There is no doubt that Tadej Pogačar is the best cyclist in the world, if not the greatest cyclist of all time. But there is one rider in particular, a special Danish rider by the name of Jonas Vingegaard, who has beaten Pogačar twice at the Tour de France. The first time, one could argue, was a fluke. Jumbo-Visma organised a masterclass on stage 11, exposing Pogačar with their dual-leader strategy on the climb to Col du Granon. Pogačar lost nearly three minutes to Vingegaard that day, a greater deficit than he would finish behind the Dane in Paris.
Vingegaard had won the Tour de France, and in 2023, he set out to do it again. This time, the beating was even more severe. Pogačar finished seven and a half minutes behind the Dane, a result that seems unfathomable in the context of 2026. Pogačar is now leaps and bounds ahead of his rivals, it seems. No one has come close to beating the Slovenian in years.
