“People are entitled to their opinions. I’m equally entitled not to care” – Jonas Vingegaard has no time for criticism of World Championship absence

Jonas Vingegaard has dismissed criticism surrounding his decision to skip this year’s UCI World Championships in Rwanda, insisting he has no obligation to explain or justify his race calendar to the court of public opinion.

The Danish Tour de France winner stirred disappointment last week when he announced he would not represent Denmark at the Worlds, despite previous suggestions that he intended to target the rainbow jersey. Speaking at a press conference just before the start of the 2025 Vuelta a Espana, the 28-year-old made it clear that his focus had shifted.

“I won’t be going to the World Championships,” Vingegaard said bluntly. “It doesn’t fit into my schedule. I’m focusing instead on the European Championships.”

That pivot — and another withdrawal from selection — didn’t sit well with sections of the Danish cycling community. Social media lit up with frustration, many fans expressing disappointment that one of the sport’s biggest stars had opted out of a historic edition of the Worlds.

But Vingegaard, characteristically unbothered, responded to the backlash with a mix of defiance and detachment in a fresh interview during the early stages of the Vuelta. “People are entitled to their opinions,” the Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader told Feltet.dk. “And I’m equally entitled not to care. I have my reasons for the decision, and people should be able to understand that.”

Vingegaard hasn’t ridden at an elite-level World Championship before — his last appearance in Danish colours came as a U23 rider. For fans eager to see him finally don the national kit on the sport’s biggest one-day stage, the news came as a let down.

Asked directly if he could understand the disappointment, Vingegaard was candid: “Yes, I suppose I can. But it’s my decision, and people have to respect that.”

As the Worlds in Rwanda approach without him, Vingegaard seems unshaken. For a rider who built his career with quiet focus and ruthless precision, tuning out the noise may just be his most underrated skill.