A top Visma-Lease a Bike sports director has insisted that double Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard has to up his game or that the chances he will be able to beat arch-rival Tadej Pogačar in the future will drop significantly.
After back-to-back Tour de France victories in 2020 and 2021, followed by two by Vingegaard in 2022 and 2023, this July in France Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) managed to turn the tables on the Dane once again and win his third Tour in five editions.
Speaking in a personal capacity, Visma sports director Frans Maassen has told Danish newspaper BT that Pogačar is now operating on a level that Vingegaard will have to work very hard to attain.
Maassen also played down the idea that Vingegaard might add a Giro d'Italia debut to his program in 2025, saying he did not understand where the rumour that the Dane might do so had emerged and that "Right now, I don't see that idea as realistic."
Vingegaard was badly injured in April and was on the comeback trail for many weeks prior to the Tour de France. Maassen insisted that the Danish star had gained considerably in mental resilience over the course of time and that "Now his engine is under control again after the crash and Jonas himself is a guy who is hard to beat."
"I think he has become a different rider after this year. Now he has 'survived' everything and next year he will compete with the world's best riders again."
Vingegaard's 2024 season is already over, with his last race the overall victory in the Tour de Pologne in August. However, Maassen recognised that defeating Pogačar in 2025 in the Tour de France would be anything but straightforward for the Dane and that "he has to find a way to get better."
"Jonas is something special. We will have to see how his preparation goes and how strong he is. I hope he can beat Pogačar, but it's hard to say."
Unsurprisingly, Maassen said it would be all but inconceivable that Vingegaard would not do the Tour de France in 2025. But should it be confirmed that Vingegaard would continue to skip the Giro next season as well, that would arguably render the Visma rider's need to take the battle to Pogačar on more equal terms even more pressing.
"Jonas does not like the idea of having to return to the Tour and finish second," Maassen told BT. "He wants to be the best and has to work very hard to get better, and it will be a challenge because if he stays at the same level, he probably won't be able to beat Tadej Pogačar anymore."
