a group still impressed the day after Jonas Vingegaard’s performance

Stunned. When Jonas Vingegaard’s time was announced, wide-eyed Tom Pidcock (Ineos-Grenadiers) responded to the annoyance of Mauro Gianetti, the manager of UAE-Emirates, a little further on, lurking under the parasol of his team bus. Relegating Tadej Pogacar to 1’38”, the Dane crushed the Slovenian, eliminated from the Tour de France. The day after the performance, at the start of the 17th stage, Wednesday 19 July, amazement was still omnipresent in the group and among the pursuers.

Emotion was more important than usual on the long bridge that crosses Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc. Many questions revolved around one name: Jonas Vingegaard. “Everyone was surprised, I was expecting fifteen to twenty seconds. The gap there is abysmal. What else can I say?” asks French Lotto manager Dstny Stéphane Heulot. “I announced a one-minute gap from the best. In the end, on steep slopes it’s impressive. They weigh 20 kg less and fly”confirms Rémi Cavagna, Julian Alaphilippe’s teammate.

“When great guys have great days, it gives something like this”

If doubts about Jonas Vingeaard’s performance compared to that of Tadej Pogacar, already excellent, have invaded the debate, no Tour actor has dared to discredit the Dane. “Doubts, I don’t know. I saw Vingegaard’s mastery, the risks he took in the first onecome back. He knew his stuff really well and he said himself that he was having an exceptional day. When great guys have great days, something like this goes That”explains Aurélien Paret-Peintre of AG2R-Citroën, supported by Rémi Cavagna: “Doubts, I don’t know. Inevitably we say that the differences are incredible. But after that they are professional athletes, everything is streamlined and they are the best riders in the world.”

Simon Guglielmi contextualizes the performance of the Dane compared to that of the Slovenian, sandwiched between comet Vingegaard and the rest of the world. “It’s an impressive moment, and if it wasn’t for Vingegaard, it would have been as if Pogacar had a great moment. I think he has prepared it well, and he has already done great times like last year in the Tour. Everyone can ask questions, we always wondered.”recalls the Arkéa-Samsic rider.

Doping, which for a long time afflicted the extraordinary performances obtained until the 2000s, is not part of the explanations of this exploit put forward by the actors interviewed. “I would not participate in this bullshit. The bikes are checked on the engines, there are biological passports, spot checks and he does yellow jersey checks every evening. If that were the case, it would be very stupid, but I don’t think so”, explains Patrick Lefevere, the boss of Soudal-Quick-Step, leaning on his car. “Personally, I refuse to judge. The history of our sport has proved it that some past performances were not credible, but today there are manyengineering, things put at the service of performance on equipment and courses at altitude… So today there is extraordinary performance… Should we systematically suspect extraordinary performance?”asks Vincent Lavenu, manager of AG2R-Citroën.

The Jumbo besieged by questions

All invoke the preparation, the exceptional physiological skills of Jonas Vingegaard (just like Tadej Pogacar), the combinations in which Jumbo-Visma excels in to rack up “marginal gains” that eventually turn into a chasm between them and the others. We remind you that on Tuesday the first two riders of the general classification wore the distinctive jerseys provided by the organizer and not by the equipment supplier. “They certainly do everything a little better than the others, and hopefully there aren’t other little details that affect the performance.”, says Matis Louvel (Arkéa-Samsic). “It happens that people are out of touch and so it was yesterday with his performance. We can wonder and ask ourselves questions, but we must not advance without proof”defends former runner Jimmy Turgis.

On the side of Dutch training, assaulted by questions on the bus on Wednesday morning, he did not change lines and rejects any suspicions. “I know Jonas is the cleanest racer. Doubts, it’s part of cycling, but I know Jonas is 100% clean, so I have no doubts. I can’t influence people, they have the right to think what they want, but we are 100% clear on that.” said Jumbo-Visma sports director Frans Maassen. Two days ago, Jonas Vingegaard answered questions. “Equipment, nutrition, training, everything has changed and that explains why performance is improving. But be skeptical”, judged the Dane. “Otherwise it will happen again.”