Vingegaard: "Last year I started to believe that I could win the Tour"

BARCELONA, July 23. (EUROPEAN PRESS) -

The Danish cyclist Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) acknowledged that his second place in the Tour de France last year allowed him to "believe" that he could win the French round, a milestone that he will achieve this Sunday in the last stage with the arrival at the Champs Elysées in Paris.

"Winning this yellow jersey means everything to me. It's unbelievable. It's hard for me to describe it in words. It's the greatest thing that can be achieved in cycling, and we have achieved it. Last year I started to believe that I could win the Tour, and it has happened", said the leader of the general with relief after finishing second in the Time Trial on the penultimate day.

Vingegaard was close to victory in the time trial, but finally relented so that his teammate Wout van Aert got his third partial victory. A full day for Jumbo, winning his fourth consecutive stage victory, with the Dane increasing his lead by 19 seconds against Pogacar, who finished third.

Precisely, the Slovenian won his first Tour in 2020 in the Time Trial of the penultimate stage, beating his compatriot Primoz Roglic and depriving him of the yellow jersey. "Today we had in mind what happened two years ago. We didn't want it to happen again. That's why we went for the best possible result," said his teammate.

After pulverizing the time, Van Aert celebrated the victory in tears. "It shows how close the relationship between us is, how special this team is. Everyone is very happy for the successes of the others. I, without going any further, am very happy with his victory today," said Vingegaard .

"These guys are much more than friends to me, they are brothers. I think we'll have a little celebration tonight. It's a special day after all. I want to thank everyone on my team, every rider and every member. of the coaching staff," he said.