Doping questions and skepticism remain
Tour king Vingegaard even makes Merckx swarm
7/24/2023 7:31 am
Jonas Vingegaard wins the Tour de France for the second time in a row, coming to cycling very late. The triumph is the result of a perfectly executed plan, even a legend applauds. But the doping questions always go along.
Jonas Vingegaard lovingly held the first well-wisher in his arms. The Dane had just completed his second overall victory in the Tour of France in the difficult Vosges stage on Saturday when the man in the yellow jersey lovingly took care of his little daughter Frida in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the Tour.
The reserved Vingegaard rarely lives out his family happiness with his partner Trine Hansen in public. The support of his loved ones gives him strength. Banned substances, Vingegaard assured, do not. “I don’t take anything that I wouldn’t give to my two-year-old daughter,” Vingegaard said.
Since his fable time trial on the 16th stage, which had caused a preliminary decision in the long, gripping duel with Tadej Pogacar, doping questions have increased. There is no tangible evidence or evidence against Vingegaard. In a sport that has experienced too many scandals, however, skepticism is always present. He understands that, said Vingegaard, “I even think we have to be skeptical about what happened in the past. Otherwise it would happen again.” Therefore, according to the 26-year-old, he can understand all concerns. But: “All I can say is that I don’t take anything.” Nobody needs to worry that he will fall into disrepute like his compatriots Bjarne Riis and Michael Rasmussen once did.
Pogacar has ‘great respect’
However, his dominance of the 110th tour was overwhelming in the end. 7:29 minutes ahead of second-placed Pogacar, the captain of the Jumbo-Visma team finished the tour. The lead was greater nine years ago when Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali won (7:37 minutes).
“I’ve developed further and, unlike last year, I didn’t have any health problems in the spring,” said Vingegaard, who is currently the best rider in the mountains for the great Eddy Merckx. This development was hardly foreseeable. Vingegaard comes from a fishing village with only 370 inhabitants. As a child he played handball and football and was a keen Liverpool fan. He only got into cycling after seeing the Tour of Denmark near his parents’ house.
Now he is a role model for youngsters in his home country – and an opponent that can hardly be controlled by his rivals. “I have a lot of respect for him,” said Pogacar: “When it comes to the tour, he’s currently the best. He was really phenomenal this year.”
Vingegaard never lost control
The duel between Vingegaard and Pogacar had determined the tour until the final week. They fought for every meter, except for nine seconds Pogacar had approached him in the meantime. However, Vingegaard never completely lost control. Cool, strategic and with a defensive driving style, he defended the yellow jersey in a direct duel – and brought about the decision in the final week.
Jonas Vingegaard will be able to tell his daughter Frida about it in a few years.