From our special correspondent in Morzine,
On his arrival in Morzine, Saturday at the end of the day, Jonas Vingegaard was of course applauded, at the end of a formidable first alpine stage which will have allowed him to add a second which makes 10 to his slim lead over Tadej Pogacar . But much less than his Slovenian dolphin, acclaimed by “Pogi”, “Pogi”, who did not soften his frustration born of the now famous “motogate”, and especially less than Carlos Rodriguez, the winner of the day, carried by the noisy Spanish colony.
In this Tour de France, the 26-year-old Dane arouses respect, but clearly not passion, far from the rock star welcome he received in Copenhagen on his return last year, after his first crowning on the Champs-Elysees. To find fans of the secret leader of the Jumbo-Visma, it is better to look for compatriots. “Some people think he’s arrogant, when it’s just shyness, assures Tobias, 25, crossed with his partner Helene on the slopes of the Col de Joux Plane, in front of a Slovenian motorhome necessarily won over to the cause of the rival. His parents are the same. »
The young couple, who admit to being there as much to smell the atmosphere of the Tour as to support their champion, live “one hour” from it, in Jutland. “For us, it’s a point of pride”, asserts Helene.
Vingegaard is from Hillerslev, a village of 370 inhabitants in the northwest of this peninsula which constitutes the continental part of the country. “In this region, people are very calm, very discreet, it’s not like in Copenhagen, laughs Troels Kildemoes of Odense, in the south of Denmark, crossed Friday in Culoz at the foot of the Grand Colombier, that he was preparing to climb partly on foot with his “tribe” (12 people, with his brother, his sister, their spouses and children). But he’s a star, we hope to accompany him to Paris. It seems that last night [jeudi], his parents were in the same campsite as us. In any case, no one saw them. »
Family first
“He’s a guy from the countryside, agrees Nicolai, originally from the Danish capital, who left his quarantine serene on Saturday in the Col de Joux Plane. He is a very family person. In English, this gives: a “family guy”. The expression came back in the mouths of all our witnesses, whom we slapped on mentioning “Jonasse Vinnguegarde” (southwestern accent obliges) and who spoke to us of “Yonass Vinngueugôr”, the official pronunciation. Well, almost…
The leader of Jumbo-Visma is never long separated from his wife Trine and their soon to be three-year-old daughter. Saturday evening again in Morzine, behind the mixed zone where the riders are supposed to come and meet the press, we saw the leader of the Tour behind the scenes with his little Frida in his arms, who was playing with the stuffed lion awarded to the yellow jersey. An image that has become ritual. Vingegaard perfectly assumes this label of “simple guy”, with a broad enigmatic grin, light years away from the jokes and winks of a Pogacar, capable of transforming himself into a French cliché, baguette included, during the first rest day in Clermont-Ferrand.
“I didn’t think he would win the Tour”
To tell the truth, the few Danes we came across, some wearing national football team jerseys, were also rather calm. If the flags of the country are of course out (be careful not to confuse in the corner with the Savoyard emblem), our interlocutors were not the type to run behind the runners or to fuel on hops from 8 am, like some of their col neighbours. They support “Vingi” as he is, respecting his privacy.
His former colleague Emil Vinjebo helps us to know a little more. The 29-year-old cyclist, now a member of Leopard Togt Pro Cycling, a continental team (the 2nd division of the circuit), played alongside Vingegaard in 2018. They both wore the colors of the small ColoQuick formation, who hired the future winner of the Grande Boucle while he was working in a fishmonger’s. “We knew he had great physical talent but when I rode with him, I didn’t think he would win the Tour, admits the 29-year-old rider, consultant for the Danish channel TV2, crossed at Culoz. It has really developed over the past three or four years, with steady progress. »
Vinjebo first paints the expected portrait: “A lot of people know him now, but he doesn’t show up much in public. When he is not in the middle of the madness of the Tour, he is quiet, at home. We do not see him. Up to a point: “No, he’s not shy.” He’s introverted, but when you get to know him, he’s a nice guy. He’s even funny when he’s in his ‘safe zone’. And it can only hold a limited number of people.
The climber from a flat country
Last year, after his coronation in mondiovision and the walkabout in the country, Vingegaard had evoked on a Danish TV “a kind of mental explosion”. “It’s very difficult to talk to the media and the fans every day. It’s great, but also very tiring. “The fatigue, he and Pogacar must logically start to feel it by dint of pulling the plug almost every day since July 1. A week before the finish, our witnesses logically vote for their compatriot, but without excessive confidence.
“Pogacar will be tough to beat but I think Jonas will win in the end,” said specialist Emil Vinjebo. In Courchevel, he will drop Pogacar. See you on Wednesday for the last alpine stage. By then, we will surely not have solved another mystery attached to the Dane, and raised by Merete, Nicolai’s companion, on Saturday in the climb to the Col de Joux Plane: “It’s crazy that he’s so strong in the mountains when you come from a very flat country! »