Is the old Jonas Vingegaard finally back after that horrific crash? ‘I feel that too’

At Paris-Nice, Vingegaard added the overall, points and mountains classifications to his palmarès, while last week in the Basque Country it was “only” the overall title. Either way, one thing is clear: Vingegaard is in very good shape, and that bodes well for the Giro d’Italia. The 29-year-old Dane is set to ride the first Grand Tour of his career there in 2026.

That top form was also noticed by former rider and Danish analyst Nicki Sørensen, who told TV2: “After Jonas Vingegaard’s crash in the Basque Country... I don’t think we saw the same Vingegaard again until this year. He was missing something, and I don’t know exactly what it was. But it was not the Vingegaard from before the crash. Now he may be back again — or maybe even better.”

The Danish broadcaster then put those words directly to Vingegaard himself. “I feel that too. I feel that over the past two years I’ve worked hard to get back to that level — and in a way to the Jonas I was before my crash. I have the feeling, without being fully aware of it, that it had a bigger impact than I thought,” the Dane said.

The comeback itself is already admirable. In that nasty crash, still burned into many people’s memories, Vingegaard broke several ribs and his collarbone, while also suffering a punctured lung. “It takes a very long time to recover from a crash like that, with a collapsed lung and so much damaged muscle tissue. It can take up to two years, and maybe that’s what we are seeing now,” Sørensen added.

The Danish outlet also spoke to Thue Kvornig, a physiologist who has worked with the Danish team. He did not have direct details of Vingegaard’s case, but he still offered his view: “Tissue, muscle tissue and bone tissue never heal completely back to the exact state they were in before. You can measure with different tests that someone is back, but in reality there may still be a few percent missing.”

And according to Kvornig, those few percentage points can make all the difference. “When you are operating at the level Jonas Vingegaard is at, the small margins are what matter, and those small margins can make the difference in certain situations. But as time goes on, he can keep getting closer to his top level, and suddenly he can hit a peak where, in many ways, he feels like himself again.”

That now appears to be exactly how Vingegaard feels after his dominant performances in France and the Basque Country. “Over the last two years, I struggled to find the level I felt I used to have. Because when you are fighting your way back, that becomes your focus. Now I’m back there again, and maybe I can enjoy it a bit more,” said the Visma | Lease a Bike rider.

What it will mean for the biggest targets of the season remains to be seen. In any case, Vingegaard now heads to training camp in this kind of form as he builds toward the Giro, which starts on 8 May. There he is set to face, among others, João Almeida of UAE Team Emirates-XRG, who has recently admitted he still has some doubts about his condition. That should make for a fascinating battle regardless.