Vingegaard opens back up to the public months after Tour de France glory: "I needed some rest after the Tour"

It was a long string of two months without competition for Jonas Vingegaard, which have left some wondering of his whereabouts. After a long-teased announcement, today Jumbo-Visma confirmed the Dane will be at the start of the Cro Race as he returns to competition.

“It is a good preparation course for Lombardia," Vingegaard said in a press conference ahead of the stage-race. "I needed some rest after the Tour, but now I'm building up again. We wanted to do things a little differently with the team this year and that's why we're here."

I am very happy to be here. It's my first race since the Tour. I hope I'm in good shape and that we can have a good race as a team. With some hilly stages, Vingegaard should lead the Dutch team in Croatia. Koen Bouwman will be another weapon, whils the team also celebrates the return of Milan Vader after life-threatening injuries suffered at Itzulia Basque Country.

"We will start with a strong team. In my childhood I already went on holiday in Croatia and then also rode my bicycle. It is a beautiful country," he commented. Although he isn't expected to be in his best form, or have a perfectly suited route, he could be in the ropes for the title - conquered by Stephen Williams last season. He is looking to quickly bounce back and ride into Il Lombardia with strong form, after a training camp which came weeks after he's fully recovered from his success, and the media attention that followed.

“The last three weeks I was in Spain to prepare for the remaining races. I hope my form is already good enough, but we will see that in the race this week," he said. "It's a nice race, although I would have preferred a real finish uphill. Yet the course is still very hilly with some mountains on the way. I look forward."

He was keen aswell on pointing out that the success hasn't changed him, as he looks set to return to the peloton at a smaller race. "There are now more people who recognize me, but I am still the same Jonas," he concluded.

Place comments

666

0 Comments

More comments

You are currently seeing only the comments you are notified about, if you want to see all comments from this post, click the button below.

Show all comments