{"id":216310,"date":"2025-10-21T21:06:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T21:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/216310\/"},"modified":"2025-10-21T21:06:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T21:06:08","slug":"hate-to-write-riders-off-but-jonas-vingegaard-has-reached-his-ceiling-french-ex-pros-claim-tadej-pogacar-is-without-clear-rival-heading-into-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/216310\/","title":{"rendered":"“Hate to write riders off, but Jonas Vingegaard has reached his ceiling” \u2013 French ex-pros claim Tadej Pogacar is without clear rival heading into 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nPogacar\u2019s shadow over the pelotonFritsch, who raced professionally in the early 2000s, believes the dynamic has shifted decisively since Vingegaard\u2019s peak in 2023, when he crushed Pogacar in the Combloux time trial en route to his second Tour de France<\/a> victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis high point was that time trial,\u201d Fritsch reflected. \u201cSince then, he\u2019s had that heavy crash, he\u2019s come back from very far, and I just don\u2019t see him returning to that level. Maybe he can still win a Grand Tour if Pogacar isn\u2019t there \u2013 but only then.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chainel, a long-time Eurosport pundit and former FDJ and AG2R rider, agreed that Pogacar now stands alone at the top of the sport. \u201cVingegaard is still the second best in the world, which says a lot about his class,\u201d Chainel said. \u201cBut if everything goes as normal, he can\u2019t beat Pogacar head-to-head anymore. He\u2019ll still win plenty, but not against Tadej on equal terms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both analysts suggested that Vingegaard could shift focus in 2026, with the Giro d\u2019Italia appearing a more realistic objective. \u201cIf I were him, I\u2019d go for the Giro and try to win all three Grand Tours in my career,\u201d Fritsch added. \u201cIt might look like avoiding Pogacar, but strategically, it makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Van der Poel and Evenepoel the springtime threatsBeyond the Grand Tours, Fritsch highlighted that Pogacar\u2019s greatest challenges could again come in the spring classics \u2014 particularly from Mathieu van der Poel<\/a> and Remco Evenepoel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cVan der Poel has proven he can rival Pogacar on his own terrain \u2014 Milano\u2013Sanremo, Paris\u2013Roubaix \u2014 provided he\u2019s at 100%,\u201d Fritsch said. \u201cAt the Tour of Flanders, Pogacar seemed to have the upper hand, but in March and April, Mathieu will be back as a rival.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for Evenepoel, his late-season surge left both pundits convinced he could be the one to truly test Pogacar\u2019s range across multiple terrains. \u201cHe\u2019s never been stronger than he was at the end of 2025,\u201d said Fritsch. \u201cFor once, he had an uninterrupted build-up without crashes or setbacks. He\u2019ll start 2026 from a great base, and with his new team environment, he can still improve.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Pogacar problem<\/p>\n

Still, both men returned to the same unavoidable conclusion \u2014 Pogacar remains the reference point for everyone else. \u201cIf I had to bet,\u201d Fritsch said bluntly, \u201cI\u2019d obviously back Pogacar for another dominant Tour de France victory in 2026. Unfortunately for the suspense, there\u2019s no one really at his level right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chainel summed it up with a nod to the Slovenian\u2019s enduring motivation: \u201cPogacar is still progressing, still hungry. That\u2019s the scary part. When the best rider in the world keeps finding new ways to improve, there\u2019s not much the others can do.\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pogacar\u2019s shadow over the pelotonFritsch, who raced professionally in the early 2000s, believes the dynamic has shifted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":216311,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-216310","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/216311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}