Jonas Vingegaard is in Sierra Nevada and preparing for the Dauphiné and then the Tour de France. The Danish champion is also following the Giro d'Italia and was very happy about Wout van Aert's victory, his teammate with whom he has a special relationship. In Vingegaard's future, there will also be the World Championships in Rwanda and in the coming years he might include Monument Classics like Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Giro di Lombardia in his program. His main objective remains the Tour de France, and this time he is certain he can race for the overall victory and beat Tadej Pogacar.

"I am very motivated to go to the Tour de France and even though my preparation was interrupted by the crash at Paris-Nice, I feel my condition is improving day by day."

His form is not yet perfect, and in Sierra Nevada, Vingegaard is completing his preparation.

"There are still a few weeks before the Dauphiné, I still need to get back in shape to be able to fight for victory or to be in the form I want. Now I am in Sierra Nevada and then I will go to the Dauphiné and the Tour de France. For now, there is still the idea of going to the Vuelta, but as I have said many times, my main objective this year is the Tour de France and then we'll see how it goes. We must work a lot especially on power and we are working to recover it and try to regain all muscle mass and then take another step forward. I know I can do much better than last year, but this will only be possible through optimal preparation."

Vingegaard's number one rival is Tadej Pogacar, the Slovenian champion who won the Tour de France last year. Now the Dane wants revenge and is working hard to arrive at the Grand Boucle in the best possible condition.
"I truly believe I can beat him and do much better at the Tour de France this year. I've seen what he's done this spring: first of all, it's really impressive how he's going, I mean in all races and all those victories. It's really incredible and I admire the way he is racing, but to be honest, for the Tour de France the only thing I can do is focus on myself and on arriving as strong as possible at the start, so I'm not thinking about how good Tadej was in spring or how good he will be, but I think that being the best in spring doesn't necessarily mean being the best at the Tour." The Dane also said he is more motivated when he finds Tadej as a rival in the race, because he has the ability to raise the level of the competition.

"I really enjoy battling against Tadej. When he's not there, the level is a bit lower and therefore it's easier to win. So, when he's there, I like to fight against the best rider there is, and he is the best. So, obviously, it's more beautiful to win when he's there."

Returning to the incident at Paris-Nice, Vingegaard discovered he had a concussion after returning home and therefore had to skip the Catalunya race. According to the Dane, race doctors should pay more attention when a rider hits his face, because even a facial trauma could prove dangerous.

"At Paris-Nice after the crash I went to the race doctor because I had blood on my face, I was bleeding but they never checked me for a concussion and I find this a bit strange, and to be honest I had blood on my face, I even had a bit of blood on my eyebrow, so for me it was a bit strange that they didn't check me. I think that as soon as someone has a wound starting from above the shoulders, which shows that he has hit something, they should check for a concussion before letting him go. If they see that you've hit your face, they should always do checks."

On Sunday, Van Aert won in Siena and Vingegaard was very happy for him because he knows how much his teammate suffered last year due to accidents.
"I am extremely happy for Wout. I am very happy that he managed to win, he really deserves it and I hope he can win even more. I know how difficult it was last year and also at the beginning of the season, so his victory makes me truly happy."

In the Dane's calendar, after the Vuelta, there will also be the World Championships and it will be the first time he will wear his national jersey to try to win the world title.

"I have always said I am interested in the World Championships. I still am. I think the World Championships are one of the most important races of the year, so obviously it's something I would like to do and I would like to try to do well, not just this year, but in the years to come. Regarding other races, I think Flanders and Roubaix I will probably never do. I mean, I had enough pavé in 2022 at the Tour, it didn't go very well, so if I were to participate in a one-day race, I would do more Liège or Lombardy. I don't exclude them, but for now they are not in my calendar and we'll see in the future."