Jonas Vingegaard Is Back Riding Outdoors and Hopes to Start the Tour de France
Team Visma-Lease a Bike posted a video to social media of Jonas Vingegaard-Hansen expressing his huge gratitude for finally being back on the bike and riding outdoors. He says, “This is the first time back on the bike for me, riding outside, and it’s really nice to finally be able to ride like normal again. To finally be able to ride on the road has been amazing. I’m really looking forward to taking the next steps.”
When asked about his injuries, he said, “I feel good. It’s improving day by day. I still have some things to recover from, but it’s going better and better. Of course, I hope to be there at the start of the Tour de France. We don’t know exactly how my shape and recovery will go, but I will do everything I can to get there in top shape.”
Jonas is back riding on his bike outside again. 🤩🐝
Hear what he has to say about his recovery and the Tour de France. pic.twitter.com/Rf1d3odoeM— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) May 7, 2024
The Danish superstar suffered a broken collarbone, several broken ribs, and a collapsed lung during stage four of Itzulia Basque Country in April. He spent nearly two weeks in hospital.
There are currently 53 days until the Tour de France begins. Before the crash, Vingegaard was the heavy favorite going into the race. He had planned to prepare for the Tour with the Critérium du Dauphiné in early June, but he has decided to skip that event.
Vingegaard is also missing the team altitude training camp in Sierra Nevada, Spain, this week. Teammates Dylan van Baarle, Matteo Jorgenson, Steven Kruijswijk, Sepp Kuss, and Tiesj Benoot all rode the Tour de France gravel section recently. Wout van Aert was also absent from the team camp.
Cycling Weekly reported that in a recent interview with Wielerflits, Visma-Lease a Bike sports director Merijn Zeeman, said the Dane has been “busy every day with his rehabilitation.”
“Winning the Tour will be difficult for Jonas, but it is certainly not impossible,” Zeeman said. “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.
“Every week, we take stock. The medical staff cannot say much at the moment about the program he can follow in the coming period. We have to wait and see, but we certainly still have hope that he can defend his Tour title.”
You Might Also Like
