Jonas Vingegaard has planned his season around the Tour de France and the goal has been achieved. A second Tour title has been added to his palmarès, the Dane has since travelled home and was received in Copenhagen and in his home town by thousands, as he now soaks up the success and prepares for the Vuelta a Espana.
“The more you do this, the more you get used to it. It's not so tiring for me anymore. I still feel good and fresh in my head. I'm looking forward to being home, because I haven't been home since the end of April," Vingegaard told AD. "My wife and child travel with me a lot. I was with them for four, five days before I went to the Criterium du Dauphiné, then they were with them for three weeks when I was on altitude training. And they were also there during the Tour de France. It gives me love, but also a lot of motivation to finish it. I get a huge boost when they are with me."
A combination of altitude training camps and racing sees Vingegaard away from home for three months, Jumbo-Visma have once again succeeded in their ultimate plan for the Grand Boucle. Vingegaard has nothing but good words on the Dutch team:
“I have not ridden for other teams, but here they really take everything to a new level. That gives us a lot of confidence as riders. The people on this team analyze a lot. I don't think anyone can imagine how much time is spent on such a plan. To be honest, I also feel like I'm part of something really big. I call this year's Tour team my dream team. I wouldn't want to change anything because this is the perfect team."
Now he returns to the Vuelta a Espana this August and September. It was where he made his Grand Tour debut back in 2020 supporting Primoz Roglic to win, now the duo - who has won both Grand Tours so far this season - will team up as co-leaders in Barcelona.
They will face the likes of Remco Evenepoel, Juan Ayuso, Geraint Thomas and João Almeida in what promises to be a thrilling battle, however Vingegaard admits his preparation will be different, and he will go with less pressure. "But I don't go on altitude training anymore. I want to spend the next few weeks with my family," he concluded.