"He won’t get many better chances than this" - Mixed reaction in Denmark to Jonas Vingegaard's World Championship snub

Jonas Vingegaard has officially confirmed he will not line up at the UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda this year – a decision that has sparked a mixed response in Danish cycling circles.

The two-time Tour de France winner confirmed at Thursday’s press conference ahead of the Vuelta a Espana that he will be skipping the Worlds in favour of targeting the European Championships in France later in the autumn.

“You need to be absolutely fresh to compete at the Worlds this year. It will really take a lot out of the riders, and we simply don’t know how I’ll come out of the Vuelta,” Vingegaard said. “Based on what I’ve experienced so far, we’ve decided to drop it. Instead, I’ll ride the Euros, where I’ll have a bit more time post-Vuelta to shift my focus.”

Vingegaard’s absence will undoubtedly weaken Denmark’s ambitions in Rwanda, and former Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis didn’t hide his frustration.

“To be completely honest, I think that if he had prepared properly, he wouldn’t get many better chances than this year,” Riis said in comments collected by Feltet.dk, suggesting the route could have suited the Dane well had he committed to it.

National coach Michael Morkov, however, took a more pragmatic stance. Speaking in a press release issued by the Danish Cycling Union (DCU), Morkov explained that the decision had been driven by the profiles of the two race routes.“In my view, the European Championships course suits Jonas’ strengths better than the Worlds course, due to the longer climbs and their gradients,” Morkov stated. “So I’m pleased that Jonas wants to be available for the national team at the European Championships in October.”

Despite this, Morkov acknowledged that Vingegaard has not yet been officially selected for the European squad – although the rider’s own comments at the press conference made it clear his participation is all but certain.

Should he be confirmed, Vingegaard would be among Denmark’s top contenders for the tough route in Valence. At 203 kilometres, the course features three major climbs of 6.5km at an average gradient of 7.5%, along with six ascents of the brutal Val d’Enfer – 1.5km at a leg-sapping 10%. “I consider the Valence course at the Euros to be a hard one,” Morkov explained. “With those repeated steep climbs, it will be a race for the lighter riders.”

Vingegaard’s focus is now squarely on the Vuelta a Espana, which starts this Saturday. The choice to forgo the Worlds in favour of the European Championships reflects a strategic prioritisation of recovery and form-building, but not everyone is convinced it was the right call.

For some, like Riis, it's a missed opportunity on a course that could have played to Vingegaard’s strengths. For others, including Morkov, it’s a smart decision that aligns better with the rider’s capabilities and the realities of a packed late-season calendar. In either case, Denmark will head to Rwanda without its biggest name, and the European Championships in October may now become the most significant international target for the nation’s top stage racer.