When you're paid a very high salary to basically focus on only 1 race - this one - then I think it's extremely disappointing that this is all we viewers got. He is supposed to fade less than Pogacar in a 3-week race, and that may be true, but he didn't really use this. He didn't really test how good Pogacar still was. Over 5 HC climbs the past 2 days, he attacked for about 2 km. 2!
To read here and elsewhere that "Vingegaard gave it his all" and "he couldn't have done more", that is properly mind-boggling to me.
I agree. He tried all? Really?
If he had tried all he could have attacked 3-5 km. from the finish line on the big mountain stage thursday and then he would maybe have catched up O´Connor. And yesterday - don´t tell me that he could not have attacked 300 meters earlier, what would have been enough to catch up Arensman. But he waited to long....
People say he gave everything, but still he did have the force to attack for the last km, so he was not completely dead, afterall. And he had promised to go all in - so he should at least have tried to attack 3-5 km. from the top. He would not have lost anything by doing that, so there was no real risk in trying.
Vingegaard, contrary to Pogi, has only ONE goal every season, The Tour. So therefore it is fair to say that his season has been a failure, since he finished second in the Tour without winning even one stage.
But of course there is still the Vuelta, so he can still make up for the disappointing season. But until now his season has been disappointing.