After 322 days, Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar will finally compete against each other in a race again. The Critérium du Dauphiné, one month before the Tour de France, is a major test for the two best stage race cyclists of the moment.
They already met last month in the Sierra Nevada. Vingegaard and Pogacar were both at altitude training camps in the Spanish mountains, but the two Tour favorites didn’t get beyond a few brief moments of recognition.
“During training rides, I sometimes saw Tadej cycling the other way,” Vingegaard said at a digital press conference. “It would have been nice to talk to him sometime, but that wasn’t really possible.”
For the past four years, the battle for the overall victory in the Tour de France has invariably been between Vingegaard and Pogacar. Both top riders have won twice and finished second twice in the world’s most important cycling race. The expectation is that the Dane and the Slovenian will once again fight for the yellow jersey this summer.
Who will win that battle is difficult to predict. Vingegaard and Pogacar have not raced against each other yet this season. The last time they were in the same peloton was in the Tour almost a year ago. Then, Pogacar was the best.
“I think I’ve gotten better and can beat Tadej this time,” Vingegaard said. “But because of my shortened spring season, it’s not very easy to estimate that.”
After the Critérium du Dauphiné, which starts on Sunday, there will be more clarity about the relationship between Vingegaard and Pogacar. The question marks are mainly due to Vingegaard, who is riding his first race in three months in the French stage race.
The 26-year-old Pogacar again made a big impression in the spring with seven victories. The two-year-older Vingegaard was the strongest in the Volta ao Algarve in February, but a few weeks later, he dropped out of Paris-Nice with a concussion. As a result, the leader of Visma-Lease a Bike had to cancel the Tour of Catalonia from his program.
“Of course, I have seen what Tadej has achieved so far this season,” Vingegaard said. “It is impressive, all those races and all those victories. I admire his way of racing.”
“But for my chances in the Tour, it makes little sense to worry about how good Tadej was in the past months or how good he will be this summer. I focus on myself and what I have to do to be in top shape. Moreover, if you were the best rider in the spring, that doesn’t always mean you will be the best in the Tour.”
The Dauphiné starts on Sunday with a hilly stage to Montluçon. In the days that follow, the riders will face, among other things, a time trial and three uphill finishes.