"Jonas is up against the best rider we've had since Eddy Merckx" - Visma DS on Vingegaard's recovery and upcoming battle
Cycling
Jonas Vingegaard has not had the best start to the season he would've hoped for, with a concussion at Paris-Nice forcing him to abandon and also miss out on the Volta a Catalunya; but the Dane has one big goal for the year and that is to win the Tour de France, according to team DS and compatriot Jesper Morkov.
"I actually think he's riding like a cold warrior now. How is he doing now? Well, it's going well. He's doing really well. He's training, preparing, and he's also over his crash. He's got his head under control," Morkov said in the Café Eddy podcast.
The Danish climber has recovered from his fall in the meantime, but his initial schedule was scraped. A return is very likely now in April, before he begins his Tour de Frace-specific preparation, but there are still questions on whether he will do this at the Ardennes classics, Tour of the Alps or Tour de Romandie. "We're busy refining that, so we can't go into that too much. But it's being planned".
In Vingegaard, Team Visma | Lease a Bike has a rider that is the complete opposite of Tadej Pogacar, but this is not necessarily a disadvantage. "After all, he's a very big opposite of Pogacar, who rides all the cycling races in the east and west. He's somewhat the opposite there. It's all about winning the Tour de France. That's the main goal".
The team has successfully done this on two occasions, but it can't be forgotten that in both 2021 and 2024 the Dane finished second to the Slovenian and was the closest competitor - and in neither occasion he entered the race in the perfect position. Although Vingegaard hasn't been able to show his true legs this year yet, the team remain quite positive that his Tour preparation has not been affected.
However, having the ideal preparation is only a small part of a potential Grand Boucle win, when facing against a rider like Pogacar. "Jonas is up against the best rider we've had since Eddy Merckx. If he wants to beat Pogacar in the Tour de France, we can't put a foot wrong. We all have to do it right," he concluded.
Read also
Tour de France win No 3 for Tadej 🏆🏆🏆
— Velon CC (@VelonCC) July 21, 2024
Pogačar beats Jonas Vingegaard by 6:17 overall and in the process completes the Giro-Tour double in 2024.
📸 Getty Images
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🇫🇷 #TDF2024 pic.twitter.com/WwPpyjRAPH
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- Crash did not help, Out of position for first attack did not help, illness did not help, pacing was not the best either. MVDP has never raced to his limits against other riders but this is his characteristics when he cracks, he cracks big time just like his first elite men WC RR. Against Pogi he needed to be optimized and he is notabstractengineer07-04-2025
- Yes, I completely agree! Before going to a doctor, I give my immune system time to react. If a reasonable amount of time passes and I'm not cured, then I go to the doctor. Fortunately, I haven't needed a doctor in years!
maria2024202407-04-2025 - A lot of medicine does nothing more than speed up recovery time 4-5 days instead of 7-8, 10-12 instead of 2 weeks. It is questionable if it’s really a good thing for healthy people to rely on it as it also makes your immune system lazy and less responsive next time round, making you more and more reliant on medication (surprise, surprise). A bit like glasses, the less you succumb to adapting their strength, the slower the deterioration. Unfortunately many bacterial infections are not so easy to fight without help, your body should manage in the end but it can take really long, I once had strong fever for 3 months trying to fight an infection without reducing work or lifestyle (the antibiotics at the beginning didn’t help).Mistermaumau07-04-2025
- In this case, maybe is my fault (my ignorance). Fortunately, my family hasn't been sick for many, many years, so I can't say if doctors in Italy are still old-fashioned. When we catch a cold (very mild, nothing that requires medical attention), we recover completely in about a week. This may have reinforced my belief in the 7-day cure. Thank you so much, MisterMmaria2024202407-04-2025
- I appreciate the No Excuses thing...bobo07-04-2025
- It’s totally normal people don’t generally know, the way doctors continue in their old-fashioned ways. SHOCKING even to see how often they prescribe then without even knowing or testing if your infection is viral or bacterial, even when governments have already launched information campaigns. It’s as if their on the manufacturers’ payroll and exploiting patients.Mistermaumau07-04-2025
- Easy to say, but when you know you were not in the best of form and you don’t know how it’ll be on the day, the only way you can find out what’s possible is by testing what you can do what you can. The fact that he was “only” as good as MP and WVA makes the discussion pretty pointless, all unbiased people are interested in is who is the better when both are in top shape. I for one wouldn’t want to go back to the days of unhealthy gang rivalries such as the DV brothers against Merckx which could devolve into dirty tricks, quite happy everyone now tries to win in his own way.Mistermaumau07-04-2025
- Chris Froome believes he will someday get his fifth TDF title. Keep on dreaming buddy.BM07-04-2025
- Hold on lets rewind a bit… March 8 2025 Strada Bianche Tadej’s crash hmmm check that out… Torn Jersey, bloodied, changed bike… what happened there?drkesterdmd07-04-2025
- Still delusionalslappers6607-04-2025