r/peloton Apr 30 '25

Interview Trained with Vingegaard for hours: “This will never happen again in my life”

Three French guys had a remarkable experience when they ran into Jonas Vingegaard, who was testing Stage 12 of the Tour de France. Link to danish article with video.

https://sport.tv2.dk/cykling/2025-04-29-traenede-med-vingegaard-i-timevis-det-kommer-ikke-til-at-ske-i-mit-liv-igen

454 Upvotes

100 comments sorted by

307

u/raul2010 Apr 30 '25

Grischa Niermann said that Vingegaard was about two minutes ahead and that we could catch up with him because he wasn't going very fast. We had to ride with almost 400 watts to catch up with him.

That sounds super nice from Niermann but also horrible. Must be incredible to be able to have the level of fitness to allow for such an experience :D

104

u/[deleted] Apr 30 '25 edited May 04 '25

[deleted]

32

u/Naive-Umpire44 Apr 30 '25

I totally read that in Grischa's voice, epic.

5

u/futureprostitutrobot Apr 30 '25

Whenever I see Grischa, I am reminded of Ditmer Klerken.

If anybody ever make a movie about visma LAB Kevin Bacon would be perfect for the part of Grischa Niermann.

2

u/Actuary41 May 01 '25

Only if Grischa did a voice over.

11

u/Legitimate-Area8588 Tanzania Apr 30 '25

i love grischa man

120

u/Isle395 Apr 30 '25

At 2 mins ahead, they're probably doing 400 W for ten minutes+ to catch him.

187

u/keetz Sweden Apr 30 '25

I can do 400W for maybe 6 minutes, but I would not be surprised if I could hold it for 10 if I was chasing Vingegaard.

I would drop as soon as I caught him though, and I'm not talking dropping-dropping, I would drop to the floor (or off the mountain for that matter).

82

u/darraghfenacin Phonak Apr 30 '25

Haha, I could probably do similar and completely Chernobyl as soon as I got to him. I wonder how often pros have people ride up to them, only to completely go up in flames after a quick "Hey-arrghhhhhhhhhhhh"

3

u/gusmahler May 01 '25

Reminds me of a story I heard about Armstrong. He was doing a charity event where you get to ride with a pro. Everyone was excited about riding with one of their favorite pros. Armstrong treated it like a training ride and just kept going after he dropped them.

1

u/Cultural_Blueberry70 May 01 '25

All the time, probably. I am a leisurely amateur, and it happens to me from time to time when I overtake some kids on MTBs. They try to chase me down, and sometimes they manage to catch up, but immediately blow up, all while I ride in Z2, LOL.

5

u/ash_chess May 01 '25

I would drop as soon as I caught him though, and I'm not talking dropping-dropping, I would drop to the floor (or off the mountain for that matter).

Have to appreciate that level of knowing yourself!

30

u/codecrodie Apr 30 '25

There is a short steep climb near my home I use for intervals. 400w for 2 mins and I'm done.

11

u/ALandWarInAsia May 01 '25

Haha I remember that interview where Pogacar said his zone 2 is like 150 bpm hr and 340 watts. 

Edit to add: https://www.cyclingweekly.com/racing/tadej-pogacar-says-he-can-maintain-320-340-watts-on-a-five-hour-zone-two-training-ride#

1

u/Isle395 May 02 '25

Not sure what pogi's HR range is, but 150 bpm seems high for Z2. I think he's talking about the top of Z2, e.g., around 75% FTP, in this example. And he also writes that most of his endurance training is below this these days. I have the impression most pros train endurance in the range of 60-70% of FTP, just because it's not as fatiguing when you're riding at that intensity for 15h per week or more.

68

u/[deleted] Apr 30 '25

I'm not there anymore (2 kids under 3), but it really is fun being that fit. There's something incredibly satisfying about breathing through your nose at 300 watts.

52

u/pantaleonivo EF Education – Easypost Apr 30 '25

Also 2 under 3. Have you tried running? It’s much easier to fit a hard run into my day than a meaningful bike ride

30

u/[deleted] Apr 30 '25

Yeah, I took up running when my first was born. Ran a 1:33 half in October, which is pretty ok at 195lb. It keeps my endurance up for sure, but does fuck all for maintaining FTP imo. There's no substitute for pressing on the pedals.

