On the day of the first official act of the Tour of France, the presentation of the teams scheduled for 6.30 pm in Florence, the world of Cycling wonders what the level of Jonas Vingegaard. The Danish champion showed up at the start of the Tour at the last minute, at the end of a botched preparation due to the accident he got into at the Volta Pais Basque at the beginning of April.
Only a week ago the Visma captain confirmed his presence, but there are still many doubts about his form. The real competitiveness of Vingegaard is the real crux of the race, because the Dane seems to be the only rider able to compete with Tadej Pogacarlaunched towards the Giro – Tour double. If many experts and commentators in the cycling world wonder what Vingegaard we will find in this Tour, the former champion Bernard Hinault has very clear ideas on the question. According to Hinault, the Dane will not be able to challenge Pogacar. “If he wins then I don’t understand anything about cycling anymore” declared the five-time winner of the Tour bluntly.
Hinault: ‘The team can win the stages, not the classification’
Speaking to Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, Bernard Hinault he explained that he does not believe in Jonas Vingegaard’s chances in this Tour de France.
“He crashed in the Basque Country and had a difficult preparation. If he manages to win the Tour de France again this year, then it means that I no longer understand anything about cycling“, said Hinault. The former Breton champion referred to what happened a year ago in Pogacar. Then it was the Slovenian who had to show up at the Tour after an injury, and things didn’t go so well for him.
“Compare that to Pogacar’s situation last year. He broke his wrist in the Liège-Bastogne-Liège at the end of April.
He was good at the Tour, but not at his best level” commented Hinault. The five-time Tour winner believes that not even the overall strength of Visma can give decisive help to Vingegaard and push him towards a new yellow jersey. “UAE Emirates and Visma – Lease a Bike are equivalent. Visma has had a lot of bad luck, but remains strong. In the end, however, it is always the leader who decides which team is the strongest. The team will win the stages, not the classification” declared the former champion.
‘Palmares superior to mine’
Bernard Hinault he made no secret that he much preferred it Tadej Pogacar a Jonas Vingegaardand to already see the Slovenian at the same level as the greatest champions in the history of cycling.
“The list of achievements he has today is greater than the one I had at his age. He has already won the Tour twice, now the Giro and many classics. If nothing happens to him, he will be one of the greatest riders of the century” commented Hinault.
Hinault said he firmly believes in Pogacar’s Giro-Tour double, and that the pink race will not weigh too heavily on the Slovenian’s legs. “I did it, Merckx did it and others did it, why shouldn’t Pogacar do it?” the former champion asked himself.
If he wins the Tour de France, Pogacar would become the eighth rider to achieve the Giro – Tour double in the same year. The other seven are Fausto Coppi, Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Stephen Roche, Miguel Indurain and Marco Pantani.
