Ex-cyclist slams Jonas Vingegaard: “Tadej Pogacar will destroy him”

Jonas Vingegaard is facing one of the most demanding autumn programmes of his career.

From Saturday, he will be racing the Vuelta a España, where the goal is to take the third Grand Tour victory of his career.

In Spain, he has been named favourite, not least because Tadej Pogacar is not competing.

But as the calendar moves on to September, the Dane’s next tasks may be far more uncertain.

The plans point towards both the World Championships in Rwanda and the Tour of Lombardy.

Here it is even more uncertain whether Vingegaard’s qualities can be realised in a format where he has rarely had success.

Back in February, coach Michael Mørkøv emphasised that the Danish camp expected Vingegaard to race the World Championships in Kigali.

Criticism from the French side

However, there is some scepticism about Jonas Vingegaard’s chances and abilities.

Among the sceptics is former French rider Stéphane Rossetto, who openly doubts Vingegaard’s ability in one-day races.

According to IDL Pro Cycling, he believes that Pogacar will be far too strong in a direct duel.

Rossetto points out that one-day races like the World Championships and the Tour of Lombardy are completely different to a stage of the Tour de France.

The distance of over 250 kilometres combined with the tough nature of the race requires experience that Vingegaard has not yet built up.

He notes that while the Dane did well in the first week of the Tour on the short and steep hills, this is not transferable to a one-off classic:

– Pogacar smashes him in a one-day race,

Experience is lacking

However, the numbers back up the criticism.

Vingegaard has only raced one one-day race in the last three years, the Clasica San Sebastian in 2024, which he retired from.

His only win in this category is from 2022 in the Drôme Classic, while a 14th place in the Tour of Lombardy stands as his best result in the so-called monuments.

He has also never competed in a world championship before.

If he competes in Kigali, it will be the first time he represents Denmark on that stage.

Rossetto believes that Vingegaard does not belong to the small group of riders who can combine Grand Tours with triumphs in one-day races.

Therefore, he will always bet against the Dane at a World Championships.

And Jonas Vingegaard announced earlier today that he will not be competing at the World Championships in Rwanda, so Rossetto will certainly not have the opportunity to assess his abilities there.