CyclistIs Pogaar vs Vingegaard the sports greatest every rivalry?Like with any good cycling rivalry, Tadej Pogaar and Jonas Vingegaards names feel incomplete without mentioning the other. Its a modern-day reprisal of Coppi and Bartali, Poulidor and Anquetil, LeMond and Fignon. At long last, cycling has a new duo to enter this hall of fame.For the past four Tours de France, Pogaar and Vingegaard have duelled with one target in mind: the yellow jersey. After his win at the weekend, Tadej Pogaar has taken a 3-2 lead in Tour de France wins. The race is on to reach the history-equalling fifth, and both seem to have the credentials to do so by the end of the 2020s.As the dust settles on another three weeks of battling, can we consider this to be the greatest rivalry the sport has ever seen?Yin and yangA.S.O./Billy CeustersPogaar and Vingegaard are very different personalities. For starters, the two stem from very different corners of Europe Vingegaard from the stoic Scandinavian north and Pogaar from the chocolate-box setting of Mittel Europa. Pogaars rise can be tracked from the youngsters Tour de lAvenir and breakthrough Vuelta a Espaain 2019. Vinegagaard on the other hand was a lesser-known anomaly who made the most of his ad-hoc leadership role at the Tour de France 2021.In behaviour, the two differ greatly. Pogaar hits back at haters on social media and has a boyish joker demeanour both on and off the bike.Vingegaard is more sedate with his media language. Hes pensive and thoughtful in a way that some perceive as cold. At the 2024 race, however, this has evolved into something more humanised as he discussed the internets watts-per-kilo claims and online forum mysteries.At the 2024 race, they have become more outspoken. With the addition of Rogli and Evenepoel in the media mix zone, the pair have started a well-measured war of words like any great rivals should. Related Posts The 21 best photos from the Tour de France 2024 Who won the most prize money at the 2024 Tour de France? How to fix the Tour de France King of the Mountains classification Is this the end of Tour de France breakaways? Who are Britains future Tour de France stars? A cold war between teamsA.S.O./Charly LopezBehind the two leaders are their teams: UAE Team Emirates and Visma-Lease a Bike.Both have entered a Cold War-like arms race to win the maillot jaune. As the squads realise their potential, they have created the perfect backdrop for this competition. Their differences complement each other, even if it has flared up tribal affiliations for better or worse.Pogaars UAE Team Emirates have built from a mid-table Italian team to a Grand Tour juggernaut in the space of around five years. However, the Emirati-backed team has been met with some fatigue after buying a wealth of A-list names and wunderkinds. With time though, the squad has played around with tactics and formed a strong identity as cyclings most consistent team.Visma-Lease a Bike are a team often ridiculed for tactical decisions, blunt team communications and an outspoken team principal. However, their clinical 2022 Tour de France proved that they are one of the great teams of modern Grand Tours. The Dutch squad has cultivated real talent, raising names like Sepp Kuss and Wout van Aert to the fore. The latter has become a phenom unmatched by UAE.The two teams have employed wildly different strategies over the years and have gone through ebbs and flows with lady luck. This year, luck was certainly against Visma-Lease a Bike, who only last year won all three Grand Tours.The rivalry hasnt seen team strength skew. There are few weak links in either outfit and they seem fairly balanced on paper. With both team leaders on long-term contracts, the battalions are forming around them with every new signing. Dont expect to see a carousel of riders in and out, each addition is signed up with the intention of forming a part of the Tours two leading squads. Under these circumstances, the teams are only set to become more influential.An ongoing Tour de France storyA.S.O./Billy CeustersThis rivalry has brewed over the past few years due to the constant ding-dong between the two at each of their Tour de France skirmishes. Each year, they grow stronger and raise the stakes ever higher at the Grande Boucle.So often, cycling rivalries fizzle out on the big stage. Regardless of contexts in the build-up to the race, Pogaar and Vingegaard have an unflappable way of honouring the biggest race in the sport. With no excuses given, the Tour is the main arena of the rivalry and it can be followed through each years edition of the race.Its all well and good duelling at smaller week-long stage races, but Pogaar and Vingegaards perennial Tour clashes have brought a lifeline to a race that has so often been won too easily.They both benefit from a hard-wired desire to win. Both build up all year for the Tour with no ifs or buts. Even if they end up facing setbacks beforehand, theyll still be at the start line of the race. These are the signs of two true champions.Tit