Pogacar 'respects' Vingegaard

Defending champion Tadej Pogacar insisted he had every respect for his great Tour de France rival Jonas Vingegaard ahead of today’s opening stage in Lille.

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The 26-year-old Slovenian won the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and world title in 2024 and is hot favourite again here.

Speaking at the Lille Opera House, the Team UAE rider laughed off suggestions of bitterness, when asked about harsh words between the two in previous races.

"Look in the heat of the moment you can maybe scream something at someone," said Pogacar, dressed in his world champion rainbow shirt.

Pogacar won the Tour in 2020 and again in 2021, when Vingegaard was second. The Dane won in 2022 and 2023, with the Slovenian runner up both times. Pogacar, who rides for Team UAE, recaptured the title last year with Vingegaard, of the powerful Visma squad, second. "The last five years have been intense between me and Jonas," Pogacar said. "It's a great competition and rivalry and it will be interesting to see if the title changes hands again.