The two time, back to back Tour de France champion, Jonas Vingegaard returns looking for a hat trick in 2024. Given all he's been through earlier this year however, whether or not another Maillot Jaune remains realistic is very much up for debate.
Crashing hard at the Itzulia Basque Country earlier this year, the Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader spent time in intensive care with multiple broken bones and most seriously, a punctured lung and with no race days since, little is known about Vingegaard's form heading into the Tour de France. Conversely, his main rival Tadej Pogacar has been in incredible form, romping to a dominant, near ten minute win at the Giro d'Italia and comes into the Tour somewhere close to his peak.
Few know more about winning the Tour de France than legendary French cycling icon, Bernard Hinault. Despite claiming five Maillot Jaune victories however, and twice winning two in a row, 'the Badger' never managed to complete a hat trick. Knowing what has happened to Vingegaard in the first half of 2024, Hinault admits he would be shocked to see the Dane do what he never could.
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"He fell in the Itzulia Basque Country and has a difficult preparation. If he can win the Tour de France again this year, I don't understand anything about the race," Hinault says in conversation with Het Nieuwsblad. "Compare it to Pogacar's situation last year. He broke his wrist in Liège-Bastogne-Liège at the end of April. In the Tour he was good, but not at his best level. UAE Team Emirates and Team Visma | Lease a Bike are worthy of each other as a team. Visma has had a lot of bad luck, but remains strong across the board. In the end, it is always the leader who decides which team is the strongest. The team will win stages, not the classification."
For the first time ever, the BIG 6 (Pogačar, Vingegaard, Roglič, Evenepoel, Van der Poel, Van Aert) will be at the startline of the same race (Tour de France). 😍 Not all riders had ideal preparation for this race, but feel lucky to witness these times. ❤️
