Jonas Wingegaard (right) tries to assess the position of his rival Tadej Pogacar (left) Photo: Getty Images/Bernard Papon
Jonas Wingegaard may have won this year's Tour de France an eternity of time — 7m 29s — but prior to last Tuesday's time trial, the race lived up to its claim as the battle of the ages between Dane and Slovenian Tadej Pogacar.
After Saturday's stage victory over Pogacar, the UAE rider said he was already looking forward to next year's race when he hopes to come back stronger and add a third Tour title to his palmares. The tantalizing prospect of Remco Evenepoel, the 2022 world champion, who will make his Tour debut in 2024, has already made cycling fans look forward to the grand departure.
But before the hand grenade that is Evenepool is thrown into the peloton of the Tour, we must pay tribute to Vingegor and Pogacar.
On and off the bike, they are two very different personalities. One comes across as a cold person—a Dane who worked in a fish factory for six months before joining Jumbo-Visma in January 2019—and the other is a social media savvy Slovene whose main life goal seems to be fun on a bike.
Let's go on vacation and straight to the cafe with @j_vingegaard
☕️ 🤝#tdf2023 pic.twitter.com/UfbHkC2qZk
— Tadej Pogachar (@TamauPogi) July 16, 2023
Despite his apparent strength, Wingegaard drives conservatively, measuring his efforts and often looking over his shoulder. Pogacar is prone to aggressive attacks. The cold efficiency of Vingegaard's latest Tour victory was hugely impressive — especially in the time trial where he gutted all the riders — but it's the energy and panache with which Pogacar has become synonymous that will most likely inspire young children to race their bikes.
As with the great rivalries of yesteryear — Gino Bartali vs. Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil vs. Raymond Poulidor, Ed di Merckx vs. Luis O caña – the fans will have their favorites.
Cycling is enjoying a golden era, perhaps the best time to watch the sport since the 1980s, and the Vingegaard-Pogacar roadshow could prove to be a major event for years to come.
Wingegaard buried Pogacar — and perhaps ended the dreams of his classics
Vingegaard and Pogacar's contrasting personalities are reflected in their racing programs in the countdown to the Tour de Franc c.
Wingegor (right) and Pogacar (left) have contrasting styles. Photo: Getty Images/Jean Catuffe
Wingegaard followed a proven approach, focusing on stage races, winning O Gran Camiño, Itzulia Basque Country and warming up for the Critérium du Dauphiné tour. Meanwhile, Pogacar spent the spring tackling one-day classics, winning the Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold Race and Flèche Wallonne, as well as finishing third and fourth at the E3 Saxo Classic and Milan-Sanremo, respectively. After a crash on the Liège-Bastogne-Liège circuit at the end of April that broke his wrist, Pogacar raced for two more days in the Slovenian national championship ahead of the Tour.
Despite all the accolades that have been showered on Pogacar for his participation in the classics, since Bernard Hinault in 1985, the winner of the Tour has also not had a cobblestone monument on his palms. It remains to be seen whether this was the wisest decision.
After last year's robbery at the Granon Pass, when Jumbo-Visma outnumbered and cunning him, and after last week's dramatic collapse at the Loz Pass, Pogacar was unable to react when Wingegor turned the screw.
Wingegaard is a real climber and the best time trialist, a racer born to win the biggest race of all. Having found a winning formula, it is unlikely that he will deviate from the line he has followed since turning pro in 2019.
If Pogacar returns next year and challenges his great adversary, he may have to put his dream of conquering new monuments on hold for another year or two. However, what is good for the Tour is not necessarily good for the sport as a whole. Watching Pogacar fight the classics was a breath of fresh air and showed younger fans — and older fans who grew up with the exploits of Eno or Merckx — that cycling is more than just the Tour.
It would be a shame if Pogacar turned his back on the classics, but that's understandable. By winning the second round, Wingegaard may have broken the heart of not only Pogacar, but also the fans of one-day races.
The Jumbo-Visma team dedicated to cycling has done justice to the dynasty
A decade after losing their Rabobank team identity — and nearly going bankrupt after the US Anti-Doping Agency report on doping in cycling — the Dutch team, run by Richard Plagge, has quietly become a cycling superpower.
Where once Team Sky — now Ineos Grenadiers — was a team looked upon with envy by rivals, due in part to their apparently unlimited funds and plenty of talent, Jumbo-Visma are now the standard bearers by which others are measured. With three squads — elite men, elite women, and a male development team — Jumbo-Visma covers all bases.
Jumbo-Visma, led by Wingegor (yellow), has quietly turned into a bicycle over power. o/Michael Steel
From springtime classics to grand tours and mid-winter bike races, the Jumbo-Visma can take on any terrain. This Dutch team can be filled with multi-national riders, but sometimes — especially during the spring classics — the ghost of legendary football coach Rinus Michels seems to be driving the team car as Jumbo-Visma takes a «total cycling» approach to racing.
Vingegaard, Primoz Roglic and Wout van Aert may be the protagonists, but the strength in depth that the team possesses is why Jumbo-Visma has just won back-to-back Tour de France titles. Homemade mountain masters Sepp Kuss and Wilko Kelderman are worth their weight in gold, while rulers Dylan van Baarle or Nathan Van Hooydonk are the engine rooms that fueled their latest masterpiece.
The future looks bright for Jumbo-Visma thanks to their hiring policy. Since the founding of the development team in 2019, Jumbo-Visma has consistently signed some of the under-23 team's brightest talent, many of whom have moved on to the elite men's team.
Londoner Thomas Gloag's addition to the team last year seems to have been an inspiring acquisition. Just 21 years old, Gloag completed his first epic tour in May, when he was part of the team behind Roglic's success at the Giro d'Italia.
With their pipeline of talent, including runners-up at last year's Tour de l'Avenir — the Tour of the Future, commonly referred to as the Under-23 Tour de France — one would suspect that the succession plan for a lifetime after Roglic and Wingegaard is in bad shape. condition.
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