Jonas Vingegaard: "It's difficult to say if it's possible to score a double in a Grand Tour"

The last double Grand Tour winner in the space of a season was Chris Froome back in 2017 but recently with the rise of climbers such as Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, the question is back on the table if both decide to commit to more than one in a season.

«I started training two weeks ago – continues Vingegaard – I had a long vacation compared to usual. And when I returned from Japan (Saitama Criterium, ed) I immediately started training," Vingegaard told BiciPro. He's has a long break after winning the Tour de France, and enjoyed another after concluding the season at Il Lombardia. Recently he's began training and preparations for 2023, including a team camp at Jumbo-Visma's headquarters in the Netherlands.

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Vingegaard eyes improvements into 2023: "What can I improve on? Definitely the sprint, to start. But there are many aspects to still improve. I don't just want to improve physically, I want to improve in everything. This year I have often been bad, I would like to improve this too. In the materials…".

Although victorious at the Tour, the Dane hasn't shown himself in the cannibal style of riders such as Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic who can at their best level compete for the win in every kind of terrain. It can't be expected of any rider to thrive in the same way, but Vingegaard is definitely aware that there are still flaws in his arsenal that he can improve on.

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Such as Primoz Roglic, who has had a lot of difficulties due to crashes he's endured over the years, in 2022 having to abandon both his Grand Tour attempts because of it. "I don't know if he is hungrier to win than last year. I'm hungry in a different way. There is something special. I still want to do well and win races," Vingegaard continued. His position as the Dutch team's leader after the first summit finish was not one he expected to find himself so quickly, but he detailed how he got through the psychological barrier.

“With my history, being nervous would have been easy. I don't get nervous anymore like before. I said to myself: “If I win, I win… otherwise it will be for next year. And I'll try again until I win." In this sense, I have improved since the beginning of 2021, also in managing expectations," Vingegaard explained. "I've never had a problem living up to other people's expectations, but I've always had a hard time living up to my own. I put a lot of pressure on myself. That was my problem."

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"When I started cycling, I really liked Contador. I liked his way of racing, of attacking. From him I got the inspiration to not be afraid to attack. To be aggressive, but in a smart way," he continued. Attacks at the Col du Granon and Hautacam saw him take two stage wins after incredibly difficult stages where the riders had to go all-out from the penultimate ascent.

In the future, Vingegaard could eye more than just the Tour however, just as Chris Froome's done in the past. It's difficult to say if it's possible to score a double in a Grand Tour. I think if I had to start I would think more about the Tour and the Vuelta," he believes. "It's not easy, but Giro and Tour is certainly tough. Maybe I could make them in the future. For next year I don't know... maybe I could also do the Vuelta".

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He concluded by talking about some of his fears, and how perhaps his most frequent is of training accidents where he isn't to blame. “Of course there are some things that scare me. For example, in training I try to go slower than in racing. I'm careful on the curves, I'm afraid of being rear-ended by a car," he said.

"I try to always be focused on the road. I always look ahead. Obviously these things can happen, but I'm always much more cautious during training." Vingegaard concluded.

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