Defending Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard is as decided as ever to take a second straight title on the earth’s greatest bike race, however the Danish star says that in relation to combating for the victory this July in France, he feels he’s underneath much less strain than in 2022.
Second within the 2021 Tour de France previous to defeating Tadej Pogačar in 2022 and claiming his first Grand Tour victory, Vingegaard is satisfied he has each probability of repeating his triumph this summer time.
The 26-year-old is at the moment placing the final items within the jigsaw of his preparation into place, together with a recon on Friday of the Tour de France’s stage 9 on the Puy de Dôme, the place he crossed paths with Enric Mas (Movistar) and Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers). Each Mas and Bernal will seemingly be key rivals come July in addition to participating, like Vingegaard, within the Critérium du Dauphiné, which begins Sunday within the close by city of Chambon-sur-Lac.
However because the Jumbo-Visma racer instructed a small group of reporters in an interview previous to his return to racing after a two-month break, the morale enhance he gained due to his 2022 Tour triumph will assist spur him on towards whichever opponent he has to face in 4 weeks time: together with Pogačar.
“I feel successful the Tour provides me loads of confidence, and I imagine I can do it once more. Lots of issues can occur, and I’ll need to be at my finest stage, however I feel I can do it,” Vingegaard mentioned.
As for the elevated expectations surrounding him as defending champion, Vingegaard reasoned that “The sensation I’ve now’s considered one of much less strain, now I’ve received it as soon as. Even when I by no means win it once more and I retire in 10 years, I can nonetheless say I’ve received it and be pleased with my profession.”
Vingegaard has solely taken half in three races thus far this yr, but when he was defeated by each Pogačar and David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) in Paris-Good, he bounced again with a vengeance a number of weeks later at Itzulia Basque Nation, the place he claimed the general victory and three phases.
But he remained cautious about his present situation in comparison with 2022 at this level, saying, “It’s all the time exhausting to inform. I feel my entire spring has been higher, and there haven’t been any points or illness or something. But it surely’s exhausting to match, and we’ve modified tools as properly, so it’s more durable to say if I’m stronger.”
Second within the Dauphine final yr, Vingegaard mentioned that relatively than search for a selected consequence, he would undertake a technique of taking the eight-day race day-to-day and seeing the way it labored out.
The Dauphine is a “super-nice race,” he mentioned, by the use of explaining why he had returned to it for 3 years in a row. However his eye was rather more on the larger prize of July. Or, as he put it, “If I had to decide on between the 2 races, it’d be 100% for the Tour.”
“Usually, this race doesn’t resolve the Tour,” he identified, “you won’t be good right here, and nonetheless, all the things can change earlier than July.
“I haven’t actually thought an excessive amount of about it, it doesn’t make sense that I am going full gasoline in flat phases, so I’ll take it on the day-by-day. If there’s an opportunity, I’ll go for it.
“The [stage 4] time trial is a bonus, however we’ve seen each now and again you are able to do a foul TT. Additionally, within the different phases, we’ll need to see how all the things seems.
“I’m trying ahead to racing once more, anyway, it’s been some time now.”
Taking up Pogačar
As for the upcoming duel towards Pogačar in July, Vingegaard expressed the hope that the Slovenian could be be again to full energy for the Tour and he described the UAE racer’s spectacular spring season as “spectacular.” The 2 had not spoken, he mentioned, about Pogačar’s present situation following his accident,, with the Dane considerably curtly telling one journalist, “you’ll need to ask him about that.”
“It’d be nicer if he’s at 100% [for the Tour],” Vingegaard mentioned, “I hope he’s at his finest stage.” Bu het was additionally insistent that simply because he had been defeated at Paris-Good by Pogačar, that didn’t change something in the summertime.
“Paris-Good was 4 months in the past and inbetween loads of issues can occur. He was additionally stronger than me in Tirreno in 2022,” Vingegaard identified. “So I’m taking it straightforward for now. It [Paris-Nice] received’t resolve the Tour.”
In the meantime Vingegaard is focussing strongly on his personal race program and workforce. Jumbo-Visma will probably be missing each defending Dauphiné champion Primoz Roglic at each the week-long occasion and the Tour de France, whereas one other high teammate, Wout van Aert has opted to skip the Dauphiné and race on the Tour de Suisse previous to heading to the Tour begin.
“I do know Primoz has his program, he did the Giro, and I feel it could be lots for him to do the Tour as properly,” Vingegaard mentioned, all however dismissing the rumours Roglic is likely to be a late addition to the Jumbo Tour line-up. “For now, I’m focussing on the workforce I’ve and I’m very proud of them.”
On the Dauphine that features Christophe Laporte, Nathan van Hooydonck, Steven Kruijswijk and Tiesj Benoot all of whom had been key help riders for Vingegaard final July, in addition to Dylan van Baarle, who performed an identical function for Ineos within the 2022 Tour earlier than signing for Jumbo-Visma over the winter.
What function for Wout van Aert?
As for the absence of Wout van Aert from the Dauphine, the place the Belgian received two phases and led the race for all bar sooner or later as much as the ultimate crunch mountain stage final yr, Vingegaard mentioned he was certain Van Aert’s resolution to experience Suisse as a substitute would work out properly.
“I’m fairly certain Wout will probably be the place he must be,” Vingegaard mentioned, “he has his personal objectives, I’ve mine. He needed to do the Tour de Suisse and I’ve to respect that, that’s his alternative.”
Regardless of the absence of a key participant like Roglic from the Jumbo line-up, he didn’t anticipate Van Aert to step up much more than he did final yr within the Tour de France, given Van Aert was already one of many strongest riders on nearly all terrains.
“That may be exhausting, we noticed Wout stepped up final yr already,” he reasoned. “He was on of my finest helpers. If he steps up (any extra) he’ll be a GC contender as a substitute.”
As for his personal progress, whereas the Dauphiné represents one other anticipated step alongside the way in which, he recognised that COVID-19, such an element within the Giro d’Italia and final yr within the Tour, was “a fear”. Notably cagy about whether or not he would stop the Tour if he caught it – “I can’t reply that, hopefully it received’t occur,” was all he would say – Vingegaard was extra forthcoming about how he felt in regards to the dangers typically and what Jumbo-Visma had been doing about them.
“For certain, it’s one thing need to watch out about, we had been already cautious final yr, and now you get a bit scared seeing the way it was within the Giro d’Italia. So I’ve to remain focussed and attempt to not get sick.” The workforce are utilizing single rooms of their accommodations he mentioned, “”and I keep in my very own room, attempt to not shake arms with folks and keep away from an excessive amount of contact.”
After refusing pointblank to offer any examples of how he had modified his total build-up for the Tour between 2022 and 2023, Vingegaard confirmed that “You all the time attempt to enhance it, you look again up see what went properly and what didn’t then make it a greater one. We’ve additionally tried it this yr.”
The Dauphine, although, stays on this system, simply because it did in 2021 and 2022, and it’ll as soon as once more seemingly be Vingegaard’s final race earlier than the Tour de France. And even when the Dauphiné shouldn’t be an over-riding purpose, if there’s any doubt about Vingegaard’s ambition remaining unquenched, he resolved that together with his reply in regards to the race – and racing typically.
“I’d prefer to win it, however not as revenge for something that occurred earlier than;” he defined. “I simply love to do in addition to attainable each time.” And in July, after all, that will not be any totally different, both.
