Uno-X star on breakaway pressure at the Tour de France: “I fought for stage wins, but then Tadej Pogacar or Jonas Vingegaard would come along.”

During the 2024 Tour de France, Tadej Pogacar won an amazing six stages, while Jonas Vingegaard won one. Fans had a great time watching this brilliant performance, but riders who depend on breakaways for success were really struggling.

Tobias Johannessen of Uno-X Mobility was one of the riders who tried to get away from the pack more than once during the 2024 Tour de France. He finished 11th on stages 15 and 20. He said, “I’m glad I did the Tour in the end; that was the main goal.” “Even though the road to get there was pretty rough,” the 25-year-old Norwegian tells Max, referring to how hurt he was this year. He adds with a wry smile, “I felt good, but Pogacar felt a little better.”

As was already said, Johannessen was involved in the breakaways during the Grand Tour. This put him in the running for the first-ever Tour de France victory, but he didn’t win in the end. A big part of that was the aggressive and constant attacks from riders like Pogacar behind. The Slovenian boss of UAE Team Emirates won six stages on his way to his third Maillot Jaune.

Johannessen remembers with a hint of sadness, “In some of the breaks I was in, I fought for stage wins, but in the end, Pogacar or Vingegaard would usually come from behind and take those wins.” “So now I feel like it could have been really good if I’d had a little extra time.” You would see it very differently than you do now.”

“I wasn’t the only one who failed to get a stage win. The Uno-X Mobility star ends by saying, “He (Tadej Pogacar ed.) was just huge.” “So we have a job to do over the winter, but I don’t think it’s impossible that if we get to the Tour next year we’ll be able to take a stage win.”