"Cycling means a lot, but there is nothing more important than family" - Jonas Vingegaard' former coach about the champion's priorities
Cycling
Two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard ended his 2024 season mid-August. Why? To be present prior, to and after the birth of his second child. Not many cyclists would pass on the opportunity to win the Vuelta and many other races, but for Vingegaard, these successes come only secondary in the life.
"I am close to saying that there is no one like him in the peloton. Many want to be like him, but they just can't make it happen," says Vingegaard's former coach Christian Andersen in an interview for Ekstra Bladet.
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Although the two parted ways more than five years ago, after Vingegaard left the continental team Coloquick, they still chat from time to time. What is it like? "It's quiet and peaceful. It's just fun for me, and so is it for him. It's nothing that we talk about tactical considerations."
The Danes would often chat about family and normal-day matters, rather than consulting cycling. "This kind of thing means a lot to Jonas," reminds Andersen. "You have to be careful not to underestimate how much it means to have security and peace in the backcountry."
Vingegaard takes a lot of pride as well as security in his family: "In the beginning, you are influenced by many things when you become a professional cyclist. Jonas has also become that, but he has quickly found his position and has been able to fill that foundation, and his foundation is the family."
The one person who has a massive credit for this stability is Jonas' wife Trine. "They have managed to do it absolutely phenomenally. It has given him the peace he needs. He needs to be Jonas," he says and elaborates"
"He doesn't mind people standing on his neck all the time and that he has to be the big celebrity. That is not what Jonas needs. They manage to create a calmness that allows him to rest in himself. Jonas needs that."
"Cycling means a lot, but there is nothing more important than family," Andersen concludes.
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