"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".
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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.
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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

Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- exactly, he had an amazing season, but with these overstatements they don‘t do him good.Ketterechts08-11-2026
- More to the point, it isn't his remaining goal.Renz08-11-2026
- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
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