Jonas Vingegaard more muscular at start of Tour de France: 'We were a bit short of that last year'

“You get used to these situations, especially at the Tour de France,” Vingegaard told the assembled press. “Here, it’s twice as intense as in other races.”

Top rival Tadej Pogacar had already fulfilled his media duties the day before, embracing his role as favorite but acknowledging the threat posed by Vingegaard. “Jonas has proven to be stronger on the longer climbs and sometimes in the time trials,” the Slovenian said. “The stage to the Col de la Loze is the hardest and probably my worst day.”

Vingegaard is a rider who normally thrives on a place in the shade and that was no different before the start of the 2025 Tour de France. 'It's a nice compliment from Tadej. He's a good guy and we saw in the Dauphiné that he was better on the longer climbs. Hopefully I can be better now.'

Visma | Lease a Bike always begins the Tour de France with a plan, and it will be no different in 2025. 'What is the plan? I'm not going to tell you. Of course we have a plan, but we can't tell the media,' laughed Vingegaard, who made a very relaxed impression at the press conference and also made time for dollops with Matteo Jorgenson and Grischa Niermann.

Vingegaard has been training specifically for the Tour de France after the Dauphiné, he reveals. 'I am better than ever. Last year I was also very good, but in a different way. I had less muscle and was lighter. Now I'm heavier, especially muscle, and that gives more power. The big difference is that last year I came back from that heavy fall. That took me longer than I thought it would. My body only felt the same again for a few months, so that took almost a year.'

That improvement can help Vingegaard in the explosive first week of the Tour and later to have an answer to Pogacar's acceleration in the mountains. 'With more muscle you are more explosive and I feel like we lacked that a bit last year, so that was also the plan to improve now.'

Speaking of those first 10 days, what does Vingegaard expect from them? 'Very important. It will be very hectic and I have never had a bunch sprint on day one, but what I have seen of it is very chaotic. We have to stay out of trouble and then we can make the difference in the mountains. I am very happy if Wout can win a stage and have the yellow jersey, but the big goal is to win the Tour.'

In the mountains, Vingegaard can count on a bunch of other strong guys. 'Simon Yates is a very strong guy, but so are Sepp Kuss and Matteo Jorgenson. For me it's a dream team, both uphill and on the flat," he expressed his respect for his teammates, which also includes Edoardo Affini, Victor Campenaerts and Tiesj Benoot.

Still, we close with Pogacar, the man it is all about for Visma | Lease a Bike anyway. 'I train hard every day to beat Tadej and that has made me better too. I admire him a lot,' said Vingegaard, who says he has no fear. 'If we were afraid of Tadej, we wouldn't be here. Tadej has few weaknesses. If he does have them, I wouldn't tell either. We are still holding those cards to our chest.'