Vingegaard noticed very positive sign from Pogacar, after briefly cracking himself: "I got my sh*t together"

“It was a brutal finale with lots of small climbs at the end,” sighed Vingegaard, who finished third behind Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel in the uphill sprint, speaking to NOS. “I can be happy with how the team and I did and with how I felt. When it comes down to a sprint like this, I can be satisfied with third place, although I was closer to second and it’s a pity I couldn't take second place,” he said about the narrow margin behind Van der Poel, whose legs gave out a bit in the yellow jersey.

Vingegaard also finished third on stage two in a punchy finale, once again showing his improved explosiveness. A good sign for what’s to come. The two-time Tour winner took confidence from the final climb, where Pogacar looked to be riding away, but Vingegaard managed to claw back with a second wind. “With about fifty meters of the climb, the pace was just a bit too high for me, but then I saw it was also too high for Pogacar, so he had to slow down.”

“I finally got my sh*t together and managed to close the gap again,” Vingegaard smiled meaningfully. In the past, Pogacar often rode him off his wheel on explosive, steep climbs, but so far in this Tour, he hasn’t been able to do that. Now, everyone is eagerly awaiting how their rivalry will unfold in a discipline that, on paper, favors Vingegaard: Wednesday’s 33-kilometer time trial.

The climber, who has previously delivered crushing performances against the clock, remained calm about what lies ahead. “Of course, I’m happy with how things went today, but I take it day by day. I’ll ride the best time trial I can tomorrow, and then we’ll see afterwards. The difference is only eight seconds, so anything can happen. Van der Poel or Pogacar or someone else might ride a great time trial too, you never know.”

Danish journalist Dennis Praest noted on X: “Vingegaard saying he thinks he's done one of his best ever 1-minute power outputs today.”