"I know what he's been through in the last year so it's nice to see" - Jonas Vingegaard praises Wout van Aert's Giro d'Italia exploits

Wout van Aert and Jonas Vingegaard have been the two leading lights of Team Visma | Lease a Bike over the last few years, leading their team to a number of notable results. Over the last twelve months or so though, both superstars have found success a lot harder to come by thanks to a series of crashes and badly timed illnesses.

After a rocky start to the 2025 Giro d'Italia, Van Aert has grown stronger and stronger with every day of the Grand Tour, peaking with a famous stage win on the 'mini Strade Bianche' stage 9. Whilst Vingegaard himself is not present at the Giro this year, instead training at altitude ahead of later goals this year including the Tour de France, the Danish star has been keeping a close eye on developments in Italy and in particular, the performances of his good friend Van Aert.

"It's been really impressive to see how he's been doing," explains two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard in conversation with TNT Sports. "I know he was sick before the Giro, so it's really nice to see how he's come back and to win the stage he won. I know what he's been through in the last year, so it’s obviously nice to see him coming back like that. We've been watching it every day, on the television after training."

This rising performance level of the Belgian could also be a big benefit to Vingegaard himself later in the year. "I think everyone has seen in the past what Wout can do when he's at his best," Vingegaard explains. "So obviously it's very nice to see how he's doing now in the Giro."

A Van Aert at his best could indeed be a massive boost to Vingegaard and Visma as they look to reclaim the Maillot Jaune at the 2025 Tour de France. "I'm pretty sure that he will be on a super-high level again in the Tour de France," Vingegaard concludes confidently. "And I'm really looking forward to racing with him again."