"I’m glad I didn’t ride the Worlds – it would have been a disaster": Jonas Vingegaard opens up on European collapse and prospect of Rainbow Jersey challenge in 2026
Cycling
Jonas Vingegaard has offered his most candid explanation yet for the difficult end to his 2025 season, admitting he arrived at the European Championships in France so physically depleted that he is now relieved he pulled out of the World Championships in Rwanda.
Speaking in conversation with Feltet, the Dane described the failed Euros campaign as both a warning sign and a necessary reality check.
The two-time Tour de France winner had originally been expected to appear at the Worlds before withdrawing late, but his performance at the Euros made one thing abundantly clear: he was running on empty.
“I’m glad I lined up and tried. But I’m most of all glad I didn’t ride the Worlds – that would have been an even bigger disaster,” he told Feltet with a small smile. “I didn’t think it was possible for me to go to Africa. I had ridden both the Tour and the Vuelta, and I’m honestly happy I didn’t go to the Worlds. It would have been a waste of my time and everyone else’s.”
A season that pushed him beyond his limits
Vingegaard has been open about the toll his Vuelta a Espana triumph took on his body, and how it left him unable to train at all in the crucial weeks before the championships. “I wasn’t able to train for two weeks because I was simply too tired. Around the time of the Worlds I did my first training ride. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to – I just couldn’t.”
Despite a few encouraging sessions shortly before the Euros, his condition simply wasn’t there. “Of course we hoped I could do better. The training up to the Euros actually went okay and that gave us some hope, but it didn’t work out.”
Yet the Dane believes the disappointing showing served one important purpose: it silenced the recurring suggestion that he avoids national team duty by choice.
“Of course I would have liked to do better. But I lined up, and I’m actually happy about that. It also proves why I’ve withdrawn the other times. It’s because I’m exhausted and have nothing left to give,” he assesses. “I hope that instead of people saying ‘Jonas can’t be bothered with the national team’, they now understand there’s a reason I don’t line up.”
Ambition for 2026 – but with the right preparation
Far from being put off by his bruising experience, Vingegaard insists he still wants another shot at international selection — but not under the same conditions. “If I were to ride the Euros or Worlds, I wouldn’t do it if I’d raced both the Tour and the Vuelta. I’d want to prepare properly.”
With the 2026 World Championships offering a more manageable calendar layout, he isn’t ruling out a return in Danish colours. “The Worlds is definitely a race I’d like to ride next year, but it depends on how the rest of my season looks.”
Vingegaard weighs in on DCU crisis: “It’s a real shame”
Alongside the discussion of his own form, Vingegaard also addressed the Danish Cycling Union’s financial crisis — a situation that recently forced the temporary collapse of the national mountain bike programme and prevented young riders from attending the World Championships in Rwanda.
“It’s a real shame that things have turned out like this. It mostly affects the talents because the elite riders get sent to the Worlds anyway. It’s a pity they’re not being sent. It’s a bigger showcase for them. I hope they get things under control and find more sponsors and more money.”
While stars such as Mads Pedersen, Mattias Skjelmose and Jakob Fuglsang have already taken part in DCU’s Ride for Denmark fundraising initiative, Vingegaard is unsure whether he can take on a similar role given his already overloaded schedule.
“If I can help in some way, I will. But it’s hard to find the time – I’m under enough pressure as it is. I don’t really see that I have the time for it. I don’t know if I can help in any meaningful way,” he says. “As I understood Ride for Denmark, it’s that they can join some rides, and if I’m there as well, it gives them something.”
A brutally honest reset before 2026
Vingegaard’s reflections paint the picture of a rider who pushed himself beyond his natural limits in 2025 — and who is determined not to repeat the same mistake. His Euros collapse may have been painful, but it has shaped a new clarity for the seasons ahead.
With proper preparation and a more balanced schedule, the rainbow stripes could yet become a genuine ambition in 2026. And this time, he insists, he wants to arrive ready.
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.
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- JV is really slighting himself with not doing the 1 dayers.. 🤷
leedorney02-11-2026 - Watch the interview on youtube. I don't speak French. I do speak English and Spanish and you can hear it in his voice. Years ago LeMond had real personal problems I imagine in no small part because of Armstrong. then Armstrong goes round "full blast" re: LeMond having drinking and drug problems. The same way Andreu was expelled from mainstream cycling so was LeMond. On the positive side the clips of the ride and chatting with old teammates and was good. To seemed like a fun day and experience and good reason brush up his French.atom02-11-2026
- and another no-news article around the ‚2 tokyo jogging rounds‘ headline, this time spiced with some days old ‚news‘ that the LA and japan vacation trips come during or after the tdf route release. i am getting more and more annoyed by this time-stealing no-news crap. but who am i to complain? nobody forces me to come back for more ‚news‘ day after day …Ketterechts02-11-2026
- It would likely be a very steep section of 4.1 km, not changing the average gradient considerably, with the climb remaining 10.1 km at 11.8%. It would reach 20% on the gravel. It would start 1.6 km in, and finish with 4.2 km left to climb (before the short final descent)
Rafionain-Glas02-11-2026 - Welcome to the off-season.
santiagobenites02-11-2026 - guillaume martin in this list is quite a surprise as a gc rider.Ketterechts02-11-2026
- Who cares what Bruyneel thinks. He and his best mate Lance, the biggest fraud in the history of sport, have no place commenting on anything but how to lie and cheat!whit2pet02-11-2026
- Eeesh!Lozza02-11-2026
- bravo! a rider likes jonas needs motivation and he needs to believe in being able to reach goals. he - like anybody else in the world - doesn't believe that he can win the tdf with pogi present. and what's it worth for when pogi is not there? second class victory only. he has checked all three grand tours, so what is left if not retire? the classics! go for it, jonas!Ketterechts02-11-2026
- i am sure that under the pretext of medical examination a lot worse has happened when they were under.abstractengineer02-11-2026
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