Vingegaard shares injury update, uncertainty at Visma | Lease a Bike: "Skip the Dauphiné? That’s also a possibility"

Jonas Vingegaard was supposed to start the Tour of Catalonia this Monday, but the Dane from Visma | Lease a Bike is now at home. He crashed in Paris-Nice, suffering a concussion and a hand injury. Vingegaard himself told the Danish media B.T.. It is unclear when he will return to competition, although changes to his program may be made.

Vingegaard - in the yellow jersey - crashed on day five of Paris-Nice. The Dane did reach the finish line but did not start the next day due to the consequences of the crash. He suffered a concussion as well as a hand contusion. "After the crash, I felt dizzy, but after finishing the stage, I also felt nauseous and extremely tired. And it stayed like that for the next few days," said Vingegaard, who finished the stage with a concussion.

"Recovering from the concussion took longer than expected because I needed a lot of rest," he explains. "I was already disappointed that I had to leave Paris-Nice because I felt I could have kept the leader's jersey until Nice. Having to miss the Tour of Catalonia also makes it even more unfortunate. I was really looking forward to that race."

The big question is: what now? "At the moment, we are taking it day by day and letting the rehabilitation determine whether we need to make further changes or additions to my program," explains Vingegaard, who is back on the bike. "I cycled for the first time on Thursday, but I'm still taking it easy. Although I'm glad to be cycling again."

Sports director Frans Maassen also explained the situation to Feltet, another Danish media outlet. "Jonas is already feeling better. It is a great relief for everyone, but especially for Jonas. The most important thing is that he did not break his hand and can train again soon," said Maassen. "Jonas has missed nine training days, so you can't start the Tour of Catalonia."

The sports director can also not say anything concrete about the 'changes or additions' the rider mentioned. "On Friday, we spoke with Jonas and gave him several options. We didn't want to make a decision immediately after the crash because we think everyone should think about it carefully."

"We will decide within a few weeks," Maassen says. Even the Critérium du Dauphiné, where Vingegaard would face Tadej Pogacar before the Tour, could be skipped in favor of altitude training. "That is a possibility. But we still have to wait and see. The team coaches need to think about it, and Jonas needs to think about it and talk to his family about it. I can't say at this point which race he will be riding."