Cycling fans have been lucky in recent years with a great group of riders in the peloton. Every generation of fans has its idols and the current one has plenty to choose from, with names like the Belgians. Wout Van Aert and Remco Evenepoel, the Dutch Mathieu Van der Poel or the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar and the Dane Jonas Vingegaardto name five of the brightest stars on the asphalt, where we must include on his own merits the four-time winner of La Vuelta, also a Slovenian Primoz Roglic. But of them all the most galactic is, without a doubt, Pogacarwho began to uncork the jar of his spirits The 2019 Vuelta by finishing third and winning three stages, before starting to spread its tentacles the following year at the Tour de France, the mother of races, the most important, the one that no one wants to miss and everyone wants to win, there reason why there is a saying that the Tour is the Tour.
After sitting for the first time on the throne of the Grande Boucle it seems thatand ‘Pogi’ He will never find a rival on the Tour. He won his second Tour with great authority over an unknown Jonas Vingegaard which then began to mark Tadej to finish 2nd and launch a warning that he combined in 2022 and 2023 with his victories. Both shared two wins and this year’s Tour was presented as the great battle between them, the tiebreaker, until the fateful April 4 came in Itzulia. In the fourth stage, there was a cold crash that affected several cyclists, including Roglic, Evenepoel or Vingegaard. The Dane was admitted to Txagorritxu Hospital in Vitoria for 12 days due to pneumothorax, a fractured right clavicle and several broken ribs.
Miraculously, Vingegaard arrived at the Tour and managed to be more competitive than expected to finish 2nd behind Pogacar, allowing himself the luxury of winning a stage in Le Lioran ahead of Tadej. Vingegaard closed his season in Poland, as was done Pogacar in Il Lombardiawith success, but both ended the year with very different numbers. Pogacar with 25 victories in 57 days of competition and Vingegaard with 9 in 44 days of work. Numbers that should be more even in 2025.
The calendar of the same in 2025
Pogacar’s full calendar, which starts on February 17 with the UAE Tour, is known to prioritize the Tour and the World Championship and the question is whether he will go to the Giro d’Italia, like this year, or to La Vuelta. Less is known about Vingegaard, who goes to Paris-Nice on March 9 and will prioritize the Tour, as always, although he has left the door open to join the Albania’s exit from the Girofollowing the magic formula of ‘Pogi’ this year.
Vingegaard admires and competes with Pogacar as an equal, and both he and his team have studied the flaws, if any, of Pogacar, as reported in these words from the Dane to the newspaper ‘Ekstra Blade’ of Denmark. “I see Pogacar winning and I’m thrilled as a cyclist. He’s an amazing runner, but on a day-to-day basis I have to focus on myself. I have to try to go to races as much as possible, and I hope this will help me beat him. I think this year I can win the Tour. This year was not good for me, and I think it was for him, so he distanced himself from me a lot.”
Now, we just have to cross our fingers that injuries and falls will spare us both and other cyclists to enjoy the best spectacle in cycling.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
