'One of the worst' - Jonas Vingegaard rocked by nightmare time trial as Tadej Pogacar takes control at Tour de France
Published 10/07/2025 at 12:50 GMT+1
Jonas Vingegaard unravelled in the Stage 5 individual time trial at the Tour de France, losing big ground to Remco Evenepoel and Tadej Pogacar - and admitting it was "one of the worst" TTs he had produced in years. A day after matching Pogacar on terrain that usually exposes him, the Dane dropped to fourth overall and faces an uphill fight for yellow. Still, he remains optimistic.
Stage 5 highlights: Evenepoel dazzles in time trial, Pogacar takes yellow, Vingegaard falters
Video credit: TNT Sports
Jonas Vingegaard admitted his disastrous time trial was "one of the worst I've done in a long time" after haemorrhaging over a minute to his biggest rivals at the Tour de France.
Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) "looked so uncomfortable" as he shipped 1'21" to Stage 5 winner Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and, more alarmingly, 1'05" to defending champion Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).
Speaking to TNT Sports ahead of Stage 6 in Normandy, Vingegaard said: "Obviously, I was a bit disappointed yesterday. I hoped for a lot more.
"But on the other hand, I had a good night of sleep and today is a new day. The Tour is long, so we're still optimistic."
His off-day was a sharp contrast to his strong showing 24 hours earlier, when he went toe-to-toe with Pogacar on an 800m ramp at 10.6% – the kind of explosive climb that usually favours the Slovenian.
Vingegaard was the only rider able to follow Pogacar’s brutal attack, briefly distanced but quickly regaining the wheel. He had also claimed eight bonus seconds across the opening stages, hinting at a more versatile version of the two-time champion.
He even teased a broader race calendar in future: "Maybe I'll go the Classics, Tour of Flanders next year."
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- Vingegaard was 'writhing' in TT struggle as Pogacar insists gap is 'temporary'
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'One of the worst time trials' - Vingegaard 'optimistic' despite setback
Video credit: TNT Sports
For now, though, his focus is salvaging his Tour campaign. The time trial blip saw him drop to fourth overall, 1'13" behind yellow jersey holder Pogacar.
Asked if he still had the same belief as at the Grand Depart in Lille, Vingegaard said: "Of course, my shape is still good, I showed it two days ago.
"Yesterday was not the day I hoped for, and not the legs I hoped for. I think it was one of the worst time trials I've done in a long time. Obviously, we have to look at what went wrong - if something went wrong."
Vingegaard is chasing a third Tour title after his victories in 2022 and 2023.
With 16 stages still to come, there’s time to mount a comeback - but the scale of the task is growing.
Speaking on The Breakaway, TNT Sports pundit Adam Blythe said: "If I was the team, I wouldn't be too concerned about the time gap for now. It's a long race.
"But the performance will raise a few eyebrows, a few questions and a few concerns within the team."
He added: "The worry for me is how can he take that much time out of Tadej?
"He's either betting on one mountain, as he did a few years ago, and Tadej blowing up, but he will have to consistently knock chunks off Tadej [to achieve that]. He can't just rely on one big day, which is an awful lot of pressure."
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