After winning solo at La Plagne, Thymen Arensman explained how his strategy could have been improved and in doing so offered up some well-worn but nevertheless sage advice for anyone else hunting for glory at the Tour de France.
It went along the lines of: ‘you have to do your own ride – you can’t influence the legs of others.’
That’s exactly what Jonas Vingegaard, who placed second on GC, found out at this Tour de France, when he arrived in some of the best form he’d ever had and proceeded to destroy all before him – except, of course, for a certain Slovenian.
Sat next to his team-mate and stage 21 winner Wout van Aert and looking fresh and more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him – the Danish Visma-Lease a Bike rider explained how his numbers on some stages have been the best he’d ever seen.
And while he qualified that by making light of the revelation that on other stages they were “the worst”, it just goes to show that sometimes, someone else is better and there’s nothing you can do about it.
As well as an apparently newfound relaxed confidence – even race winner Tadej Pogačar said he felt Vingegaard “opened up” this Tour – the Dane had also enjoyed a healthy dose of pragmatism this Tour, often ending stages apparently happy and buoyed up by performances that represented some of his best work while at the same time losing seconds on the GC to Pogačar.
That, unfortunately for the Dane’s GC hopes, was a bit of a theme throughout the Tour. Often, in the mountain stages, his Visma-Lease a Bike team would put Pogačar under such unrelenting pressure that it seemed certain that he would crack – or at least begin to show weakness. But instead, the Slovenian would wait it out before ripping away in the final, using his fast finish to distance Vingegaard by what must have been a disheartening few seconds.
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Four seconds at Superbagnères, two at Mont Ventoux, nine at Courchevel.
But these were almost insignificant amounts, considering the damage that had already been done in the Caen time trial on stage five and at Hautacam on stage 12, where he lost a combined total of 3:15 that all but cooked his goose.
But in the face of what were surely unplayable odds, Vingegaard kept coming, refusing to give into dejection even as the Tour slipped away from him.
The impression was of a rider that, after experiencing so much trauma last year as a result of the Itzulia Basque Country crash that wasn’t far off career-ending, he was taking huge pleasure in simply racing at his best level again, and better. The yellow jersey was, perhaps, a secondary consideration.
“On some stages, at least, I’ve had the highest level that I’ve ever had,” Vingegaard explained. “And I think also on other stages, I’ve had the lowest level for many years – though it was more like bad days, to be honest. It was some kind of confirmation that I am better than I’ve ever been. But also it has shown that I can have a few bad days.”
Asked about future plans, Vingegaard would unsurprisingly not be drawn but said:
“I always said that I also would like to do the Giro [d’Italia] once. I’m not sitting here and saying that I’ll do the Giro next year, but it’s something we have to discuss with the team, see what our goals will be next year. I always wanted to do it, so we’ll have to see what that will be.”
