“Winning the Tour de France difficult but not impossible" for Jonas Vingegaard says Visma's Merijn Zeeman
CyclingSaturday, 04 May 2024 at 10:32
In the immediate aftermath of his horror crash at the Itzulia Basque Country earlier this year, injuries such as a fractured collarbone, fractured rib(s) and a pneumothorax seemed to have completely ruled Jonas Vingegaard out of the Maillot Jaune fight for this summer.
Speaking to Wielerflits however, Team Visma | Lease a Bike's sports director, Merijn Zeeman seems quite optimistic that the Dane could yet defend his Tour de France crown this year. “Winning the Tour will be difficult for Jonas, but it is certainly not impossible,” he explains. “He is busy every day with his rehabilitation under the guidance of our medical staff and physiotherapists. We will certainly keep open the possibility that he will make it to the start of the Tour in Florence. Jonas is extremely talented and we know that he also recovers extremely quickly.”
With such a brutal series of injuries to recover from, Vingegaard has quite the task if he's to be at his best in time for the Tour de France though. “Every week we take stock. The medical staff cannot say much at the moment about the program he can follow in the coming period," Zeeman explains. "We have to wait and see, but we certainly still have hope that he can defend his Tour title.”
Neither Vingegaard nor teammate Wout van Aert will make the Team Visma | Lease a Bike training camp at Sierra Nevada however, which in turn means there will be no appearance at the Criterium du Dauphine. "The Dauphiné comes too early for Jonas, but that was never a real option after his heavy fall,” Zeeman says. “Does Jonas need the Dauphiné to be in good shape for the Tour? That's not necessarily necessary."
"The Dauphiné is certainly not a key race for Jonas towards the Tour. In 2021 he rode the Dauphiné after he was also recovering from an injury. Only in the last stage did he get through and finished second in that stage," Zeeman concludes. "I am convinced that with a good training block in that period, Jonas can also work on his form to arrive at the start of the Tour in top form.”
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- If I were a pro I don't think that I'd want to be riding in the peloton alongside Primoz Roglic.
santiagobenites27-05-2025 - If his history is anything to go by he is a lock to win the Tour.DhoondiahWaugh27-05-2025
- He's definitely a 'sore loser
leedorney27-05-2025 - Good luck finding sponsor once GT invitation stops.
KerisVroom27-05-2025 - Like all of us, remembering his younger days and imagining he can still do the same ;-)Mistermaumau27-05-2025
- Might overcook it downhill, not sure he’s too used to steep gradients ;-)Mistermaumau27-05-2025
- I hope for some fireworks from Bernal and Carapaz. UAE is playing safe and boring.KerisVroom27-05-2025
- If there's anything that I learned from the Fast and Furious franchise, it's all about the family. Jonas is the embodiment of the F&F franchise.KerisVroom27-05-2025
- I don't buy that. Maybe the reason for being chased down was to control GC more than increase lead however Frigo was riding for Gee for a bit before UAE closed if back down. Frigo was literally born along the route. He spent tons of holidays there too. They just had to follow him if gets sketchy.HoopoeChai27-05-2025
- Yeah, duh?!?!? How does he think he can hop on a bike a couple times and do anything?mij27-05-2025
Obviously Jonas must have more testosterone in his body than most #amazing
Who knows, we all know everyone is different so why don’t you ask riders for copies of their biopassports and then compare?
Heared testosterone injection is also considered doping now adays.
Would love to see an on form Jonas at the Tour but I am not holding my breath for that.
If he does miss the Tour I could see him crushing the Vuelta💪
Will he be fit enough for TDF? TDF is only less than two months away, not alot of time, for him to be race-ready for TDF🤔🤕. The 2nd GT of the year. And the lack of form under him, also makes it unlikely for him to challenge anyone, let alone Pogi right now.
That is my perspective on his chances of winning TDF.
I know he will get there and his breaks will be healed but his form is a big question mark. I just don't see it, but if they want to race him, that's up to his team.
I would not want to race the Tour unless I was at my best. But then again, there a money component that will make a compelling case for him to be there I'm sure...
The more this is said the more impossible it seems to become. The Tour starts in less than two months!