Vingegaard exhausted after Tour de France: May cut season short

"Under any other circumstances, I would have been disappointed," began the Dane, before adding a logical but. "But after everything I've been through this year, including my crash, I don’t have the right to be. My preparation wasn't optimal, but I also reached a very high level. Pogacar deserves to win. If you had told me four months ago that I would finish second, I wouldn't have believed you.

"It was a special Tour de France," the Dane told TV2. "Of course, I hoped I could win, but given the lead-up I've had, it seems normal how things turned out. I fought for victory for two weeks, but I broke down in the last week and had several off days. Somehow, I've never been as tired as I am now."

"Since last November, I really haven’t had a break," he explained further. "Mentally, I'm completely drained," said the cyclist. "If you had told me a few months ago that I would finish second, I wouldn't have believed you. Back then, I didn't even know if I would ever cycle again. So it feels like a victory, to come second in the Tour. Even at my highest level, it would have been hard to beat Tadej."

"I haven’t even had time to process everything," Vingegaard said in his first reaction after the event. "From the moment I left the hospital, I've been focused on the Tour. So everything that has happened still needs to sink in."

The Vuelta a España, where Vingegaard finished second last year, is probably not on the cards for the Dane. His wife, Trine, is expecting their second child. Normally, the climber would race the Clasica San Sebastian and the Tour of Poland in mid-August, after which it could possibly be the end of the season for the GC rider. The World Championships in Zurich at the end of September are also unlikely, though this will depend on the family situation at the Vingegaard Hansen household at that time.