No pancakes at City Hall – Jonas Vingegaard skips Copenhagen reception after Vuelta a España victory

For the first time in his career, Jonas Vingegaard will not be welcomed onto the balcony of Copenhagen’s City Hall to celebrate a Grand Tour victory. Despite capturing the 2025 Vuelta a España, the Danish star has decided to forego the traditional reception in order to recover and prepare for the final objectives of his season.

The Danish Cycling Union (DCU) confirmed that neither Vingegaard nor fellow Danish standout Mads Pedersen will appear at the iconic City Hall event in the coming days.

“We in DCU tried every possible option, because like the culture minister we wanted to celebrate Vingegaard’s triumph,” DCU director Niels Bo Daugaard told Feltet. “Jonas, however, needs most of all to come home and recover after a tough Vuelta, and we have great respect for that. Mads is also happy about the possibility, but like Jonas he doesn’t have the opportunity to attend a celebration with such a busy schedule.”

The Danish Minister of Culture, Jakob Engel-Schmidt, had even expressed a wish to welcome the two riders for “pancakes and a public party at Copenhagen City Hall,” but the plans ultimately fell through. Instead, the only official recognition of Vingegaard’s overall victory is expected to take place on Tuesday at Visma–Lease a Bike’s headquarters in Den Bosch, the Netherlands, where the team is based.

Speaking to his team’s website after the Vuelta’s neutralized final stage, Vingegaard summarized the three-week race: “It has been three hard weeks. I felt very strong in the first week and managed to win twice. Then I had a more difficult phase, but luckily I came back in the last weekend. My stage win on Bola del Mundo gave me great satisfaction. It was a beautiful way to crown this Vuelta.”

Reflecting on the unexpected cancellation of the final stage, Vingegaard expressed his disappointment at not being able to celebrate on the road. “It’s a pity that such a moment of eternity was taken from us. I was looking forward to celebrating this overall win with my team and the fans. Everyone has the right to protest, but it’s a shame that it has to happen here and prevents us from finishing the race”

The Dane’s decision to prioritize rest comes with good reason. In less than three weeks, he faces his last major goal of the season: the European Road Championships in France on October 5. He is expected to clash there with Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel for the first time since the past Tour de France.