"The only time I won a one-day race was the day after another" - Jonas Vingegaard looks to break out of stage-racer shell at Europeans
Cycling
It must be said that Jonas Vingegaard is a rider that does not do one-day races, lacking the experience in them and not carrying much of palmarès in them. His specialty is in the opposite type of racing, but he has the legs to perform and take big wins and this Sunday he's looking to do that at the European Championships road race.
The course, featuring 3500 meters of climbing and suited to those with the best climbing legs, suits the Dane quite well. The ascent to Val d'Enfer is 1.5 kilometers long at 10% and will be raced several times, similarly to the Giro dell'Emilia.
Over the past few years, in stage-races and Grand Tours, Vingegaard has shown great explosivity and capacity on the short and steep climbs, often following Tadej Pogacar up these. Most recently at the Vuelta a España, he dropped his main rival João Almeida on the steep climbs into Bilbao, before the stage was neutralized.
In fact since the 2022 edition of Il Lombardia, Vingegaard has only done a one-day race on one occasion, which was the 2024 Clásica San Sebastián, which he did not complete. There is a learning curve necessary for the 28-year most likely, but physically he is able to battle for the win at the Europeans and Il Lombardia - if he decides to race it - against even the likes of Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel.
Read also
Vingegaard's opinion on his own ability
"I dream of performing well in one-day races. If I haven't participated in many one-day races in recent years, it's because I haven't really discovered how to perform in them yet," Vingegaard admitted in words to Wielerflits.
The Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider had quite an amusing remark regarding his history in this kind of race: "The only time I won a one-day race was the day after another. So, you can't really call it a one-day race."
This Sunday will be an important test but an honest one, as Vingegaard will lead the Danish team in a race where he has serious chances of finishing within the medals, and will be competing against the World and Olympic Champions after they thrived in the Kigali World Championships.
Read also

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
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
- I'm picking .... .... Never mind 🫥flyer07-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment









