"It's a shame to be without perhaps your best card" - Magnus Cort Nielsen not hopeful Jonas Vingegaard will lead Danes at World Championship in Rwanda

When you think of Danish cyclists, not many if any, spring to mind quicker than Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader and two time Tour de France champion, Jonas Vingegaard. When it comes to representing Denmark in World Championships though, the 27-year-old has been consistently absent. 

In 2025 though, a very climber friendly course in Rwanda is set to decide the Rainbow Jersey. As such, there is growing hope that Vingegaard could don the red of the Danes in Africa and lead his nation in their World Championship challenge. However, one of the regulars of the Danish national team, Magnus Cort Nielsen, isn't quite so sure of Vingegaard's participation.

"It's always more fun the better the team you put together, and it's a shame to be without perhaps your best card," admits the Uno-X Mobility rider of Vingegaard's absence for Denmark over recent seasons, in conversation with Ekstra Bladet. "Of course it's different for him to race one-day races. He focuses a lot on the classification, but I'm sure he'll be able to do well."

Given the success Vingegaard has had at the Tour de France especially though, Cort Nielsen understands why Grand Tours and general classifications have taken the sole focus of the Visma leader. "You have to opt out of something. Obviously, not many people opt out of the World Championship. Especially if they can ride their own chance of victory," he explains. "But the Tour de France is so big, and being in his position is completely different to coming like me and hoping for a stage win. He's in a completely different place, and I can see that it's fine to look after yourself. So I have respect for that too."

If Vingegaard is absent, it's likely that alongside Magnus Cort Nielsen, the likes of Mattias Skjelmose and Mads Pedersen will be the leading light of the Danish team once again.