Vingegaard ready for Vuelta despite ‘minor setback’: Dane says he partly found the reason for his off days in the Tour

The Tour de France wrapped up three and a half weeks ago, but the Vuelta is already starting. “I’ve been able to enjoy the period between the Tour and the Vuelta,” Vingegaard said. “I spent time with family but also managed to train well. Apart from a small setback, I was briefly sick, everything went smoothly, and as far as I know, my form is good. I’m ready for the next three weeks.”

“Physically, it would be better to train at altitude, but you also have to watch your mental state,” the Dane explained. “If you really wanted the ideal preparation, not riding the Tour would actually be best. But well, that's not the case. I stayed in Annecy, where the cycling is great and the weather is good,” Vingegaard said of his usual training base.

Vingegaard, who also announced he will skip the World Championships, won’t be facing Tadej Pogacar this time and is therefore the clear top favorite. “I don’t feel like there’s more pressure. The Tour de France is the biggest event, compared to that, the Vuelta is more manageable. But of course, I am the top favorite, so there’s always a bit of pressure,” said the Dane. “That Tadej isn’t here is, in a way, also nice. You always want to beat him, but it’s also fine not having to race against him every time.”

Instead, he’ll be up against two other riders from UAE Emirates-XRG, his team’s eternal rival. “I see João Almeida and Juan Ayuso as my biggest rivals. Those are the guys we’ll need to watch closely. That also applied to Richard Carapaz, but he’s not racing. UAE Emirates-XRG can play with those two guys and has a strong team, so I expect something from them.”

That Pogacar isn’t starting in Turin due to fatigue is something Vingegaard understands. “In general, the sport has changed a bit. Riders perform at a younger age now. I’m turning 29, and ten years ago, that was the age when you’d start getting results. Now, the pressure is already there much earlier. That makes it more exhausting. I don’t think many riders will still be racing into their forties anymore, also because we’re away from home so often with all the altitude training camps and everything.”

So, what can we expect from the top favorite? “Winning the Vuelta is one of my dreams. I’ll need to see where I stand during the first stages, but I feel like my preparation has gone well. The Vuelta comes very soon after the Tour this year, so we’ll have to wait and see,” said Vingegaard, who was joined at the press conference by sporting director Grischa Niermann.

As we’ve come to expect from the yellow-and-black team, both men kept their cards close to their chest. “We have a clear plan, but we’re not going to share it. That would be a bit stupid. A lot of the stages end with a climb after a flat route, you mainly need explosiveness for that. But I haven’t really changed anything in my approach.”

Vingegaard had a few off days during the Tour, but says his training hasn’t changed much, at least, as far as the outside world knows. “You can always have a bad day, but hopefully I’ve already had mine this year. We think we’ve partly figured out what caused it, but we’re keeping that to ourselves,” the Dane concluded.