There’s a world, slightly tilted on its axis perhaps, in which two-time Tour de France champion and recurring Tadej Pogačar-beater Jonas Vingegaard lines up at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the rider he will face in July, and the two put on a show.
Is Pogačar concerned about his presence? I don’t think so. But the idea of the two of them battling up La Redoute is nonetheless tantalizing. Before we lose ourselves entirely in the romance of Vingegaard facing off with his greatest rival in more than one race a year (even if that one race is 21 days), we have to ask two simple questions: Could he ever win? And, just as importantly, should he even try?
Could He?
On the surface, of course he could.
Vingegaard is one of the finest climbers of his generation. He’s feather-light, he’s tactical, he’s ruthlessly efficient. You don’t dismantle Pogačar on the Col de la Loze by accident. You don't claw him back across the Massif Central and then outsprint him into Le Lioran (à la TdF 2024 stage 11) without some punch. And you don’t win two Tours by sitting pretty and hoping others make mistakes. Vingegaard wins because he is almost pathologically good at what he does and his skillset is wider than most give him credit for.
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