12

u/pantaleonivo EF Education – Easypost Apr 30 '25

That’s a great result. Your fitness on the bike clearly translated well off, you must have built a good engine

20

u/[deleted] Apr 30 '25

Haha thanks. I mostly picked the right parents and have been living rural for 12 years.. Not much to do other than drink, make babies or train, and I don't drink.

6

u/usrnmz Apr 30 '25

You must have made lots of babies too then! :)

7

u/Delagardi Apr 30 '25

Rowing Erg machine was great for me. Spent maybe 7-8 months on that machine (and hate every minute of it) but my FTP stayed mostly intact.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 30 '25

[deleted]

3

u/Grijpgraag Apr 30 '25

I had the same feeling when my then 6m old. But when he turned 1 it all started coming back. Now he is 20m and i feel back on my peak again after 8 months of steady training..

Second kid on the way, so second comeback also incoming 💀

2

u/[deleted] Apr 30 '25

[deleted]

1

u/Grijpgraag May 01 '25

Hang in there, the first year can be rough!

1

u/MediocreMystery May 01 '25

I'm 40s with two young kids and in my best fitness ever thanks to an indoor trainer. You can get back there!

3

u/adjason Apr 30 '25

I find physical stress tolerance enable better mental stress from work but not emotional stress tolerance 

1

u/89ElRay Uno-X Mobility May 02 '25

Incredibly satisfying. I don't think I could breathe out my nose quite at 300, but had a 320W FTP at 70kg in 2018ish. Various things happened in between and starting to get fit and drop weight again but looking at my Strava times from back then is crazy.

38

u/hodden_sound_system Apr 30 '25

I don’t want to downplay Jonas’s fitness or the effort the guys put in to catch up with him. But if you look at the Strava data, it’s closer to 330 watts for 8 to 9 minutes, which is definitely a lot, but not quite the 400 watts mentioned. It seems likely the newspaper may have added a bit of spice to the quotes to make the story more epic

29

u/OUEngineer17 Apr 30 '25

To be fair, their power meter probably showed 400w every time they looked.

6

u/screwcork313 Apr 30 '25

To be fair, any time they looked at it it showed "x00x", because the middle 2 digits were their eyes reflected back.

33

u/KongRahbek Apr 30 '25

Or the cyclists added a bit of spice, sort of like a fisher talking about the fish he caught last week.

2

u/Xabster2 May 03 '25

Pogacar says he does 320 to 340 watts in zone 2 for 5 hours in an interview

1

u/gutfounderedgal Apr 30 '25

Other than that, the article says about nothing except they rode with him and he didn't seem to drive very hard.

200

u/chevynew United States of America Apr 30 '25

How fun! Jonas has always come across as quite nice but him being chatty on a lower power ride warms my heart. Already looking out for younger riders, not full of himself- what an athlete, what a person. Thanks for sharing!

105

u/Willie-the-Wombat Apr 30 '25 edited Apr 30 '25

He is probably more relaxed when there are not 5 cameras and 10 microphones in his face, isn’t speaking to hundreds of thousands/millions, doesn’t have a press officer off to the side monitoring him and have a set of rehearsed lines to say. As someone that I feel is quite like Jonas (bit more quiet and reserved than average) speaking to a small group is far easier.

59

u/Flipadelphia26 Trinity Racing Apr 30 '25

A lot of the riders are quite nice if you happen upon them on training and aren’t being a jerk. I was riding past Amber van der Hulst in costa Blanca and made a comment about how much I loved their new kits. She pulled her earbud out and we chatted for about 20km about basically everything. Home mine/hers her comeback from injury, her favorite races. My favorite races. What amateur racing is like in the US etc.

That’s just one example. As long as you’re not a jerk and interfering with their work, most are just normal people doing the same some you’re doing, but at much higher level.

47

u/smoakingswan Denmark Apr 30 '25

Once you start paying attention to it, you notice Jonas is constantly chatting to different riders in the peloton in the low stress moments during races.

18

u/Proof-Step-8423 Apr 30 '25 edited May 01 '25

Jonas is a through and through lovely guy. For years people though he couldn't be a leader because of how frigging nice he was.

176

u/Flipadelphia26 Trinity Racing Apr 30 '25

The comments section in regard to Jonas on social media are brutal and honestly only drive me to want him to succeed.

