After a horrific crash at the Itzulia Basque Country earlier this year left him in intensive care with a punctured lung among other injuries, there seemed no chance Jonas Vingegaard would contest for the Maillot Jaune at the 2024 Tour de France. Yet, with the Grand Depart just days away, the Dane will indeed be in the fight.
Four time Tour de France winner Chris Froome suffered similar injuries in his own horror crash in the past and has been left stunned by the recovery of Vingegaard. "Jonas is the two-time defending champion and you can never write off a rider of his calibre. He knows how to win the Tour but given what happened in April and his crash, there are certainly a few question marks over his form," the Israel - Premier Tech rider, who missed out on his own team's selection, previews in conversation with Escape Collective.
Whilst Vingegaard has clearly recovered enough to start, whether he has enough in the tank to compete remains to be seen however. "He’s not raced since his crash in Itzulia Basque Country, and just looking at the resulting injuries, you have to be mindful of where his body might be at. He had a collapsed lung, and that’s something that I had back in 2019 from my Dauphiné crash. I can speak from personal experience as to how tough that is to come back from," Froome details. "It’s not just the time off the bike but just being able to breathe normally hurts for months down the line so I can’t even imagine how he’s managed to prepare for the Tour with that sort of injury. Chapeau to him but it must have taken a toll on his preparations. That said, I still think that Jonas is my number two favourite."
Number two behind Tadej Pogacar that is. "It’s worth adding that I think Tadej probably has the edge when it comes to team support. I don’t think UAE have ever had a team this strong for the Tour," the 39-year-old explains. "João Almeida, Adam Yates, and Juan Ayuso would all be hoping for a top 10 in the normal world, so to have three GC guys helping you in your Tour bid is a pretty good place to be in. It remains to be seen as to the level Visma has given their bad luck this season."
For the first time ever, the BIG 6 (Pogačar, Vingegaard, Roglič, Evenepoel, Van der Poel, Van Aert) will be at the startline of the same race (Tour de France). 😍 Not all riders had ideal preparation for this race, but feel lucky to witness these times. ❤️
