Jonas Vingegaard and his tears on Isola 2000: what was going through the mind of the Visma-Dane?

How did this come about? Vingegaard attributed it to the effects of his fall in the Basque Country, which logically took a toll and still continues to affect him. "I came into this Tour de France with the mindset of going for the win, but I also knew that the lack of a good preparation could make it difficult. In that sense, I was mentally prepared because I knew it was possible that I could be beaten."

And so, second place has become the main goal for Vingegaard. "There are still two tough stages to come, but I was able to follow Evenepoel. I will do everything I can to secure second place in Nice. I don’t think Tadej was as good on Plateau de Beille, but I was simply less strong," the Dane honestly stated after the Alpine stage.

"I had a bad day. Halfway through, I had to switch gears and accept that I wouldn’t be going for the overall win," he continued. "We had Matteo Jorgenson and Wilco Kelderman up front in case I could launch an attack, but I felt that I had to follow rather than attack. This allowed us to give Matteo a chance to go for the win, which he did well. Unfortunately, he was caught," the leader concluded after the stage won by Pogacar.

"I don't quite have it anymore, but that's normal after a month and a half of preparation," Vingegaard continues. He also reminds the press of his statements from the Grand Départ in Florence: "I said from the beginning that it would be crazy if I could compete for the victory. I managed to do it for more than two weeks, but now the fight is over. But it's still about securing second or third place."

"I was at a very high level, but now it's a bit lower," Vingegaard says. "In the next two days, I need to hold on to my second place, but I think I'll sleep well. I'm very tired. Saturday will be a similar kind of stage, where I will try to follow Remco. I previously said that I would be willing to give up second place, but with the legs I have right now, you have to be satisfied with this second place. If you had told me beforehand that I would be on the podium, I would have been very happy," Vingegaard concludes.