Jonas Vingegaard is one of the best riders in recent years, however a lot of his success is also owed to the terrific support he has from Jumbo-Visma. He admits that he would like to have Wout van Aert lineup beside him in every race.
“I can still live my normal life in Glyngøre. I can complete my workouts well and can also get my groceries in the local supermarket without any problems," he told RIDE Magazine. "Everyone knows each other here, so even after my successes in the Tour I never ended up in an unpleasant situation. For my fellow villagers I will remain Jonas, so nothing has really changed. It is not suddenly that the whole village is turned upside down. The people here are too sober for that.”
The Tour de France winner is a modest public figure and despite his newly acquired fame, he remains living in his home in Northwestern Denmark. Throughout the winter he also spends time in Mallorca where he finds good weather. In the interview he's talked of the different challenges he is to face this summer, one of them being the likely absence of Primoz Roglic.
“It will be different without Primoz. He was the one who took me under his wing three years ago, my mentor within the team," Vingegaard reveals. "In 2022 he already told the team that I was a potential Tour winner. I didn't believe in that myself. Of course I will miss him, but he has a nice challenge in the Giro.”
As the Slovenian heads to the Giro d'Italia this year, Vingegaard gets a sole leadership at the Tour. In 2022, despite the many abandons, Jumbo-Visma had a dream result in Paris, having won both yellow and green jerseys, alongside six stage wins from three different riders. A lot of that success came down to Wout van Aert who's achieved a lot of individual success before helping the team conquer the yellow jersey.
“I would prefer to have Wout next to me every race, but that is impossible because he focuses on the Flemish classics in the first part of the year," Vingegaard added. "He is not only a fantastic rider, but also a nice person to have in the team. I definitely wanted him back in the next Tour. His presence is of immense value to me.”
Ultimately, the Tour de France defense is Vingegaard's main goal of the season. This next week's Paris-Nice will be an important step. “The more I look at the course, the more I discover that the 2023 Tour suits me very well," he concluded.
After a dominant streak at Gran Camino, where he won all three stages that were raced to the end, he is looking forward to battle Tadej Pogacar in France over eight days in a race that starts this Sunday in the outskirts of Paris where both have stood on the podium last July.
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