"I’m willing to sacrifice myself" - Jonas Vingegaard could help teammate Matteo Jorgenson to Paris-Nice win if the opportunity arises

Jonas Vingegaard is starting Paris-Nice today, you could even say under the radar after Tadej Pogacar not only took a tremendous win at Strade Bianche this Saturday, but did so after a high-speed crash by himself. The Dane in the meantime remains healthy and without injuries, and aims to win the French race together with Matteo Jorgenson throughout the next eight days.

"Of course, I need to be better than last year if I want to win the Tour de France. In 2023, I rode Paris-Nice aiming to win, but I finished third. That was disappointing, but you can’t always win. Now, we’re back to see if we can win as a team," Vingegaard said ahead of the race.

In 2023 he was the main favourite leading up to the race but found himself on the back foot after Pogacar was announced as a last-minute addition and dominated the race. The Dane was third (also behind David Gaudu), his sole participation in the race.

This year he returns as part of a racing block focused on the spring stage-races, where he hopes to show his best level and gain confidence ahead of an important summer where the Tour de France is on the menu and he has the goal of beating someone who looked unrivalled in 2024.

Throughout the eight days of racing there will be three stages in the mountains, a team time-trial and a very steep hilltop finish that will all test the GC contenders. The 'Race to the Sun' is often also affected by the weather (either strong winds, rain or cold temperatures) and that could potentially throw in a few extra obstacles for the riders.

Because of that, and because of the quality of his team, he does not name himself as the sole leader, and could even give a helping hand to defending champion and friend Matteo Jorgenson who will be wearing the number 1 throughout the week.

"I have a good relationship with Matteo and will be happy if he wins the race. I’m not that selfish—I don’t just say that I want to win and don’t care about others. I will be just as happy if Matteo wins, and I’m willing to sacrifice myself if he’s in a winning position or proves to be the strongest. And it works the other way around too."