"Sometimes it's like banging your head against a wall" - Jonas Vingegaard ready to take responsibility over safety issues in pro races
Cycling
Jonas Vingegaard is a rider that has went through a lot in terms of crashes throughout his career, and in his first race days of 2026, he has felt like security should take over the discourse in pro cycling. The Dane has elaborated on his thoughts regarding the Paris-Nice roads and the responsibilities of both organizers and riders.
"Sometimes it's like banging your head against a wall. But I'd say that one way or another, I feel a responsibility to make things better in cycling," Vingegaard said in words to TuttoBiciWeb. After stage 1, the Dane was highly critical of the roads the riders went through; and at the start of stage 2 he said he and his Visma teammates would not be at the front of the peloton fighting for positioning on the flat stage.
Instead, it was a frequent sight to see a group of yellow jerseys at the back of the peloton. Ultimately crashes did happen, but on such a scenario it would be possible to recover position quickly. Vingegaard has felt it was best to do so after what he saw on the opening day, his first race day in months.
"If we don't say anything, nothing will happen. I want to be the leader of the peloton not only for my results but also for safety," he stated. "The roads on the first stage were terrible, constantly veering off to the right and left. There were lots of potholes, and the final descent wasn't up to par for a World Tour race."
Riders carry as much responsibility
The leader of Visma is a rider that two years ago almost had his career and life ended by a fall at Itzulia Basque Country, crashing at high speed against rocks due to a descent that was poorly signaled and with tree roots creating bumps in the tarmac during a high-speed corner.
He had two punctured lungs, several broken ribs and a collarbone, injuries which he miraculously managed to recover from. But 12 months ago he suffered a harsh concussion after falling in this very race, and these are memories that do not go away.
With the two opening stages of Paris-Nice lacking the GC action, Vingegaard has focused on the safety aspect, and is also trying to discuss with other riders the topic so as to improve safety in the peloton, he assurs.
"It's a matter of reciprocity. It's clear that we riders also have a huge responsibility, but the same goes for the organizers. We can't just point the finger at everyone else,2 he warns. "Even yesterday, there was a lot of discussion in the peloton about how people behave. In general, we need to have more mutual respect in the peloton."
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 6visitors 2
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Saw a casual interview with Geraint Thomas and him a few years ago. Seems like a nice laid guy and I wish him well.GregT10-11-2026
- Ernesto Maggioni - The president of the commissaires Mafia. It is getting evident that this guy is basically "Iamalwaysrightandyouarestupidsoiwontlistentoyou" kind of guy. So fire him so that he can be always right in his homeabstractengineer10-11-2026
- Somehow it has got into his mind that he is a GC rider. He is primarily a classics and stage rider who can perform on GC given his day. As a result he is wasting his time on TDF GC and once committed to GC you are too tired to do anything else.abstractengineer10-11-2026
- 🐐❤️Lozza09-11-2026
- This is such a black eye to women's professional cyclocross if this result remains. Marie Schreiber won this race fairly. This finish is not unlike others in cyclocross. Lots of moving around to get to the finish not to cut anyone off , but to generate a sprint on soft wide tires caked with mud and sand. This is not nearly the same as a road race between two riders sprinting to the finish on faster bikes and thinner firmer tires. The powers in charge need to use some common sense, reverse this result and remember this is Cyclocross not Road racing. Unbelievable. . .Zencycle09-11-2026
- Tis beyond your comprehension fine sir so best not to look on with blind eyes to THE GOATS greatness.
Brucegel09-11-2026 - McNulty winning was beneficial in ensuring the rainbow jersey would not remain winless
Front24209-11-2026 - Eccelente! That's 7 riders in total in Red Bull who come from the devo team, 8 if you include Lipo
Rafionain-Glas09-11-2026 - again, nothing is going to be resolved. it is a discussion board. I simply said I didn't see how MS impeded LBs sprint. the UCI doesn't care about my thoughts, and I am really not that emotionally invested in it.mij09-11-2026
- provoke change, lol. this is a discussion board. nothing is going to change by what I say here. just commenting that it didn't look like MS impeded Brand. beyond that not trying to go too deep.mij09-11-2026
Loading
14 Comments