“A killer on the bike, but very sweet off it” - Nathan Van Hooydonck lifts lid on the two sides of Jonas Vingegaard

Jonas Vingegaard’s Giro d’Italia dominance has carried the familiar calm of a rider who rarely looks rushed, rattled or remotely interested in theatre. Yet Nathan Van Hooydonck says that quiet exterior should never be mistaken for softness once the race is on.

The Dane has built his reputation on control. He wins with a low pulse, speaks with restraint and keeps his emotions mostly away from the cameras.

Van Hooydonck, though, has seen the other side close up, both as a key Visma team-mate during Vingegaard’s Tour de France victories in 2022 and 2023, and as a close friend away from the race.

“A killer on the bike, but a very sweet and sensitive person off it,” Van Hooydonck said in conversation with La Gazzetta dello Sport, drawing a sharp line between the Vingegaard seen inside a race and the one known by those closest to him.

Van Hooydonck was forced to retire because of heart problems, but remains part of the Visma structure in a commercial role. His view of Vingegaard comes from years spent inside the same team environment, where the Dane’s quiet personality did not stop him becoming one of the most feared Grand Tour riders of his generation. “Yes, we are really great friends,” Van Hooydonck said. “I knew what Jonas wanted without even speaking to him, and that shows our strong bond.”

That bond gives weight to his description of Vingegaard’s split personality as a competitor and as a person. The same rider who can appear reserved, almost understated, away from competition becomes far more severe once the road tilts up and the race reaches its decisive moments.

“Everyone knows he is 100% a family man,” Van Hooydonck explained. “He is very sweet, a very sensitive person. But if we compare that with Jonas as a cyclist, he is a real killer. He knows how to win or what to do to win a race.”

That line fits the Vingegaard currently shaping the Giro. He has rarely needed noise or intimidation. Visma set the race, Vingegaard chooses the moment, and the damage follows.

The contrast is not just a media image. Van Hooydonck says it is visible in the way Vingegaard moves between racing and family life. “If you see him with his family, he is such a kind and affectionate person that it is hard not to notice,” he said. “Sometimes it is strange to understand how he can be so ruthless when it comes to winning.”

That ruthlessness has become one of Vingegaard’s defining traits. He does not race like a rider searching for attention. He races like one who already knows exactly where the pressure point is. The soft-spoken interviews, the reluctance to seek the spotlight and the understated public manner only add to the contrast.

Van Hooydonck also pointed to Vingegaard’s now familiar ritual after victories, when he kisses the photograph of his family kept on his bike. “It is unusual because it is not easy to find someone who kisses a photo at the end of a race,” he said. “It is a ritual that he has added to his lifestyle. It is up to us to respect it.”

For Van Hooydonck, Vingegaard’s personality away from racing has always been built around calm rather than spectacle. Even after the biggest victories, including his Tour de France triumphs, he was not the type to turn success into a public performance. “He is not someone who loves parties,” Van Hooydonck said. “He is a very calm, relaxed person.”

That might be the most revealing part of the portrait. Vingegaard does not need to transform loudly to become ruthless. The change happens inside the race itself, where the same quiet rider becomes clinical, patient and hard to read.

At this Giro, that combination has once again become decisive. The family man remains visible after the finish. The killer appears before it.