Tour de France 2022: 'Clamped on his wheel' - Jonas Vingegaard praised for going toe-to-toe with Tadej Pogacar
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Updated 16/07/2022 at 17:39 GMT
“Coming into the Tour, there were very few people, I guess, outside of Vingegaard’s inner circle who would have said he's going to win this Tour de France," Robbie McEwen believes Jonas Vingegaard's ascension has been a 'surprise' but is happy to see Tadej Pogacar facing a challenge. Stream the Tour de France live and on-demand on discovery+.
'It's a surprise' - Breakaway team impressed by Vingegaard Tour de France heroics
Jonas Vingegaard’s Tour de France heroics so far this year have come as a ‘surprise’ according to the Breakaway team.
The Jumbo-Visma rider remains in yellow following Stage 14, after fending off a series of attacks from General Classification rival Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates).
Vingegaard would quickly lock on to his wheel on each occasion before they ultimately finished at the line together.
This comes after his phenomenal performance on the Col du Granon on Stage 11 where he took control of the race after Pogacar cracked to finish an incredible 2’51” down on Vingegaard.
Discussing his performance afterwards, Robbie McEwen was happy to see the Dane go toe-to-toe with pre-race favourite Pogacar while Orla Chennaoui described the two riders as ‘inseparable’ at the moment.
“I think it's fair to say that everybody for the last few years has thought the Slovenians, Pogacar and [Primoz] Roglic were a level above everybody else,” said Chennaoui.
“Coming into this race, nobody was really putting him on the same level as Pogacar. They're inseparable, right now, aren’t they?”
McEwen agreed, adding: “Vingegaard has been clamped on to the wheel of Pogacar when he's needed to be, when Pogacar has been good enough to go on the attack.
“And then there was a day on the [Col du] Granon that he just dropped him like a stone.
“Coming into the Tour, there were very few people, I guess, outside of Vingegaard’s inner circle who would have said he's going to win this Tour de France.
“We knew it was a possibility, but everybody had Pogacar just head and shoulders above everybody.
“So it's a surprise but I guess for cycling fans outside of maybe Slovenia, it's a pleasant surprise to see someone able to take it to the Pog!”
Dan Lloyd also praised Vingegaard, who currently sits 2’22” ahead of his rival in the General Classification, for his performance on Stage 14 after sticking to Pogacar despite the repeated attempts to drop him.
“I imagine that Tadej Pogacar is getting quite frustrated not being able to distance Vingegaard on a climb that absolutely suits him down to the ground.
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He added: “It just feels like Vingegaard has stepped it up another notch from this time last year, because he barely even got out the saddle all the way up.
“He never looked like he was in any trouble whatsoever. I'm sure he was close to his limit, but then Pogacar was as well so it's status quo really, and Vingegaard will be incredibly happy that you took as much time as he did on the Col du Granon”.
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