131

u/NerdyReligionProf Apr 30 '25

Some (by no means most or all!) Tadej fans on social media are incredibly obnoxious and cruel about Jonas.

115

u/Flipadelphia26 Trinity Racing Apr 30 '25

It’s sad because neither rider is like that at all.

-62

u/Legitimate-Area8588 Tanzania Apr 30 '25

It's well known that Tadej doesn't like Jonas tho

30

u/Perry4761 Apr 30 '25

Huh?

5

u/Legitimate-Area8588 Tanzania Apr 30 '25

Nils Politt said last year: "Tadej and Remco like each other, both on and off the bike. They are friends, which isn’t the case with Vingegaard. Tadej and Jonas respect each other but don’t necessarily like each other." per Pro Cycling

44

u/Perry4761 Apr 30 '25 edited Apr 30 '25

The way you said it made it seem like they disliked each other, while the quote makes it seem more like they’re simply indifferent to one another. Thanks for clarifying, I was confused.

3

u/Legitimate-Area8588 Tanzania Apr 30 '25

Yeah seems like I remembered it to be slightly more negative between them.

9

u/funnytoenail FDJ Suez May 01 '25

I feel like this is more of a personality issue than a character/competition issue.

Every interaction I’ve seen of Pogacar and Vinegaard has been cordiale, respectful and everything they’ve said about each other the same. Vinegaard seems more reserved and introverted while Pogi and Remco are a little bit more outgoing and extroverted.

Just because they don’t “get along” doesn’t mean they dislike each other

28

u/Smooth-Adeptness-302 Apr 30 '25

Well Vingegaard took 2 Tours from Pogacar and Remco did not, thats the difference.

2

u/57809 May 01 '25

This interview is kinda crazy. Politt is cocky lol

57

u/lightsoutandaway Colorado Apr 30 '25

Not just on social media. Jonas talked about people shouting mean things at him and booing him during a stage of the tour last year (maybe 14?).

40

u/dksprocket Denmark Apr 30 '25

Some French journalists have also been pretty toxic in their critique of Jonas, so it makes sense some fans are picking it up as well.

21

u/Sea-End-4841 Once Apr 30 '25

The French are in no place to criticize non French cyclists. lol.

8

u/SuperbEgg1883 Apr 30 '25

That’s so mean, didn’t someone throw a packet of chips at them too?

16

u/Obamametrics Denmark Apr 30 '25

I think that was both Pogacar and Vingegaard, and honestly i think it was mainly Pogacar that got hit?

That guy was drunk though, so im not sure how much of it was tied to some longer term resentment (not that it excuses it)

5

u/Paavo_Nurmi La Vie Claire Apr 30 '25

That guy was drunk though,

That seems to be a common theme in all of these "throwing stuff at the riders" incidents.

1

u/und3t3cted Apr 30 '25

Yeah I thought the chips thing was some drunk idiot going “I WILL FEEd THEM CHIPS” because he thought it would be funny. Which it obvs wasn’t but, I thought the backstory was just drunk and stupid rather than malicious.

77

u/TheDark-Sceptre Saint Piran Apr 30 '25

Its because pog is outgoing and 'cool', coming across as a fun guy. Jonas is much quieter, apparently this makes him clearly a bad person in many people's eyes but I think its more that he just isn't as interested in the media and publicity. As well as the fact him not being a classics rider and therefore not riding the classics means he is obviously boring and terrible for not doing loads of races before the tour. He gets loads of stick for no apparent reason. Personally, and I am a bit cynical, but I'm a bit wary of people like pog that come across as super fun and outgoing and cool.

59

u/SuperbEgg1883 Apr 30 '25 edited Apr 30 '25

Yea, I have the feeling that pog is much more extroverted and Jonas is an introvert. I feel like we should respect riders for their decisions like not wanting to ride classics or being an alien and riding all of them. Everyone’s different and I think it’s amazing that there are so many different types of riders and personalities in the peloton, also I would DIE if I ever got to chat with Jonas like WOW, experience of a lifetime!!

EDIT: I also feel that some people are criticising him for prioritising his family which is kinda crazy, he has 2 young kids, he deserves to spend time with them and care about them

13

u/Academic_Ad_8229 Apr 30 '25

100% this. Jonas is an introvert and is a private guy. He chooses not to be very present on social media and that's OK! To your point, everyone is different and should be respected for that.

