Pogacar Sees 'Slightly Less Punch' in Vingegaard's Tour de France Performance

Tadej Pogacar observed that Jonas Vingegaard does not possess the same explosiveness as in previous Tours de France when it comes to decisive moments on the climbs. Pogacar, who again bested his Danish rival on a mountain stage Saturday, offered his assessment of Vingegaard's current form.

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Jonas delivered a fantastic effort at the front. But I honestly feel that he is missing a little bit compared to previous Tour de France races. He is there, and he is really strong. He knows that, but I think he also knows that he is missing a little bit "punch." It's small percentages, and I'm not writing him off.

"Jonas delivered a fantastic effort at the front. But I honestly feel that he is missing a little bit compared to previous Tour de France races," Pogacar said. "He is there, and he is really strong. He knows that, but I think he also knows that he is missing a little bit of 'punch.' It's small percentages, and I'm not writing him off."

Vingegaard has consistently pointed to shorter, less steep climbs as favoring Pogacar's riding style. On Saturday's long, arduous ascent to Le Markstein, Vingegaard set a high tempo, but he could not shake Pogacar. "Maybe he will get an extra boost on the longer climbs and drop me there. Sunday's stage suits him well, and the last two mountain stages next week are tailor-made for him," Pogacar added.

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Maybe he will get an extra boost on the longer climbs and drop me there. Sunday's stage suits him well, and the last two mountain stages next week are tailor-made for him.

When asked how his rivals should continue to believe they can beat him, the Slovenian rider laughed. "Do I really need to explain? I can use myself as an example. In 2023, I lost two minutes to Jonas on the time trial, and the next day I lost eight minutes. So, it's quite obvious that everything can change in one day," Pogacar said. The four-time Tour de France winner holds a four-and-a-half-minute overall lead on Vingegaard, with Remco Evenepoel a further 34 seconds behind in third place.

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Do I really need to explain? I can use myself as an example. In 2023, I lost two minutes to Jonas on the time trial, and the next day I lost eight minutes. So, it's quite obvious that everything can change in one day.