Jonas Vingegaard has a good answer to all questions before his duel with Tadej Pogacar at the Tour

Jonas Vingegaard will start the Tour de France on Saturday with the overall victory as his ultimate goal. The Dane from Visma | Lease a Bike has already won the race twice, but has had to cede the victory to Tadej Pogacar in recent years. This season, Vingegaard says he is returning to the race in better physical shape and mentally stronger.

For those who think Vingegaard lacks Pogacar’s flair or quotable quotes: on Thursday, at the Recinte Modernista Sant Pau in downtown Barcelona, he proved once again that they’re wrong. He took his time speaking with the media in a relaxed manner: sometimes serious, other times with a touch of humor.

It couldn't be any clearer: Vingegaard is feeling great and is in top form. In the photos we saw of the training rides at Visma | Lease a Bike, the Dane’s muscular physique immediately stood out. But will it be enough to dethrone Pogacar this time? We’ll find out in three weeks!

"Yes, absolutely. I had a really great time. First, I took some time off to recover from the Giro and enjoy the moment with my family. After about a week, I started training seriously again. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been in Tignes, France, with the team for a training camp. The build-up went really well, so I feel ready for this race. I’m really looking forward to it. It’s been a great year for me so far, so I hope to keep that momentum going here.”

"Look, without wanting to take anything away from the performances of the others in the Giro, the fact is that I didn't have to push myself to the absolute limit there. I didn’t finish the Giro on my last legs. That obviously helps a lot with recovery; you recover faster and get back into your training rhythm more quickly. If you’re completely exhausted after a Grand Tour, it can sometimes take two weeks or longer to recover, and then you’re playing catch-up for the Tour. So I got through the Giro in good shape and was able to quickly start building my form again.'

"Yes, that’s obviously a huge blow for us as a team. Wout is an incredibly important part of the team—first and foremost on the bike, but certainly also within the team as a whole. He’s shown time and again just how valuable he is. I’ve actually been in touch with him, and it’s just a real shame that he can’t be there this time.”

"I find it difficult to compare teams that way. If you look at the UAE, they do indeed have a rock-solid team and an impressive lineup. But in my opinion, so do we. We have an excellent team for the mountains and also for the team time trial. Instead of focusing on our competitors’ strengths, we prefer to look at our own strengths. I believe in this team, and the team believes in me.”

"Actually, both: better and stronger. I’d even go so far as to say that I’m happier mentally. I’ve had a really good year so far, and I’m simply enjoying cycling more this season than I did last year. We’ve consciously tried to do things differently this year. That was the plan, because last year we realized it’s not really fun to do exactly the same thing every year. So we’ve shaken things up a bit, including in our preparation for the Tour. That’s worked out really well, so I’m in a great place mentally.”

"On the one hand, it’s true that I’ve already had a really good season with the three stage races I’ve ridden and won so far. That does take some pressure off me and the team. But on the other hand, the Tour de France remains the biggest race of the year. It’s the race you really want to win. That doesn’t mean I’m not happy with what I’ve already achieved this year—I’m absolutely thrilled with my victories—but the Tour is still the Tour. So I’m here at the start simply to go for the overall victory.”

"The change in coaches actually came a bit later and was quite unexpected. I was always very happy with Tim as a coach when he was still with the team. He coached me for eight years, and I’m incredibly grateful to him for everything he’s done for me. But he decided to leave the team, and I respect that decision.”

Now I’m training with Mathieu Heijboer, which I’m really enjoying. In terms of the actual training sessions, we aren’t even doing that many different things, but it’s more about the overall plan leading up to the Tour. This year, I simply didn’t feel like doing exactly the same thing I’ve done for the past five years. That wasn’t motivating me enough anymore. I personally needed a change, so we decided to take a different approach and add the Giro to my schedule.'

"We've trained a lot for this this year, because the team time trial is incredibly important. It's a discipline where you can gain a lot of time—or lose it. Of course, we’d much rather gain time there. That’s also why we’ve selected many strong sprinters for the team for this type of flat team time trial. So it’s definitely a key priority for us, although our focus is just as strong on the mountain stages. I think we have a very well-balanced team that can handle the team time trial, the flat stages, and the mountains alike.'

(Laughs) “Well, I still think Tadej is probably the best cyclist who has ever lived. So for me personally, the fact that I’ve been able to break away from him in the past is truly incredible. That’s something I’m incredibly proud of. It also gives me the motivation and confidence to believe that I can do it again this year. It shows that I’m one of the few riders who can go head-to-head with him.'

(Laughs) “No, I just haven’t had time yet because of all the traveling. I usually shave my legs before competitions, but not during training periods—then I just let them grow out. Yesterday and today were pretty stressful because of all the media obligations and the hustle and bustle, so I haven’t gotten around to it yet. But tomorrow (Friday, ed.) the hair is definitely coming off!'

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