He may be one of the preeminent Grand Tour winners of a generation, but it has been a long time since Jonas Vingegaard has won a three-week race. Two years and 27 days to be precise – at least as I write this.
The intention, and neither Vingegaard nor his team are being the least bit coy about this, is to bring this period to a close with an emphatic GC victory at the Vuelta a España, which begins this Saturday.
The only issue with this selection – which applies to Vingegaard as well – is how well recovered from the Tour de France they might be. Everyone talks about the Giro-Tour double – well, fewer riders have done the Tour-Vuelta double.
“I’m here for the overall win,” said Vingegaard of the Vuelta on the team’s website. “And with this team supporting me, that seems like a realistic goal. There are many stages where differences can be made, so it’s important to be ready from the very start. I’m ready and would prefer to start racing right away.”
Clearly, the Vuelta will be no cakewalk for the Dane but – assuming Sepp Kuss doesn’t take some time early on in the race – it does look like the best opportunity he has had to win a Grand Tour since… well, since Sepp Kuss took some time early on in the race in 2023.
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