"We truly believe that this will enable him to win the Tour": Visma confident that a Giro debut will boost Vingegaard’s chances against Pogacar in July

Jonas Vingegaard is absolutely crushing the competition in France this week. The 29-year-old Team Visma | Lease a Bike star currently holds a massive three-minute and 22-second lead at Paris-Nice to second place, the Colombian Daniel Felipe Martínez. While this was not his original plan for the spring, a forced schedule change has revealed that the Danish climber is back to his absolute best.

Vingegaard was supposed to start his season at the UAE Tour to race against Isaac Del Toro and Remco Evenepoel. However, a crash and illness forced him to alter his schedule. This led him to Paris-Nice, where he is currently in a league of his own. Team director Marc Reef explained that this dominance is no accident.

"He was already in good shape after the winter. Of course, there was a minor setback, but we also changed the program. This was something we could work toward. He feels a bit like he did two years ago, before his crash. Last year, things didn’t go exactly as we had hoped, but physically, he feels like his usual self," he told journalist Daniel Benson.

Winning the "Race to the Sun" would be great, but it is only a stepping stone toward Vingegaard's massive goals for the year. This May, he will race the Giro d'Italia for the very first time, as he hopes to win the pink jersey and complete his collection of Grand Tour victories. More importantly, the team believes this difficult race will actually help him prepare to win the Tour de France against Tadej Pogacar in July.

"We truly believe that this will enable him to win the Tour," Reef explained. "We know what we’ve seen over the past two years, and that meant we had to try something new. What we’ve observed from the Tour-Vuelta combination is that he performs very well after a Grand Tour, even better in the Vuelta. If we prepare well here, with a strong spring season, he can reach a very high level in the Tour and compete against Pogacar, because that’s what’s needed."

Even though the Giro is preparation for the Tour, Reef made it clear that Vingegaard is going to Italy to win. "Only Pogacar has done it in this era. We’re ready for the challenge. When we wanted to win three Grand Tours in 2023, we asked ourselves: 'Isn’t that too big of a goal? Is it even possible?' But we went for it. It’s good to dream big, but also to have a plan and believe in something."

Another big change for Vingegaard this year is his training. His long-time coach Tim Heemskerk has left, and Mathieu Heijboer has taken his place. Reef thinks this change could be exactly what the Danish star needs.

"Mathieu doesn’t hold back; he pushes," Reef observes. "That’s something that could bring about a positive change. We’ll see. It’s a shame that Tim has left. Over eight years of working together, Tim and Jonas built something, but maybe a change is good. It could bring something new."

Finally, Reef responded to the wild rumors spreading this week. Some reports claimed Vingegaard might move to INEOS Grenadiers, while others suggested he might retire early like Tadej Pogacar has discussed in the past. The team director quickly shut down these ideas.

"Not at the moment. He enjoys what he does, and that’s the most important thing. That’s also what you can see, and what we feel," he concluded.