“Whether there will be a three-way battle depends not on them, but on me” - Vingegaard eyes rare one-day test at European Championships

Jonas Vingegaard will roll out at today’s European Championships road race, an unusual sight for a rider whose career has been built almost entirely around stage races. The two-time Tour de France and reigning Vuelta a España winner rarely ventures into the one-day scene, yet in France, he joins Mattias Skjelmose to lead a strong Danish team against the likes of Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel.

For years, Pogacar and Evenepoel have been amongst the top 3 one day riders alongside Mathieu van der Poel. Between them, they’ve amassed 11 Monuments and five world titles. Vingegaard, meanwhile, has focused his career on long, controlled efforts in week-long and Grand Tour races. But as he hinted before the start, that could soon change. “If I find the recipe for how to deal with one-day races at these European Championships, I would like to ride more of them in the future,” he told Sporza.

The Dane acknowledged that these late-season races fit his calendar better than spring’s Ardennes classics. “A European Championship or a World Championship simply fits better into my program than Liège-Bastogne-Liège, because at that point I'm already focused on my Tour preparation,” said Vingegaard.

Still, lining up against Evenepoel and Pogacar, both fresh from the World Championships in Kigali, presents a unique challenge for Vingegaard who has limited experience in the tactics of one day races.

“I saw them in action at the World Championships and they both looked in very good shape,” Vingegaard admitted. Yet, despite his rivals’ decorated palmarès, he insists that any potential rivalry depends on how his own legs respond. “Whether there will be a three-way battle depends not on them, but on me,” he said. “Because I don't really know how my condition is. I've completed two Grand Tours. We'll see what that brings.”