Jonas Vingegaard gave the Visma team management an ultimatum: 'I wouldn't be able to keep going'

Jonas Vingegaard has come through the first nine days of the Tour de France in good shape. The Dane from Visma | Lease a Bike is taking a well-deserved break on the rest day and isn’t holding a press conference. But he did appear on Danish TV show AftenTour on Sunday evening to explain some details of his future in cycling.

Vingegaard has spoken several times in recent months about the joy he has rediscovered this year, but on Danish TV he reveals that he approached the management of Visma | Lease a Bike last year to discuss the matter.

"I said last year that if things continued this way, I wouldn't be able to keep going. That's also why we made a number of changes. I think the team realized that this was the situation, and they could tell from my demeanor that I wasn't happy last year. They accepted that we had to make some changes, and that’s what we did,” says Vingegaard.

What exactly did the rider want to change? First of all, he wanted a change in the schedule, which Visma | Lease a Bike agreed to, incorporating the Giro d'Italia—which he ultimately won. Another aspect was the many high-altitude training sessions and long training camps, which Vingegaard wanted to reduce.

"As a cyclist, you feel like you're constantly on a diet. You always have to think about your weight, and you're always training. A lot is demanded of you. That takes a toll on your body and mind," says Vingegaard, who is pleased with the decisions that were made in consultation. “We’ve taken a step in the right direction, but it’s clear that it’s just one step. I am, however, much more motivated and happier as a cyclist,” says Vingegaard, who emphasizes that being a cyclist is still difficult.

The team leader of Visma | Lease a Bike, who is currently in second place in the Tour de France, explains. “I think, in general, you have to look at it on a case-by-case basis to see what works best for each individual rider. To make cycling a sustainable sport again, it’s probably better to develop individual training programs for all riders. If it’s hard to be away from home for so long, you have to do something different, and that’s what we’ve done for me this year,” he says.