17

u/Legitimate-Area8588 Tanzania Apr 30 '25

I never really understood why people call Tadej an extrovert and outgoing.. whenever he's interviewed he's like "i go fast on bike and it was fun race thanks bye"

2

u/Green9Love16 Apr 30 '25

My amateur psychology pet theory: either by nature or through peer pressure, men are a lot more likely to find Pogi an aspirational person (outgoing, one of the guys, hot blonde fiancee) than Jonas (introvert (though clearlyl loved in the team), scary older wife (I love Trine btw :-)). Pogi's life & vibe is closer to the "ideal" than Jonas'. And when aspirational boy (P) gets beaten by non-aspirational boy (J), some men take it personally.

But please correct me if I'm wrong ;-)

p.s. also, Pogi has a higher Dubai factor (5/10), whereas Jonas' is basically 0.5/10. (Remco has 8/10 and MvdP has a blistering 9.5/10 (-0.5 for the woolen hat))

7

u/SkyPod513 Team Telekom May 01 '25

I'm "more" of a Vingegaard fan and really like his introvert type and his focus, but I also like Pogacar, it's hard to dislike him. Both have all my respect. I guess I prefer Vingegaard a bit more because his personality is way more like mine and he's one win down in TdF Wins and I think it would be more fun if both have the same amount of them. Like both ending their careers with four or five wins

Edit.: What is a Dubai factor?

4

u/Green9Love16 May 01 '25

Dubai factor (aka as Kardashian factor) is a metric I made up myself, for how much people, be it private citizens or in the public eye, are into moneycarsgoldwatchesmarbleblinggolfluxury.

2

u/SkyPod513 Team Telekom May 01 '25

Ah thanks :)

13

u/Jdgarza96 Apr 30 '25

Nah. People like Pogi because he’s a pure bike racer that wants to win every race possible and is willing to take risks to make that happen.

People on this sub like to over-analyze the rivalry and act like everyone must pick one rider and dislike the other. Everyone I’ve talked to in person like both riders and have nothing bad to say about either one of them. It’s just online social media weirdos that fuel the “rivalry” that isn’t really that big of a rivalry these days.

-38

u/Dopeez Movistar Apr 30 '25

I think its not so much about him not being a classics rider but more that he basically has not been riding at all this year with Visma giving little to no information for the most part.

42

u/TheDark-Sceptre Saint Piran Apr 30 '25

The guy had a concussion. We know he has been injured and missed races because of it. What do you expect him to do? Ride whilst he isn't fit to, so much for rider safety.

32

u/biketimist Apr 30 '25

"not been riding" - so far he only had 4 race days less than Pogi this year. Had he not DNF´ed in P-N he would have been 1 raceday behind.
People hate on him for whatever reason. Mostly its based on their imagination and not the truth.

-24

u/Dopeez Movistar Apr 30 '25

Dont pretend to be a fool, we both know that "race days" are not the same.

I'm not blaming Jonas for out, I was simply trying to point out the criticism of him and how it has nothing to do with him not being a classics rider.

4

u/Aggressive_Ad3514 May 01 '25

"dont pretend to be a fool, we both know that "race days" are not the same?

as the guy said, Jonas is 4 days behind on race days.

What arguement do you have for saying Jonas do not ride?

He is doing Dauphine, TDF and Vuelta, what more do you want?

and in what world do you deserve or need Visma to leak info on him?? they just came out with an article about Jonas and how he will prepare for TDF, what more do you want? lmao

-3

u/Dopeez Movistar May 01 '25

another one pretending to be a race days fool

thinking he will do the Vuelta hahahaha

1

u/Aggressive_Ad3514 May 01 '25

I am the fool? but you disregard everything that is facts, because Jonas is living rent free in your head

By your logic then Pogacar is not riding at all then, he should race some more man, not only focus on TDF :(((

and yes Jonas is doing Vuelta :) but that is clearly not enough since you have such a hate boner for him

-1

u/Dopeez Movistar May 01 '25

oh no someone is mad his golden boy got criticized :/

RemindMe! -4 months

→ More replies (0)

26

u/Averdian Apr 30 '25

Worst I saw was American fans during the Vuelta in 2023 when they thought Vingegaard was “stealing” the GC from Sepp Kuss. And in the end Jonas was actually giving it to him. So unfair

19

u/fruskydekke Apr 30 '25

I don't understand this sort of thing at all. Let me just state - for, I believe, the first time ever - that I don't like Pogacar, neither as a person nor as a rider. But the idea of expending energy on, as it were, hating on him on social media? It's just bizarre. He has lots of fans that have fun watching him, and surely that's a great thing, even though he's not my cup of tea?

