"You never really know..." - Only recently did Jonas Vingegaard learn he had fully recovered from 2024 Itzulia crash

Jonas Vingegaard has raced and won the Tour de France's Saitama Criterium this Sunday, an exhibition race in Japan where he is having a family vacation away from Europe. The Dane also crashed early in the race, and provided an update on his injuries from the 2024 Itzulia Basque Country crash.

“I just slipped, I came in a little too fast and lost control. But I wasn’t hurt anywhere, so I was able to get back on quickly," Vingegaard shared in words to L'Équipe. “It was a good day, a nice victory, a nice way to end the season". Of course the exhibition event normally has a predetermined result, but it was a way for some of the Tour's headliners to enjoy some time off competition whilst continuing to remain active in the off-season. 

Vingegaard in his own right enjoyed his time competing in Japan, where a solo attack in the final kilometers saw him escape with the win. “It was a very hard race, very fast and the atmosphere was incredible. There are a lot of fans here and it’s nice to be able to see how many people like cycling here. It’s been a nice experience for me to be here again.”

AFP questioned him regarding the recovery from his 2024 crash at Itzulia Basque Country, in which he suffered a double pneumothorax, fractured 7 ribs, his sternum and a collarbone. Such massive injuries were life-threatening for the Dane who had intense internal bleeding, but somehow managed to make a recovery in months to show an incredible level at the Tour de France shortly after.

That in itself is miraculous, but Vingegaard confirmed this year that he was indeed able to recover the same level he had after suffering the life-changing injuries. “You never really know when you have a bad crash like that if you will get back to the same level you had before. It's only by the end of this year that I can see that I’m able to push in the same way that I was before my crash.”