"The expectations were greater": Denmark's coach disappointed over Vingegaard's national team debut

Jonas Vingegaard's debut at the European Championships to challenge Tadej Pogacar for his throne was one of the big appeals of the 2025 edition in Ardeche. With multiple long climbs in the first part of the race, the parcours seemed ideal for the Dane to get into the right rhythm. However no spectacular battle between winners of last six editions of Tour de France took place as Vingegaard's race ended before the favourites even started to warm up into operating temperatures.

Already on the second lap, we saw the Danish jersey of Vingegaard lose touch with the group of favourites and the news of Vingegaard's abandon were quick to follow. Not the end of the world for the national team of Denmark, but without their ace in the sleeve, Mattias Skjelmose was alone in his mission to bring home a medal. And ultimately, a seventh place was the 25-year-old's limit.

"It was decisive," national coach Michael Morkov told Feltet.dk about the loss of Jonas Vingegaard so early into the race. "My hope going all the way was that Jonas had been sharper than he was, and that with him and Mattias we could have had the tactical upper hand."

With Jonas Vingegaard and Mattias Skjelmose in their ranks, Denmark aimed for at least a podium, if not the title. And even with the loss of Mads Pedersen on the eve of the road race, the goal still seemed quite realistic. Under the assumption that Vingegaard is where he needed to be with regards to his form.

Unfortunately, that was not the case on Sunday. Morkov had understanding for the 28-year-old who competed for victory at two Grand Tours at an extremely high level in recent months. Then preparing for an additional goal in October was an uneasy task, but also a lesson for Vingegaard towards future where Morkov hopes to have the recent Vuelta champion in his ranks again at some point.

"It is clear that the hope on paper was that we had Jonas in the same condition as when he won the Vuelta three weeks ago," he regretted. "I thought he would hang on better, but I have full respect for the program he has had."

With Vingegaard out of the picture, Mattias Skjelmose was once again promoted into a leader's role. And, just like in Kigali week earlier when he finished 4th, the Lidl-Trek rider fought valiantly to deliver a 7th place in Ardeche.

"It's a strong follow-up to the 4th place he rode into the World Championship last week. Mattias is sitting with the best riders in the world. Unfortunately, he still needs a little to be able to ride with Pogacar and Remco, but he's just outside the final, and I think Mattias is once again delivering a great performance."

"It has been a great pleasure to have Jonas Vingegaard with us. He has contributed enormously to the Danish national team – both at the elite level and in the youth team. He has contributed a lot with his presence. I'm pretty sure that – despite the outcome of the race – he has had a good experience with the national team. I expect to have him in play for the upcoming championships.