On the eve of the Vuelta a España, Jonas Vingegaard has announced that he will not race the World Championships as previously suggested, while he will be at the start of the October European Championships only for the road race.

The two-time Tour de France winner will not represent his national team in Rwanda, choosing to focus on a single important commitment.

"We have decided that I will not race the World Championships. It is not part of our plans right now," Vingegaard said in his press conference. "However, we have decided that I will race the European Championships. You need to be very fresh to race the World Championships this year, which require a lot of effort from riders. And since we don't know how I'll come out of this Vuelta, we have decided that the best thing is not to participate."

The European Championships will be held on October 5th, a week after the World Championships in Rwanda. Vingegaard will be at the Vuelta from Saturday, where he will aim for victory, and perhaps this commitment has convinced both him and the team to skip the world event.

"The intention is to race the European Championships, so I will have some time after the Vuelta to focus on this important appointment."

The Danish Visma-Lease a Bike rider has had a very intense season, with the Tour de France first and now the Vuelta, thus two grand tours in the same season, just as he did in 2023, when his team won the Giro, Tour, and Vuelta.

The World Road Cycling Championships will be held in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, from September 21st to 28th and will be the first time ever that the world event will be held on the African continent. On paper, the course of this year's World Championships suits Jonas Vingegaard well, as it includes 5,400 meters of elevation gain, which is why both the Danish national team and the Visma-Lease a Bike champion had announced their participation as early as May.

The European Championships, to be held in France on October 5th, also feature a course that suits Jonas Vingegaard well.

"My assessment is that the European Championships course better suits Jonas's qualities compared to the World Championships course," said Morkov, the Danish national team coach. "I say this because there are longer climbs with steeper gradients. That's why I'm happy that Jonas has agreed to wear the national jersey at the October European Championships."

In his press conference, Jonas Vingegaard also wanted to emphasize that he will only race the road race and not the time trial.