Visma "not worried about Jonas Vingegaard fading like Tadej Pogacar did" if he makes return from injury at Tour de France

The roles have reversed and the dynamic completely switched for the latest chapter of Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard's epic Tour de France rivalry. Last year, it was Pogacar who had doubts as he came straight to the Grand Tour from injury. This year, it's Vingegaard who won't be 100 percent.

Whilst in 2023 Pogacar suffered a fractured wrist in a crash at Liege-Bastogne-Liege, for Vingegaard, a horrific crash at the Itzulia Basque Country earlier this year left the two-time, back to back Maillot Jaune winner suffering with a number of injuries, including most worryingly a collapsed lung. Pogacar was able to mount a serious challenge for the Maillot Jaune in 2023 before fading in the third week and eventually losing out to Vingegaard by over seven minutes.

It Team Visma | Lease a Bike are to secure a third successive Tour de France, such a crack must be avoided from Vingegaard on his return from injury. "We try to prepare him as best as we can. I don’t know what the outcome would be, there’s no racing," the Dane's coach, Tim Heemskerk explains to Velo. “Will he be already straight from the gun and improve? Will it be the opposite? I cannot tell at the moment. I can only tell when we do certain training, and when I see what’s happening.”

The coach does not however, believe that Vingegaard would show the same weaknesses as Pogacar did last year. “Jonas’s strength is his durability. So I think when we do what we need to do, then I’m not so worried about fading or whatever, like Pogacar did. Because they have they have different physiology," Heemskerk predicts confidently. “First we take it day by day. But Jonas’s injuries are not a broken finger or broken wrist. It was a lot worse. But they’re also different people too. So we just try to train him as best as possible, and then then then we will see.”