OFFICIAL | Jonas Vingegaard out of the UAE Tour after crash and illness that have delayed 2026 preparation

Jonss Vingegaard was set to start his 2026 season at the UAE Tour, but this will not be happening. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider has suffered a crash and become ill in recent weeks, which has delayed his preparation and has made Team Visma | Lease a Bike opt to change his schedule in a season where he will be targeting the Giro d'Italia.

Remaining healthy in pro cycling goes hand-to-hand with evolution, but that ball has not been on the Dane's court over the past few years. In 2024 he suffered a life-threatening crash at Itzulia Basque Country; whilst last year he crashed at Paris-Nice, suffering a concussion that ended his spring campaign in early March.

As Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogacar remain injury free, all of their rivals continue to face setbacks which see the gap grow. Vingegaard joins Mads Pedersen and Wout van Aert in the sidelines, riders who have crashed and gotten injured since the start of this year. Only Remco Evenepoel, out of the men who can put up a fight with the 'big two', has remained healthy thus far this year - although 12 months ago, he spent a considerable amount of time off the bike.

Visma shared a statement this morning, confirming the decision to withdraw from the UAE Tour. Vingegaard was set to race Isaac del Toro and Remco Evenepoel in what would be the season's first battle of the titans, but this will no longer be the case. A few weeks ago he crashed whilst being followed by an amateur rider, but even whilst training in the Málaga area in Spain for several weeks now, he hasn't found good weather, which has also caused him to get ill.

“I was really looking forward to returning to the UAE Tour and am therefore disappointed that we have had to make this decision," Vingegaard said in a press release. "However, the combination of the crash and subsequent illness made it necessary. It is better to fully recover first so that I can then focus on my next goals.”