"Jonas is a special guy. He may recover quickly" - 'Too early' to rule Vingegaard out of Tour de France says Visma DS

It's fair to say that Jonas Vingegaard's chances of making it a Tour de France hat-trick later this summer, don't look particularly good at the moment. Following a brutal crash at the Itzulia Basque Country, the Dane spent 12 days in hospital due to a number of injuries.

Suffering a number of fractures, including to his ribs and his clavicle, it was a perforated lung that caused most concern and required Vingegaard to have blood drained from his lungs ensuring his lengthy spell of hospitalization. As such, few give the two-time back-to-back Tour de France winner much chance of even making it to the race this year, let alone competing for victory. For Team Visma | Lease a Bike sports director, Frans Maassen however, it's too early to tell.

“We have to see what is possible in the coming weeks and then we will start new plans,” Maassen explains in conversation with TV2. “For Jonas, it is important to be 100 percent when the Tour starts. It's a really tough race that he's won twice. I don't think he's there if it's about being in the top 10. It has to be in top shape. We will have to see if it is possible over the next few weeks."

"Jonas is a special guy. He may recover quickly. It is too early to make a decision," Maassen continues. "I can't answer that because we have to see how he does in the next two weeks. In two weeks we will know a little more and we will know what is possible.”