"I hear from good sources that Jonas Vingegaard is more than ready" - Former Visma rider Laurens De Plus shares his knowledge of defending Tour de France champion
Cycling
Very rarely in recent years has so much discussion been made of just the mere presence on the startline of the Tour de France, than in 2024 and the recovery by Jonas Vingegaard.
Not even a punctured lung, broken bones and spell in intensive care following a disastrous crash at the Itzulia Basque Country earlier this year could stop the Danish leader of Team Visma | Lease a Bike defending his Tour De France crown. Whether or not the two time, back to back Maillot Jaune winner will be able to challenge the likes of his old rival Tadej Pogacar and former teammate Primoz Roglic however, is a massive question. We don't have too long left to find the answer.
Laurens De Plus will be present at the 2024 Tour de France, riding in the colours of the INEOS Grenadiers. As a former Jumbo-Visma (now Team Visma | Lease a Bike ed.) rider however, the Belgian might have picked up some inside knowledge on probably the biggest talking point in cycling currently... the health and fitness of Jonas Vingegaard.
"I hear from good sources that Vingegaard is more than ready," De Plus says in conversation with Het Laatste Nieuws ahead of the 2024 Tour de France. Despite this news, De Plus still doesn't fancy Vingegaard to take the Maillot Jaune either. "UAE Team Emirates stands out, both in terms of team and leader. Tadej Pogacar is the absolute top favourite. He wants to write history and has already won everything this year."
De Plus can see one potential sticking point for Pogacar though. "The heat may be killing him. It is common knowledge that he does not like racing in extreme heat. You can work on that, but it is mainly innate or not," the Belgian concludes. "But racing in the heat suits me. Since the focus of this Tour - the final week - is in the south of France, a warm edition is also predicted."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 5visitors 5
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
Loading
So many theories about Vingegaard “He has no chance” “He only starts if he will be able to win” “He just needs to survive week 1” “He will be the best rider in week 3” “He will collapse in week 3” To be honest, I really dont know which one I agree with the most…
Write a comment