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    "As if they’ve forgotten Vingegaard is on the team"; Plugge and Visma
    Denmark

    “As if they’ve forgotten Vingegaard is on the team”; Plugge and Visma

    The Tour de France route was unveiled in Paris on Thursday, so we can slowly start counting down to Le Grand Départ this summer. The riders and team managers who were present have already given their opinions on the route, but the announcement of the route has suddenly stirred things up in Denmark. Former rider Brian Holm criticized in Feltet the words of Visma | Lease Bike boss Richard Plugge.
    “I think it suits him well, given the tough final week,” Holm concluded after the Tour route presentation about his compatriot Jonas Vingegaard. “There are certainly some things that could have been better, but Pogacar could say the same. I think he’s ready,” he said optimistically.

    That has mainly to do with the tough third week. “Although Vingegaard finished four minutes behind (in the 2025 Tour, ed.), I still think Pogacar had more trouble with his knees in the third week this year. It will undoubtedly be the third week of the Tour that will be decisive in 2026, because there are three uphill finishes ahead.

    “Even two of them on Alpe d’Huez,” Holm continues. “Those last days with Alpe d’Huez are good for him. Especially the second one, which is a tough, grueling stage.” The Dane is referring to stage twenty, which will include a whopping 5600 meters of climbing. On that Saturday, the riders will tackle Alpe d’Huez from the non-traditional side, and the Col de la Croix de Fer and Col du Galibier are also on the program.

    So it will be a tough third week, but according to Holm, that does not give either of the two titans an advantage. “It’s not necessarily an advantage for Vingegaard, but it’s certainly not a disadvantage either. History shows that Pogacar may have been a little ill this year. But it will be exciting,” says the Dane, already looking forward to the 2026 Tour.

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    Holm criticizes Plugge’s words: “In my opinion, Vingegaard is their star”

    After the route presentation, many of the riders and team managers in attendance shared their thoughts, including Plugge. The team manager of Visma | Lease a Bike had words that Holm disagrees with. “I saw it on Belgian TV and it strikes me that Mr. Plugge talks more about Wout van Aert than about Vingegaard,” the Dane observes.

    He thinks that’s unfair. “In my opinion, Vingegaard is their star. So I hope it doesn’t continue like this this year and that they don’t ride with two leaders. The focus was on Van Aert, it’s as if they’ve forgotten that Vingegaard is in the team,” he said, suddenly sounding critical of the Dutch team.

    Van Aert ultimately won the final stage over Montmartre, while Vingegaard finished second in the GC. “There’s a lot of talk about Wout. He’s the superstar, but personally, I’d like it better if they talked more about Vingegaard,” Holm says.

    This is mainly because the Danish former cyclist still believes in a new Tour victory for his compatriot. “You have to listen to what they say. Although there are people who claim the opposite, I still think Vingegaard can win the Tour de France if the sun, moon, and stars align,” Holm concludes.

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