If Jonas Vingegaard makes it to the Tour de France, Visma | Lease a Bike isn't worried he'll break down like Tadej Pogacar did last year

Last year, it was almost certain that Pogacar would make the start of the Tour. He was back on the bike quickly, though he still spoke of a stiff wrist in the first week. Nonetheless, he competed with Vingegaard for a long time until Vingegaard quickly made a difference and, despite some resistance from Pogacar in the time trial, sealed the deal. Pogacar's "I'm gone. I'm dead" in the third week then became a true meme, clearly indicating he had nothing left in the tank.

Heemskerk of team Visma | Lease a Bike says they aren't worried about such a scenario. The Dutch team is busy getting their lead man up to speed, and once he reaches that level, it tends not to drop off quickly. "We prepare him as well as we can, but we do so without confirmation in terms of the races. Is he immediately ready and will he improve from there? Or is his level not good enough at the start? I can't say."

"Jonas' strength is his stamina," Heemskerk continues. "If we do what we need to, I'm not too worried that he'll decline during the Tour like Pogacar did. They have different physiologies. However, we take it day by day. Jonas' injuries weren't a broken wrist or finger. They were much worse. They are also two different athletes, so we will train as well as possible and then we will see."

One advantage is that Vingegaard has completely entrusted his fate to his coach. "He fully believes in our plan for him. Five hours means five hours, not twenty minutes more. He has learned to trust me and we discuss things together. He's not very extroverted, but he does come up with ideas after some thought. That makes it easy to work with him, also because he benefits a lot from training. We have increased his workload over the years and he has always followed it. If Jonas feels good in training, then he will feel good in the race too."