Vingegaard: “I take my hat off to Pogacar because he is a tireless fighter”

BARCELONA, July 22. (EUROPEAN PRESS) –

The Danish cyclist Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) praised the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), “a tireless fighter” for the general classification who did not give up in the nineteenth stage of the Tour, despite being more than 3 minutes from the yellow jersey.

“I was not surprised that Tadej [Pogacar] attack today, though I must admit I didn’t expect him to do so at the time. I take my hat off to him, because he is a tireless fighter. We get along well, although we don’t spend too much time together because, after all, we live in different countries,” he said after crossing the finish line.

The Dane showed his joy at the victory of his teammate Christope Laporte, who “deserved such a victory” by supporting him in his fight more than on track for the general classification with two days to go.

“My teammates took very good care of me today. It was a stressful stage, with a crosswind. I’m glad that [Christophe] He won because he deserves a victory like that. It’s been an amazing Tour de France so far,” he said.

“Road [van Aert] did a great job in the last kilometers so that Christophe [Laporte] could save strength and have a chance to fight for victory in the end. I hope to do a good time trial tomorrow to close it on a note,” said the 25-year-old runner.