"Just because he shined in the spring doesn't mean he's going to do the same in July" - Vingegaard ready to battle Pogacar for yellow

Jonas Vingegaard, who will not race again until the Critérium du Dauphiné after his crash in Paris-Nice, held a press conference on the rest day of the Giro d'Italia, a day after his colleague Wout van Aert won in Siena.

The two-time Grande Boucle winner spoke about Tadej Pogacar and his spring, commenting on the following.

"Yes, I followed closely what Pogacar did in the spring classics. It was impressive, although I'm completely focused on the Tour. Just because he shined in the spring doesn't mean he's going to do the same in July."

After winning the Tour of 2022 and 2023, the Dane has spoken about what happened to him last year, and discussed his current training in Sierra Nevada.

"In 2024 I didn't arrive in the best condition. I lost a lot of muscle mass and that took its toll on me in the Tour. This year the work has been intense to recover it and everything indicates that I'm better than in the two previous seasons."

He has had a difficult start to 2025 so far, hence his long break, but he is always at his best come July.

"After the concussion I had to go very carefully. Every hour awake I needed another hour of sleep, sometimes even more. Those were difficult days at first, although I noticed small improvements. When I tried to start cycling again, the dizziness and nausea came."

In the Dauphiné he will meet again with Pogacar, and does not deny that his intention is to fight for the victory, "The motivation is higher than ever. I still have to fine-tune some details in the Dauphiné, where the idea is to fight for the victory".

He insists that the Slovenian is his great rival, "The goal is to win, but that means beating Pogacar. The data I have are positive. It feels like I've taken a step forward and I'm ahead of the last two years.

Speaking to AS, he confirmed his presence in the Vuelta a España, "Two years ago I did the Tour and the Vuelta and I liked it a lot. Normally, after the Tour, if you want to focus on the Giro di Lombardia or the World Championships you still have two months to go and it's hard to find the motivation. To do La Vuelta you only need three more weeks of training and you're there. Mentally it's easier and I felt great with the double two years ago. After that, I don't know how I'll be this season for the World Championship."