Visma DS Merijn Zeeman confirms great risk of Jonas Vingegaard missing Tour de France: "He is still in the hospital"
Cycling
Team Visma | Lease a Bike ended today their cobbled classics campaign without a noteworthy result, a consequence of many injuries and illnesses that have affected them over the past month. But the situation may get worst; DS Merijn Zeeman confirms that Wout van Aert is on a tight schedule to race the Giro d'Italia and Jonas Vingegaard's chances of missing the Tour de France are growing.
“I received an update today from Jonas Vingegaard's wife about how he is doing. Relatively a little better each day, but he is still in the hospital. That says enough," team DS Merijn Zeeman, recently confirmed to leave the team at the end of the season, confirmed in words to Het Nieuwsblad. "At the moment, Jonas is not thinking about whether he will make it to the Tour or not."
The schedule is not yet tight. The Grand Boucle is still over two and a half months away, but it is a difficult journey that Vingegaard has to traverse. Assuming that he will recover to full health, this will take require at least a few weeks, likely over a month to be able to cycle normally once again after suffering a broken collarbone, several ribs and a punctured lung. It is a traumatic list of injuries that he suffered in the horrific mass crash that took place at Itzulia Basque Country. The Dane has not yet left the hospital at the moment.
His run-up to the Tour will be changed that is already a certainty, but his participation as the defending champion itself is in doubt. “Jonas only goes to the Tour if he is one hundred percent. The first part of his possible Tour preparation will be canceled anyway. Jonas will certainly miss the altitude training camp on the Sierra Nevada from May 6," Zeeman already anticipates. "If he goes to the Tour, we will have to do it via a different route. If it doesn't work, we'll have to come up with a different scenario.” The Dane was expected to follow his traditional run-up to the Tour with altitude, Criterium du Dauphiné... At the time being there is no definition on when he will return to competition.
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But he is not the only one. Wout van Aert is still off the bike for the time being as well, as his plan of riding the Giro d'Italia is also still far from secure - besides the point that reaching it with good form is virtually confirmed not to happen. But if the Belgian is not capable of getting back on the bike over the coming two weeks, the Corsa Rosa will surely be erased from his schedule.
“It's starting to get very short notice for Wout and the Giro. This week we hope to gain insight into what is possible for Wout and what is not," Zeeman tells. "One thing is clear. When he starts in the Giro, it is at one hundred percent. You don't send a rider like that to a big tour just to ride along."
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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.
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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)...
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- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And yet, it attracts people, even you. What’s more, it attracts the rival fanboys to fill cyberspace with endless pointless my hero is better than your hero blabla that’s all been heard before and only helps sell the site as an advertising platform. You know what the solution is but most can’t resist. No different than women who follow and discuss celebs through gossip magazines.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- he is doing 460 watts for 35 min to achieve 7 w/kg with VO2 at 96 , just unreal numbers.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just do it, and put up with the consequencesJumpyjohn08-11-2026
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🇪🇸 #Itzulia2024 Update on Jonas: It was a nasty crash, but fortunately he is stable and conscious. Examinations at the hospital have revealed that he has a broken collarbone and several broken ribs. He remains in hospital as a precaution. Thank you for all your messages. ❤️
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