In the world of cycling, where rivalry is forged on heavy slopes, Jonas Vingegaard has just activated a real hurricane. Hardly had the 28-year-old Danish set up the last red sweater of the Vuelta a España 2025, when his destructive words were directly focused on the heart of Bjarne Riis, the controversial icon of Denmark. “Now I am the real legend of Danish bicycles,” Vingegaard launched in an explosive interview after the course, broadcast live on TV2 Sport. An ironic interest that the wounds of the doping beyond doping, winner of the Tour de France from 1996, remedies and causing social networks to tremble. Hashtags #vongegaardvsriis and #Vuelta2025 explode, with thousands of reactions in a few hours. This unexpected collision, which took place only 24 hours after the chaotic victory of Vingegaard marked by the cancellation of the 21st phase due to pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Madrid-transforms the celebration into the national scandal.

Let’s remember the facts: Vingegaard, runner of Visma-Lease in Bike, sealed his triumph on September 14, 2025, more than 55 km from the finish, forced to stop the peloton for safety reasons. With a total time of 78:58:32 “He is in third place for the Portuguese João Almeida (UAE team Emirates-XRG) of 1’16” and the British Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) in third place. This Vuelta, his first victory in this big tour, is added to his two towers of France (2022 and 2023), who knew the Stigmata with a serious fall in 2024 that he had robbed him of the stage of the Tour this year. “It is a dream that is realized, but Danish bicycles deserves better than shadows from the past,” he added, an obvious arrow to Riis, whose doping confession in 2007 had affected his appearance of “60%”-reference to his hematocris swollen by the EPO.

The Vingegaard statement did not come out of nowhere. There have been tensions for months. Riis, former director of Saxo Bank and mentor of stars such as Contador, had recently criticized Vingegaard for his hesitation when confirming his participation in the World Championships in Kigali (Rwanda) in September 2025. “Is it because you don’t believe it?” Had qualified in an interview with BT.DK in the context of the refusal of Vingegaard for “head and motivation”. Earlier in the Vuelta, Riis had nevertheless praised the Vingegaard strategy on Angliru and said that he wisely managed his energy for Almeida. But these earlier compliments were not enough: Vingegaard, galvanized by his solo victory at the Bola del Mundo (step 20), chose the euphoria to arrange his accounts. “Riis has marked history, but with methods that no longer pass today. Denmark needs a clean legend,” he insisted, causing the Festina scandal and the Armstrong era that Sali Riis is exposed.

Bjarne Riis’s reaction was not long in: only five minutes after the interview, the former champion placed a burning tweet: “Jonas, the legend is won on the bike, not in the microphones. Respect those who have paved your way, even Imperfect. Otherwise you are just an arrogant child.” This message, loves more than 50,000 times in an hour, ignored the debates. Riis, 61, furious and stabbed at the heart, chained by a call to the Danish bicycle federation: “Forget about where he comes from. Without the pioneers like I would still be in the shade.” Fans are divided: On the one hand, young supporters praise fingers as the ethical renewal of sport; On the other hand, the veterans defend laughing as the spiritual father of Scandinavian cycling. Analysts such as those of Cyclingnews see it as a “generation-earthquake”, who remember that Vingegaard, originally from a Jutland farm, embodies the new clean era, post-UCi.

This confrontation could have consequences: Vingegaard prepares all the worlds for which a rainbow medal would definitively erase the shadows of Riis. But at the moment the collision is flying the show in the Vuelta, which is launching discussions about doping and inheritance again. “It’s shocking, but refreshing,” said a team journalist. “Vingegaard dares what nobody dares.” While the peloton consumes this atypical victory, a question chases the corridors: this “unique legend” announced by Vingegaard will Riis survive “anger? Follow the updates about