Cycling: Dane Jonas Vingegaard, from dolphin to king of the Tour de France

Dane Jonas Vingegaard during the 21st stage of the 2022 Tour de France cycling race. Pool via REUTERS - THOMAS SAMSON

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

Jonas Vingegaard, 25, won the Tour de France cyclist on July 24 in Paris.

The Dane from the Jumbo-Visma team, who finished second in the 2021 edition, succeeds Tadej Pogacar.

The Slovenian, who was also crowned in 2020, finishes second in this Grande Boucle 2022. The Belgian Jasper Philipsen won the 21st and last stage, on the Champs-Élysées.

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It is a symbol.

The Tour de France cyclist, which left Copenhagen on July 1, crowned a Dane for the second time in its history.

On July 24, 2022,

indeed became the second runner from his country to win the Grande Boucle, after Bjarne Riis in 1996. A coronation all the more significant for Denmark since Riis admitted in 2007 to having doped during part of the 1990s.

Vingegaard's victory in this edition is not really a surprise.

Because this excellent climber had finished second in 2021, behind

.

The Slovenian, also crowned in 2020, this time ended up in the shoes of the second, behind the one who was precisely his runner-up last year.

Two significant stage victories

Jonas Vingegaard

was able to break the reign of Tadej Pogacar, carried in particular by his team, the Jumbo-Visma, relentless during the three weeks of competition.

The fall of his star teammate, the Slovenian Primoz Roglic, during the 6th stage, definitively put the Scandinavian in the front line.

The Dane also assumed by winning two precious stages at altitude, the 11th

.

Two victories to which must be added those of his partner

, during the 4th, 8th and 20 stages.

The Belgian, who finishes with the green jersey (runner having scored the most points) and who will have worn the yellow jersey between July 2 and 6, will have been the other hero of this Tour 2022, the fastest of the history (42 kilometers per hour on average).

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