Vingegaard 2:42 behind Pogačar: is the Tour already over?

After just nine days of racing at the 2026 Tour de France , Jonas Vingegaard already finds himself 2 minutes and 42 seconds behind Tadej Pogačar . The Dane of Visma-Lease a Bike lost most of his lead on stage 6 to Gavarnie-Gèdre, where the World Champion literally tore him apart on the Col du Tourmalet.

Yet, despite the heavy deficit, the Dutch team has no intention of throwing in the towel. Sporting director Marc Reef stated bluntly: "If I threw in the towel, I wouldn't be a good sports director. We'll look for every opportunity in the next two weeks. We'll fight for every second until Paris." A declaration of war that sounds like a hymn to resilience, but one that must contend with a truly complicated numerical reality.

It's worth noting that this gap is the largest recorded by a leader on the first rest day since 2004, when Thomas Voeckler led by 3 minutes and 1 second. This historical context makes Vingegaard's challenge even more daunting.

Vingegaard himself , interviewed by Danish television station TV2 after the ninth stage, responded with determination to those who had already written him off: "Is the Tour over? I don't think so. Many people think so, but not me. I've already been behind and won. I think it can be done. I'll fight until Paris."

The Dane then drew a significant parallel with his 2026 Giro d'Italia victory in May: there, too, he started slowly, then grew exponentially in the second and third weeks. "I think it went the same way at the Giro. I didn't have the best start, but I got more and more into the race and improved significantly. Let's hope the same thing happens here."