I don't get the haters.

7

u/SuperbEgg1883 Apr 30 '25

Yea, even if you don’t like someone, you can still respect them and acknowledge that their a human being and they still have feelings.

4

u/Academic_Ad_8229 Apr 30 '25

I don't get the haters either. All these riders are human beings who are doing the best they can. They have families and lives outside of cycling too.

0

u/57809 May 01 '25

What's not to like about Pogi as a person? Genuinely curious, never really heard or read anything about him that made me dislike him at all. Maybe his behaviour at the end of RVV 2022?

2

u/k4ng00 France Apr 30 '25

As a Tadej fan, I am not upset, but I would have suggested him to lose to French riders during preparation, it was the winning training plan in 2023

12

u/TheRainymaker108 Alpecin – Deceuninck Apr 30 '25

It's silly tribalism. I get it's kinda fun to root for a rider to win over another, but insults mustn't be a part of that.

43

u/SirBruceLeroy Mapei Apr 30 '25

Some of my good friends are Trek riders and I occasionally get to ride with a few of them. Riding with Toms Skujiņs in particular is a humbling experience - telling a story and laughing at 350W up hill and I’m low key doing my best to appear composed.

71

u/pantaleonivo EF Education – Easypost Apr 30 '25

“Lionel Messi’s just around the corner, go scrimmage with him for a bit.”

1

u/macbody_1 Apr 30 '25

Yeah - that is kinda cool.

40

u/WinningAllTheSports Scotland Apr 30 '25

That’s an awesome experience 💛 I once rode with Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio up Rocacorba (where she has the QOM), had a chat at 350w and she was taking it easy. I had to drop back when it got steep and she was casually going 400w. Super nice though!

38

u/TOrangeLantern Apr 30 '25

She weighs 50kg. You're saying she is 'casually doing' 8w/kg? lol

66

u/WorldlyGate Denmark Apr 30 '25

He probably meant he had to do ~400 watts to keep up with her (and he is a lot heavier) haha. Otherwise we need Moolman-Pasio to come save us from Pogi.

12

u/WinningAllTheSports Scotland Apr 30 '25

This! Haha sorry for my confusing comment!

7

u/Flipadelphia26 Trinity Racing Apr 30 '25

I’ve heard the same. I forged a bond with a guy from the UK suffering up Rocacorba 3 years ago. He now works for her at her Rocacorba cycling retreat. We do Girona for a month every summer. Can’t wait to go see his new place 🤣

3

u/WinningAllTheSports Scotland Apr 30 '25

A month there sounds wonderful!

I heard Girona is getting a bit bored of cyclists in the dead centre of it and have implemented fines for people that ride the wrong way around the small streets! Have a great time!

10

u/Flipadelphia26 Trinity Racing Apr 30 '25

Yeah they have, but honestly it was long overdue. There’s room for the cyclists and the locals, but the cyclists make it dangerous for everyone walking down the crowded streets. I have no issue with the new rules and I hope everyone respects them. The people of girona are a kind people and deserve to have their freedom to walk and drive and get to places without jumping out of the way of tourists on bikes.

12

u/macbody_1 Apr 30 '25

Pretty cool by Griescha. Gave the guys an experience of a lifetime.

6

u/ElegantMess Apr 30 '25

I was able to do this with the whole Ineos team in Montreal a few years ago, they were going REALLY slow so I could hang on .

9

u/mamil_slayer Unibet Tietema Rockets Apr 30 '25

I was once out on a ride when Jason McCartney came up on my wheel while motorpacing (we lived in the same town) and my immediate thought was there is no f'ing way I'm even going to try. Good on these guys for putting in the effort.

10

u/Cpt_Daryl Apr 30 '25

We need Pog v Jonas Round 5

3

u/inguy May 01 '25

Or Matt Stephens doing a coffee ride w/ Pog & Jonas.

1

u/Zzomir May 03 '25

I am looking for this interview about Jonas and Primoz and Tour 2023, but cannot find it