Speaking Monday to MARCA on the second rest day of the Vuelta a España, Vingegaard reasserted that playing second-best pushes him to improve.
“It motivates me, because Tadej is the best cyclist in the world right now,” Vingegaard told MARCA. “And if you want to win races, you have to beat Pogačar.”
Vingegaard’s career – and modern grand tour racing – is framed by the presence of Pogačar.
They’re 2-3 in direct face-offs at a Tour de France that’s become a two-horse race. The chasing Remco Evenepoel and fading giant Primož Roglič aren’t even in the frame.
Vingegaard is painfully aware that life would look a little different if pesky Pogi wasn’t around.
“I probably would have won five grand tours if my career didn’t coincide with Pogačar’s,” Vingegaard told MARCA.
“Of course that would be good, but at the same time, it’s nice to compete against him. He’s a good guy, and it’s OK to have a rivalry like that.”
In another galaxy far far away, Vingegaard could even have joined Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault, and Indurain in the five-time Tour de France winner’s club.
“I think this year and last year I could have won the Tour,” Vingegaard said of the races won by Pogačar. “Also maybe on my first Tour de France in 2021, but you never know. It’s hard to say.”
On paper, Vingegaard speaks truth.
He’s finished second behind Pogačar three times at the Tour de France, multiple minutes ahead of third-place finishers Richard Carapaz, Evenepoel, and Florian Lipowitz.
And sorry followers of #GCKuss, Vingegaard would have won the 2023 Vuelta a España if “The Eagle of Durango” didn’t make things complicated. But that’s another story.
So far at this Vuelta a España, he’s not making it look easy.
The tenacious rise of João Almeida is coinciding with a Dane who’s running out of diesel.
The Vuelta’s “big two” hit deadlock again in a strategic mountaintop finale Wednesday.
“I didn’t have the best day today. I survived, and I guess that’s what you need to do,” Vingegaard admitted Wednesday atop stage 17’s Alto de El Morredero.
“On the days you don’t feel 100 percent, if you can get through without losing time, that’s a good day,” he said.
Speaking Monday, Vingegaard conceded the fatigue of his second grand tour in less than three months. Elsewhere, he told reporters he’d been sick through the Vuelta’s second week.
“I haven’t felt tired, but I haven’t had the legs I had when I won in Valdezcaray again [stage 9 – ed],” Vingegaard told MARCA.
“Even so, I’ve been strong enough to continue in the fight,” he said. “I’ve been scratching seconds here and there. I hope it’s enough to win the Vuelta.”
Vingegaard hasn’t won a grand tour since he and Jumbo-Visma schooled Pogačar with a two-part Alpine annihilation in 2023.
Not that Vingegaard is showing the strain.
In fact, the vibes seem high in his pre- and post-stage interviews.
“I knew I came as the great favorite. But I came from the Tour, where the pressure was enormous,” he said Monday. “Here I feel a little less pressure in comparison.”
This protest-plagued Vuelta took another twist Wednesday night when organizers cut the stage 18 time trial to just 12km.
The gaps will be measured in seconds on Thursday’s ~15-minute test. The red jersey will be decided Saturday in a battle royale on the severe slopes of the summit finish to Bola del Mundo.
“Right now I have two Tours de France. If I win the Vuelta, I would have two of the ‘big three.’ It would be very important for me to conquer all three. So yes, I would like to go to the Giro,” he said.
“I’m happy with what I have already achieved, but of course I would like to win more, here and in Italy.”
“If I retired now, I would already be happy,” Vingegaard told MARCA. “I have two Tours de France, three second places, and another second in the Vuelta.
“Of course, I want to win more, it’s the nature of the cyclist, but even so, I’m already satisfied.”