for tatA.S.O./Charly LopezWhen Pogaar goes, so does Vingegaard. This has been the way now for several Tours de France. Thats what the race distils to. When they attack, they are in a world of their own, free from the influence of any GC side characters.Theres a constant adrenaline rush surrounding each instalment of finding out who the best rider on two wheels is. The dynamic shifts throughout the season and has made the Tour outcome tough to call. Their similarity in power and capabilities has allowed the rivalry to blossom into one of cyclings best ever.Over the years, it has become harder to decide whos better at climbing or time-trialling or even fighting for GC for that matter. Since 2021, only 1:03 separates the two after 84 stages of racing. Tour superiority has shifted between them year-on-year and sometimes within the same Tour. In 2022, Vingegaard, along with a blazing Jumbo-Visma squad, proved to be the thorn in his Slovenian rivals side despite a dominant opening week that forecasted another Pogaar whitewash.This alternating balance of power manifested beautifully at the 2023 Tour, which saw a GC seesaw throughout the first and second weeks of the race when only a handful of seconds separated the two.Then again at the 2024 race, another chapter was written this one firmly in Pogaars favour, though Vingegaards early season injury no doube contributed greatly to the relative mismatch. The story is ongoing and it doesnt look like itll fade out in the future, even if Remco Evenepoel desperately wants to make this a love triangle.An unlocked fan tribalismA.S.O./Charly LopezCycling has become more sharp at the edges than it has been for quite some time. The tribalism is emblematic of any great rivalry. We have returned to the primordial state of sports where we live for a parasocial rivalry between two men.On social media, fans create video edits, run dedicated accounts and live and die by the sword of their GC favourite. In online discourse, UAE fans and Visma fans throw metaphorical fists in the name of their chosen son. A decade ago, this never happened for Chris Froome or Alberto Contador. Pogaar and Vingegaard should take this as a compliment. Theyve captured enough imagination for fans to fight tooth and nail in their name. This culture is not too dissimilar from boyband tribalism or football team derbies.Perhaps well reflect on these Tours in decades to come and think, I was more of a Pogaar man, myself.Put some respect on their namesA.S.O./Pauline BalletLongevity is key to every rivalrys significance. The great Italian rivalry of Coppi and Bartali only manifested at the Tour de France on a couple of occasions. Their rivalry blossomed at the Giro instead. And even there, they only shared the podium twice. Poulidor and Anquetil only filled the top two places in the Tour on one occasion. Poulidor and Merckx also only finished first and second on one occasion, with Poulidor more commonly filling the third spot on the podium. Other rivalries such as LeMond and Fignon as well as Pantani and Armstrong also only came truly to the fore at single Tours.In comparison, Pogaar and Vingegaard have filled the top two spots at the past four Tours de France and there is no sign of this slowing down. If we want to show some respect to the two current greats, then we should elevate their names to the same level as the aforementioned double acts.No smoke without fireA.S.O./Billy CeustersOn paper, it all seems in place for it to become a rivalry for the ages. Theres little to separate the two after four years of Tour de France battles. Its open to debate who the greater rider at the Tour de France is even if Pogaars exploits elsewhere in the calendar try to distract from this Grand Tour debate.Every rivalry has a shelf life, of course. But in the case of Pogaar and Vingegaard, theyre similar in age, stature and team strength, and both appear to have plenty of years ahead of them at the top of the sport. Currently, their Tour de France palmars seem competitive enough with one another.Thankfully, the two appear relatively cordial. Theres no malice here they respect each other greatly. Just cast your minds back to the iconic mid-race handshake at the 2022 Tour. Were not in an era of trash talk, heightened tension or slashed tyres like weve seen before in the sport, although Im sure some will feel that these missed spats would have added some spice and colour to the rivalry.To answer my question: no, this is not the sports greatest rivalry. But it certainly has the ingredients to challenge for that title in the next few years. Who knows, maybe this article will need a revisit after the 2028 Tour de France. Related Posts The 21 best photos from the Tour de France 2024 Who won the most prize money at the 2024 Tour de France? How to fix the Tour de France King of the Mountains classification Is this the end of Tour de France breakaways? Who are Britains future Tour de France stars? The post Is Pogaar vs Vingegaard the sports greatest every rivalry? appeared first on Cyclist.