not sure I buy the “nothing really tough” description. 3,850m of climbing in that heat is brutal, even if the gradients aren’t HC. Felt a bit dismissive.cadencekingm06-07-2026
- - Pogacar’s humour about the gels was gold. Also, nice to see him credit Del Toro. That Barcelona gesture coming back today was a proper team arc.michael5406-07-2026
- - Quick question: when they say “break got a free pass” by Visma, does that mean Visma just stopped chasing completely? Or is it more like they eased but still controlled the gap?velodromevirtuoso106-07-2026
- - Sorry, but the piece glosses over how Vermeersch shredded the gap. That was the hinge of the stage. Give him more credit than a single line.raceready706-07-2026
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