Vingegaard hits back at critics after Pogacar’s Milan-Sanremo win: ‘Then I would say they are not experts’

Pogacar looked set to see his chances disappear when he crashed before the Cipressa. But he made it back on at the foot of the climb, and with an acceleration on the hill he separated the wheat from the chaff. What followed was a thrilling duel with an immensely strong Tom Pidcock, but in the end the Slovenian proved the strongest in the sprint. Vingegaard was unable to watch it live.

“I was flying here yesterday,” he said in a press conference attended by Feltet. “I tried to watch the race afterwards. It was a dramatic race with that crash. It was also a good race to watch. A lot happened. I was very impressed by what I saw, that he came back and dropped everyone. And also that Wout got on the podium.”

Wout van Aert secured third place with an attack in the closing kilometres. He came up short against the mighty Pogacar, who set records on the Cipressa despite his injuries. For Vingegaard, that only adds motivation. “Having a rival like Pogacar makes everyone work harder and do everything possible to win. We try to get better every day.”

The Dane himself made a great impression in Paris-Nice, although he did not face the very top tier there. Pogacar’s performances have led some analysts and fans to suggest that Vingegaard is already 1-0 down this season. Among them was Romain Bardet, who was not fully convinced by Vingegaard’s Paris-Nice level. The two-time Tour de France winner reacted sharply. “Then I would say they are not experts.”

There is always plenty of discussion around the rivalry between Pogacar and Vingegaard, but Vingegaard himself is not particularly concerned by it. “I actually don’t think about whether he is there or not. I choose the races I want to ride, and then I race to win.” That is exactly what he will try to do over the coming week in Catalonia, where the opening stage starts on Monday.