Vittoria and Florence are almost 1,400 kilometres apart. There are 86 days from April 4 to June 29. Distance and time are relative when talking about champions. Jonas Vingegaard, hospitalised in Texagoritxu, felt like Tuscany was very far away. On the contrary, I’m sure he would have loved to have had more than three months to recover his form ahead of the Tour. He has had to work against time. On Sunday, however, the way the Dane reacted to Tadej Pogacar’s attack in San Luca made it seem as if no such incident had happened.
Is it possible that a cyclist who spent 12 days at the UCI in the spring could contend for a Tour win that same summer? Froome, champion of four Tours, has never been the same since his collapse in 2019. Egan Bernal has regained a position of respect, but his record remains barren since crashing into a bus in January 2022. But Vingegaard has broken all deadlines.
Four locations
The Dane’s recovery took place in four acts: Vitoria, Denmark, Mallorca and Tignes
The recovery of the double winner of the Tour has taken place in four acts: Vitoria, Denmark, Mallorca and Tignes. “It’s not a straight line,” says Tim Heemskerk, his coach from the Visma team.
The image of the cyclist being taken by ambulance on a stretcher and with oxygen from the port of Oluetta, from where he had fallen, was not at all appealing. Pessimism took over the team. Wingegaard’s right collarbone was broken, ribs were broken and he was suffering from pneumothorax. Days went by and their leader could neither be discharged from the hospital nor transferred. Finally it came to fruition on April 16. “Already in the Vitoria hospital I had the desire to do my best in the Tour,” confessed Visma managing director Marijn Zeeman in L’Equipe.
determination
“Already in the Vitoria hospital I had the desire to do my best in the Tour,” Visma managing director Marijn Zeeman confessed to ‘L’Equipe’.
The next step was to settle in Glingor, the region where he stayed until 2023 when he moved to Switzerland with his partner and daughter. There it still took him three weeks to get on the bike. It wasn’t until early May that he did his first road trip. “After an hour of cycling he was exhausted. We were very far from Florence at that time,” says Zeeman. A physiotherapist was stationed next to him to take care of his muscles, who was close to the team.
“But Denmark is not the right place to prepare for the Tour,” says Heemskerk, who devised an alternative plan: Mallorca. “It was a place with good weather, where he could train and also spend time with his family. “Jonas recharged the batteries a lot,” he explained. And it was noticed. “He did some climbing on the Col de Soller and also tested himself on the downhills. For the first time he had a fast pace.”
Difference
In May, in Denmark he would get tired after an hour on the bike. Now he is the only one able to resist Pogacar’s attack
At the end of May it was time to take a new step. “We have to do a long climb,” they decided. And they took the Dane to the Tignes station in the Alps. It was May 30. He was only there for a week. Then Van Aert and Laporte arrived. A little later they joined the rest of those selected by Visma for the Tour. “At first he did nothing because he had to get used to the altitude. The hope was that he would be able to train with the rest. Slowly things started to resemble a normal training period,” his coach revealed.
But with less than three weeks to go, Visma was not clear about this. “Its attendance is 50%. It is still far from the position it would have been in if the fall had not happened,” confessed Mathieu Heijboer, the Dutch team’s development chief, on June 11.
Attendance at 50%
On June 11, Visma was not clear. “Nobody has the ability to make improvements,” he says of the changes.
From Tignes, you can climb passes such as the Iseran, the Col du Pré or the Cormet de Roseland. Those were key sessions to see his power numbers, experience and heart rate. “I’m getting better and better,” he told his teammates. “Nobody has the ability to improve,” Heemskerk concluded. Those tests were decisive. “But the first week will be tough. Pogacar will have an advantage,” he launched from Visma.
Sunday in San Luca looked even better than Vingegaard had imagined. “It was one of those days when I expected to lose a bit of time. To be able to follow Tadej is a small victory for me. “I feel like I’m close to my normal level,” congratulated Vingegaard, who tries to keep a low profile. “It’s no surprise to me,” the Slovenian clarified.
But that was a 1.9km climb. This Tuesday the Galibier awaits you, a 23km pass with a height gain of 2,600m. A new test for Vingegaard’s time-defying recovery.
