A duel thrives on contrasts. As riders, Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard probably have more in common than they would like to admit, but the more the duo has shaped this era of the Tour de France, the more their rivalry has been defined by their differences.
As with McEnroe and Borg or Senna and Prost, the idea has spread that Pogacar and Vingegaard represent two very different modes of interpreting their sport. On a superficial level, it helps that Pogacar’s smiling exuberance contrasts so easily with Vingegaard’s more reserved detachment.
The different moods around their team buses – warm handshakes between UAE Team Emirates staff, cautious clenched fists at Visma-Lease a Bike – only serve to underline this initial impression.
Even their shaving habits have been singled out as a point of divergence. “I can’t grow a moustache, so no,” Pogačar smiled when asked if he would copy Vingegaard’s new beard.
The difference in tactical approach between the two teams on this Tour was on full display on the white roads around Troyes on stage nine, when Vingegaard’s carefully measured decision not to collaborate with Pogacar’s attacks was met with frustration by the yellow jersey. It served to accentuate the caricatures of each man that exist in the popular imagination. There was Pogacar, the impulsive risk-taker, always racing for the fun of it. There was Vingegaard, sober in his judgment, always racing with a thought for tomorrow.
In reality, each rider was simply keen to compete in the stage in the way that suited them best. Pogačar has a penchant for dirt racing, while Vingegaard was understandably cautious about his prospects, especially after his curtailed preparation. As Philippa York pointed out on this site, Vingegaard is under no obligation to start racing this Tour until he feels ready to do so.
Still, the idea that Pogacar and Vingegaard represent two different tactical schools of cycling persists. If Pogacar’s forcing on gravel was cycling’s equivalent of Pep Guardiola’s high press, then Vingegaard was “parking the bus” in the manner of José Mourinho. The debate continued on Monday’s rest day – “It wasn’t a lack of ‘balls’, I just rode smart,” Vingegaard said – though Pogacar admitted to being fed up with the whole subject when he lined up for stage 10 in Orléans on Tuesday.
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“Whether you’re smart or not, it’s just absurd in cycling,” Pogacar said. “At the moment I’m wearing the leader’s jersey. For me it’s smart to be in the lead now with a good gap. In the Tour de France, smart is important, but you have to have the best legs to win.”
Third week
For his part, Matxin Joxean Fernandez, sports director of the UAE Team Emirates, did not wish to dwell on the ins and outs of Visma-Lease a Bike’s strategy. On the Tour, as in any race, each team races as it sees fit, no more, no less.
“You can only really speak about what you do yourself. I don’t have all the information, so I can’t really give a solid opinion,” Matxin said. Cycling news in Orleans. “I don’t know why they did that, but I have the greatest respect for our rivals and I’m not going to criticize them.
“Everyone is free to manage their strengths and limit their weaknesses on each stage. Maybe in this case they were simply trying to minimize their possible weaknesses on a terrain that did not suit them, but that is just an opinion because I do not have all the information on their reasoning.”
There were doubts over Vingegaard’s readiness for this Tour given the serious injuries he suffered in the mass crash at Itzulia in the Basque Country in April, but the two-time champion has been solid so far, approaching the halfway point in third place, just 1:15 behind Pogačar’s yellow jersey.
In his rest-day press conference, Pogačar dismissed the suggestion that he was afraid of Vingegaard’s condition, and even warned Visma against trying to “break him mentally”. Matxin conceded that the occasional mind game is part and parcel of trying to win the Tour.
“The psychological side is also important, riders send messages to their opponents,” Matxin said. “But what is clear at this point is that Tadej is very strong, he is in better condition than in the Giro, so we are only focused on doing the best we can with Tadej and the team. If the others are better or worse than before, we will see with time. You don’t win the Tour with your words, you win it with your legs.”
Last year, Vingegaard edged Pogačar in the third week of the Tour to claim a commanding overall victory, and Visma-Lease a Bike appear to be basing their strategy once again on the Dane’s endurance abilities. The idea, it seems, is to stay in the race until the Tour’s final act in the Alps and the unprecedented time trial in Nice.
Matxin disagrees with the idea that Pogačar might have had any complexes about Vingegaard’s prowess in week three. Pogačar, after all, upset Jumbo-Visma at the end of the 2020 edition, when he took the yellow jersey from Primoz Roglič on the penultimate day.
“Tadej won the 2020 Tour on his own merits, and he won the 2021 Tour on his own merits,” Matxin said. “The 2022 Tour was lost because of a bad day by Tadej, so we lost it. In 2023, they (Visma) won it, they won it in the time trial. Now, in 2024, we gained time in the time trial instead of losing it. We know that everything can change from day to day, but I can tell you that Tadej is solid, he is calm.”
Puy Mary and the Pyrenees
Pogačar enjoyed a quiet afternoon on Tuesday as the Tour resumed after the first rest day, finishing safely in the main peloton and maintaining his 33-second lead over Remco Evenepoel. As he took his place in the press conference van, he acknowledged that the crossing of the Massif Central to Lioran on Wednesday would be much more eventful.
“They made it a bit too long, but the final of the stage is very nice and explosive, with nice climbs,” Pogačar said. “It’s really difficult to predict what will happen tomorrow.”
The only certainty is that Vingegaard and Pogačar will be watching each other closely from the climb of Puy Mary. While Vingegaard’s true fitness was still a mystery before this race, Pogačar believes that the Dane has now given a good indication of his level.
“Yes, I have a good sense of observation and I can also see my own numbers,” Pogačar said. “So far we have been super fast in the time trial, we were 20 seconds faster than the record in San Luca and we also broke the record in Galibier. He is in pretty good shape, so for sure he is gaining confidence for the final part. But we will see in the Pyrenees how strong he really is.”
So at each Round there comes a time when discussions stop.