'I accept it now' - Jonas Vingegaard admits Tadej Pogacar is the 'strongest rider' and 'deserves' to win Tour de France
Published 25/07/2025 at 22:23 GMT+1
Jonas Vingegaard admitted rival Tadej Pogacar "deserves" to win the Tour de France as "the strongest rider" after he narrowly missed out on winning the final mountain stage of the Tour. Vingegaard finished second alongside Pogacar in Stage 19, behind stage winner Thymen Arensman, and remains four minutes and 24 seconds behind the Slovenian, heading into the final two stages this weekend.
Vingegaard: Pogacar is the 'strongest rider' and 'deserves to win'
Video credit: TNT Sports
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) admitted rival Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) deserves to win the Tour de France after he narrowly missed out in a thrilling final mountain stage.
The Dane pushed Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) all the way to the line but was unable to take the stage win, eventually finishing alongside Pogacar in second.
The Slovenian now holds a lead of 4'24" ahead of the final two stages and looks destined to win his fourth Tour de France title in Paris on Sunday.
With Vingegaard so far behind his rival, he admitted he went for the stage win rather than trying to take time back and conceded Pogacar deserves to win the Tour de France.
"To be honest, I tried more for the stage win today, unfortunately Thymen Arensman did a really good job there in the end, and he deserves to win. He was very strong," Vingegaard said.
"I tried to play it a bit more for the stage win in the end, rather than trying to take some time, unfortunately I could not win.
"To be honest, he [Pogacar] has been extremely strong here, he has been the strongest rider I would say, so he obviously deserves to win. Sometimes you just have to accept it and I accept it now as well."
- Vingegaard 'scared of trying' as Pogacar standoff ends in 'worst second place ever'
- 'It's okay to stop, It’s okay to feel tired, It’s okay to be human' - Evenepoel
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2025/07/25/image-ab9d7224-9776-444e-8c4e-668a73d2ed33-85-2560-1440.jpeg)
Stage 19 highlights: Arensman takes chance as Pogacar cruises and Vingegaard waits too long
Video credit: TNT Sports
The stage was shortened from 130km to 93km due to a herd of diseased cattle along the route, which also took out two of the five climbs.
The stage was not without drama though, as the top four general classification riders pushed Arensman right to the line.
Eventually though, the Ineos Grenadiers rider was able to hold off the charge, with Vingegaard and Pogacar finishing two seconds back.
Oscar Onley continued his sensational Tour with a fifth-placed finish, but the 22-year-old finished behind German Florian Lipowitz, which saw his grip on the final podium spot strengthen to over a minute.
Pogacar made his tactics clear early in the chase, resisting the temptation to go for his sixth stage win of this year’s Tour, sticking alongside Vingegaard to ensure his commanding lead at the top of the general classification standings remains.
The UAE Team Emirates XRG rider only pursued Arensman when Vingegaard went for the stage win and is now almost certain to wear the yellow jersey in Sunday’s finale.
The general classification leader said: "It was a tough last three days and I'm happy that today is over. This Tour de France has begun to feel very long.
"This is the Tour de France and you never know what might come your way. We have to keep our focus for two more days."
/origin-imgresizer.tntsports.io/2025/07/25/image-0f21458a-8022-45c9-92bc-4aa883c71691-85-2560-1440.jpeg)
'Scared' Vingegaard left it too late - and paid with 'worst second place ever'
Video credit: TNT Sports
Stream the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift live on TNT Sports and discovery+
Related Topics
Thoughts?
Related Matches
/images.sports.gracenote.com/images/lib/basic/sport/timejudgesports/competition/logo/300/20433.png){kind=logo}
Stage 19 | MountainAlbertville → La Plagne / 93.1 km
1
T. ArensmanCompleted
Commentary
Advertisement
Advertisement