🇫🇷 #TDF2024 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐬, For a moment, we feared for your life. You have shown what a fighter you are. You have made not only us incredibly proud, but the whole world. ❤️🩹 You may not have won the Tour this year, but you certainly won all the hearts. You are truly an…
CONFIRMED: Jonas Vingegaard will not race the Vuelta a Espana - "I don't think I've ever been this tired after a Grand Tour"
CyclingTuesday, 23 July 2024 at 11:03
In the press conference following the Tour de France, Jonas Vingegaard confirmed that he will not race the Vuelta a España but may race soon in the World Tour (at the Clásica San Sebastián and Tour de Pologne); and that he is considering ending his season early after nine months of focused work on his attempt to win a third Tour de France. He also discussed many other topics such as his rival Tadej Pogacar and the climbs to Plateau de Beille and Isola 2000.
Following the end of the race, the team shared an emotional message on social media: "Dear Jonas. For a moment, we feared for your life. You have shown what a fighter you are. You have made not only us incredibly proud, but the whole world. You may not have won the Tour this year, but you certainly won all the hearts. You are truly an inspiration. For people who are struggling, that perseverance always pays off. You can be more than proud of this second place!"
Vingegaard was very emotional in these last few days of the race as it became apparent he could not beat Pogacar, who would instead be the one to conquer a third yellow jersey, in Nice. Vingegaard put on a stupendous time-trial but was once again beaten by his rival, and arriving in the coastal city marked the end of a very long journey. "I'm tired, I don't think I've ever been this tired after a Grand Tour. To be honest, I'm exhausted. Of course I want to come back and win again. But I think I need some rest now," he said.
Vingegaard in early April punctured a lung, alongside several fractured ribs and collarbone. His battle to be at the Tour de France was a difficult one but one that ultimately worked out, and it could even be said that he was at his best ever level despite the lack of an ideal preparation. "It’s very nice for me to be back at a very, very high level. After everything that happened with the crash… to be able to get back like this, second is a very big result. I think, with everything in mind, it might be even a bigger result than winning the Tour when everything went perfect."
After matching Tadej Pogacar in the gravel stage and winning stage 11 by outsprinting him, for a few days he was even touted as the man who was most likely to win the race. "I was believing I could really win this Tour from there on". But on the Pyrenees it all changed as in the terrain that Vingegaard could potentially do some damage, he instead lost time to a generational Pogacar.
"I did the best ever performance on Plateau de Beille. It was a 40-minute climb, and looking at my power numbers it was pretty incredible," he said. Vingegaard was said to have averaged 6.85W/Kg up the climb, which he himself said was very accurate, but these numbers were still not enough to make an assault on the yellow jersey.
The race could still be won if Pogacar cracked in the final week but it was anything but that. Vingegaard had to settle for second and although he still took time on Remco Evenepoel on the last days of the race, he says he was "hanging on for dear life" on stage 19 that went up to Isola 2000.
The Team Visma | Lease a Bike has had another epic battle with his main rival but there is nothing but respect for the performance that was worthy of a Tour de France victory. "Tadej was stronger, so he deserves to win. It’s really impressive how he rode this Tour de France," he concluded.
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