'I'm stronger than ever' – Jonas Vingegaard arrives at Tour de France with more muscle and without fear of Pogačar

Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) confirmed he is "on the highest level that I've ever been" coming into the 2025 Tour de France, arriving with more muscle and power as he looks to take down Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) once again.

Whether it will be enough to defeat the world champion as he did in 2022 and 2023 to equal his haul of three yellow jerseys, the Dane isn't certain, but his confidence is clear on the eve of the Grand Départ in Lille.

Speaking at Visma's pre-Tour press conference, Vingegaard was met by the deserved attention a two-time winner warrants, with the small conference room set up at the team hotel almost bursting at the seams as journalists crammed into every crevice to pose questions.

Vingegaard played it cool, no longer "overwhelmed" by the large media pressure of the Tour as he admitted he once was, but also bullish and ready for the battle that awaits.

"For sure, I can say that I'm stronger than ever," said Vingegaard, sitting comfortably in Nike team gear and a Birkenstock and socks combination.

"Of course, last year I was also on a very high level on the Tour de France, but it was in a very different way, I had a lot less muscles but I was a lot lighter. I'm heavier now, but it's muscle, and we know that it gives a lot more power as well.

"I can say I'm on the highest level that I've ever been, and we'll see if it's enough or not."

Vingegaard's change in body composition comes after a long rebuild back to the level he had before his horror crash at Itzulia Basque Country last March, which saw him race against time to even arrive at the Tour.

While this season saw him crash again, this time out of Paris-Nice with a concussion, the preparation has been significantly more successful, with the muscular atrophy addressed and confidence fully restored.

"Obviously, there's a really big difference compared to last year, when I came back from a terrible crash," said Vingegaard. "To be honest, it took me way longer than I actually thought to really come back; it's only by a few months that I would say my body feels the same as it did before my crash.

"It has taken me almost a year to get back to the same as I was prior to my crash. Obviously, being in a bed for two weeks when crashing, you lose a lot of muscle, and we try to regain that, and we succeeded," he added, prompting Jorgenson next to him to quickly quip: "He's huge."

Visma's Head of Racing, Grischa Niermann, then also repeated how Vingegaard's 2025 approach to the Tour, and new peak level, is inspiring the confidence to beat Pogačar.

"If we are here sitting here saying Tadej is unbeatable, then we better go home," said Niermann bluntly. "We believe that Jonas is in the best shape ever – it's also necessary to be in that best shape.

"What gives us hope is that Jonas said last year was the absolute not optimal preparation, and he was still very good. This year, at least in the last months, all went well – we are here, ready with the full squad and ready to give it a big fight."

Vingegaard also addressed Pogačar, calling him the "best climber in the world at the moment" at his press conference on Thursday, accepting the compliment, but not agreeing after being well beaten at the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Their rivalry is, of course, set to dominate the conversation over the next three weeks, but Vingegaard said this mano a mano competition is only driving him to be better.

"Obviously, we are not afraid, but we have a lot of respect for him as well, and what he can do," said Vingegaard.

"Having a rival as good as Tadej also brings out the best in yourself, and you know you have to train hard every day to try and compete with him. For me, it also makes me an even better cyclist, and I have a lot of admiration for Tadej."

While the respect is definitely there between the pair, Vingegaard's next 21 days of racing will be committed to equalling that tally of Tour titles to three each, and in the process, defeating Pogačar again in the high mountains.

With the hectic 10 days of racing on offer in the first week, it may take some time to see the mystery plan Visma definitely has, but perhaps using their "Classics-style" eight-man squad in the chaos could be part of that.

"What's the plan? I'm not gonna tell you, or anyone in here besides my team. We obviously have a plan like we normally but we can't tell the media," said Vingegaard, also staying coy on whether he believed Pogačar does have any weaknesses to exploit.

"In recent years, he hasn't really had many weaknesses, I would say. Also, to be honest, if he has any, I wouldn't sit here and tell you because then they know, so that's cards we will keep for ourselves."