19-year-old Frenchman lived the dream riding in Vingegaard's slipstream: "For him it was a bit of training, but for us it was amazing"

Vingegaard’s fans have not seen much of him in 2025. The leader of the Killer Bees kicked off his season at the Volta ao Algarve, where he won the overall thanks to a strong time trial performance. In Paris-Nice, he was also looking sharp until a crash left him with a hand injury and a concussion. Vingegaard had to abandon the race, while teammate Matteo Jorgenson went on to win the French stage race for the second year in a row.

Since Vingegaard’s withdrawal from Paris-Nice, he has not been seen in competition. As rumors slowly started to build, Visma | Lease a Bike eventually released a statement outlining the plan: training in Sierra Nevada, racing the Critérium du Dauphiné, more training in Tignes, and then the Tour. Vingegaard himself said, “The full focus is now on the Tour de France. The preparations for that race have truly begun.”

At the Dauphiné, Vingegaard is expected to already show top form ahead of his biggest goal this season. “I am really looking forward to racing again. I have not raced much over the past year, so I am excited to get back to it. That goes for the Critérium du Dauphiné and of course the Tour de France. But first, it is all about a good altitude training camp to get into shape. Then I will try to win those races.”

Under the watchful eye of sports director Niermann, Vingegaard was spotted training in the French Alps ahead of his Sierra Nevada camp. He tackled the Col du Hautacam, and the German director shared a video showing the Dane riding alongside three amateur cyclists. “There he is. And these guys just had the day of their lives,” the post read, showing a smiling Vingegaard. Scenes we love to see.

In May, the two-time Tour de France winner will head to Sierra Nevada for his first altitude camp of the season. "With this training block and then Sierra Nevada, we believe we will have a physical edge over our rivals," said his coach Tim Heemskerk. "In a few weeks, he will be ahead of where he was in previous seasons. He has missed some racing, but he is already ahead in terms of body weight going into the altitude camp. We do not want him to peak too early."

But how did the three riders end up cycling alongside Vingegaard? Paul Capelle, one of the lucky ones, explains: "The Visma car overtook us on the road, and Grischa Niermann told us that Vingegaard was two minutes ahead of us and that we could catch up with him because he wasn't riding very fast."

"But we still had to ride at almost 400 watts to catch up with him," continues the 19-year-old Frenchman. "We rode toward him and told him how great it was to see him. I then asked him if he wouldn't mind if we rode with him. He agreed, and we joined him for almost his entire training session."

During training, the two-time winner of the Tour de France also had plenty of time to chat. "While cycling, he was also interested in me. He asked if I also did road cycling and if I competed in races. We talked about everything, and it was a blast. He was nice and didn't act like a superstar, just like a normal person."

If the Frenchman ever gets to do this again, he will definitely do it. "I feel incredibly lucky to have had this experience. I don't think it will happen again, but if it does, I'll have to play the lottery, haha. For him, it was a little training, but for us, it was amazing," Capelle concluded his story on Danish Sport.tv2.