Vingegaard and Visma | Lease a Bike know exactly why he can beat Pogacar in the Tour de France

In the Dauphiné, Pogacar firmly outclassed Vingegaard, winning three stages and especially dominating on the first major mountain test—riding a full minute clear of the Dane. Vingegaard closed the gap in the later climbing stages and even gained 28 seconds on Pogacar in the individual time trial, but that gain was quickly erased. In the final standings, he ended up 59 seconds behind. And Pogacar didn’t even push on the final day.

The analysis did not lie after the big Tour de France test. Jan Bakelants saw such a performance gap that he doesn't believe anything will stop Pogacar from claiming a fourth Tour title. José De Cauwer noted that Vingegaard was only able to follow Pogacar briefly when he was going full gas. And Johan Bruyneel argued that Visma’s powerful support squad won’t change much: “If Pogacar attacks, Vingegaard won’t be able to count on his teammates anyway.”

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In an interview with TV2, Vingegaard emphasized that he still believes in winning another Tour. If he does, it would be his third, tying him with Pogacar, who already has three to his name. “I had hoped I could stay with him when it mattered, but my strength lies in the long, exhausting days, the deeper we get into a grand tour. So we have to keep believing that’s where we can make the difference.”

So expect Visma | Lease a Bike to make it a brutally hard three weeks, because that might be the only way to crack Pogacar. The mountain stages in the Tour de France will be nearly 50 kilometers longer on average than those in the Dauphiné. “That makes you more fatigued heading into the final climb. Plus, there are some really tough mountain stages near the end of the Tour, which also adds to the fatigue. Hopefully, that plays to my advantage.”

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After the Dauphiné, Vingegaard immediately headed to altitude training in Tignes to put the finishing touches on his Tour de France preparation. He’ll be hoping that his progression curve steepens just a bit more than Pogacar’s. “Of course, I hope Tadej doesn’t get any better, and that I do, heading into the Tour. But time will tell,” said the climber. The Tour de France kicks off on July 5 in Lille.