Jonas Vingegaard isn’t overawed by Tadej Pogačar and his classics-bashing rampage through the spring.
Vingegaard said Monday it’s only July that will count in his mouthwatering rematch with Pogačar at the Tour de France.
“Of course I have seen what Tadej has achieved in the past months. It’s very impressive. The way he races and how good he is, I can only admire that,” Vingegaard said on a group media call.
“But just because you’re the best in the spring, doesn’t mean you’re going to be the best in the Tour de France,” he continued. “The only thing I can do is focus on myself to be as good as I can.”
And the question on everybody’s lips?
“Yes, I believe I can be much better than last year and that I can beat him again,” Vingegaard said.
Vingegaard: ‘I have taken another small step’
Vingegaard revealed things are looking good for his summer reboot when he spoke to the media from a Visma-Lease a Bike training camp on Sierra Nevada.
The Dane’s trainer Tim Heemskerk recently told Velo how Vingegaard’s enforced break from racing after he sustained a concussion at Paris-Nice had ironically given him a head-start on his summer schedule.
“What we see now looks really promising,” Vingegaard said Monday of his form. “Of course, it is difficult to make the comparison with previous years because my preparation was different each time, but at the moment it seems that I have taken another small step.”
Vingegaard also took the opportunity Monday to suggest there were gaps in the proper implementation of the concussion protocol when he crashed in France this March.
“I went to the race doctor because I had some blood on my face. I was bleeding, but they never once checked me for a concussion,” Vingegaard said of his race-ending fall at Paris-Nice. “I find that a bit odd, to be honest.
“It was visible that my glasses were broken, I had blood on my face, and I even had a little bit of blood here on the eyebrow.”
Just a few kg more to lose and Jonas Vingegaard is ready to smash Pogacar in Le Tour. pic.twitter.com/FTRT9CkWnz
— Mihai Simion (@faustocoppi60) May 19, 2025
Vingegaard was spotted this weekend on Sierra Nevada riding an updated Cervélo S5 and wearing an eye-catching vest-and-overshoe combination.
He said Monday he hopes to be toward his prime form by June for his return to sea level and a preview bout with Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel at the Critérium du Dauphiné.
And after the Tour de France?
Vingegaard confirmed he still plans to race the Vuelta a España, and that he’ll make a long-awaited debut at the road worlds, where a vert-packed Rwanda route plays into his favor.
“Tour will always be my main goal, but the route of the upcoming world championships is really interesting to me,” he said.
Resurgent Egan Bernal blasts prestigious Strava segment
On the topic of former Tour de France champions, Egan Bernal earned the Strava stamp of certainty that he’s getting back to his best form.
Bernal claimed the Strava KoM on Sunday for a notorious Siena segment that plays kingmaker in Strade Bianche and which featured in the finale of the Giro d’Italia’s blockbuster gravel stage.
The full-length 1.19km “San Caterina” strip is an extended segment of the brutal paved “wall” of the Via Santa Caterina.
Bernal’s split-second Strava raid Sunday gives further evidence that the Colombian star is getting his legs back under him.
Because if it’s not on Strava, it didn’t happen, right?
Bernal had hinted earlier this season he’s seeing some of his career-best power numbers.
The 28-year-old Café Colombia throwback star is now proving that point by stringing together his best season since his horrific training crash in early 2022.
Bernal and teammate Thymen Arensman currently lead Ineos Grenadiers’ GC hopes at the Giro d’Italia with their top-10 placements.
A second week which includes a long time trial and two crucial mountain stages might decide which of the two take the front seat of the team bus.
Movistar backs Mas with mega-contract
Enric Mas this week became the latest rider to be granted a mega-contract.
Movistar handed its great Spanish hope a contract extension through 2029 in a sign of continued faith that Mas can deliver his grand tour promise.
Mas joins the likes of Tadej Pogčar and Giro d’Italia star Isaac del Toro in pocketing a deal that stretches toward the end of this decade in what’s becoming a growing trend in the WorldTour.
Only last week, Mads Pedersen joined the “forever contract” club of Visma-Lease a Bike stars Wout van Aert and Marianne Vos with his lifetime deal with Lidl-Trek.
“I’m very grateful for the trust placed in me for the next four years, and honestly, I’m super happy. It gives me the motivation I need to keep growing within this team,” Mas said in a press note.
“By the time this contract ends, I’ll be 34 years old and will have completed 10 seasons with Movistar Team. So, I want to thank both Eusebio [Unzue] and the Telefónica brand for believing in me, and I hope to repay that trust with strong results.
Now 30, Mas joined Movistar in 2020 and delivered the team a series of top grand tour placings, capped by twice second on “home” roads at the Vuelta a España.
“One of my main goals, along with the Tour, will be La Vuelta. I have a bit of a thorn in my side after reaching the podium several times, and I’d love to win a grand tour for Movistar Team.”
@EnricMasNicolau 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣9️⃣#RodamosJuntos I @movistar_es I #Enric2029 pic.twitter.com/poRdMGxiyJ
— Movistar Team (@Movistar_Team) May 19, 2025