Denmark squad continues to wait for big World Championship debut of superstar Vingegaard: "Bummer he's not here"

Two important names are absent in a week, and it's all about Tadej Pogacar, Primoz Roglic, Remco Evenepoel, and Mathieu van der Poel. Unfortunately, Wout van Aert had to cancel the World Championship due to a Vuelta crash, but Jonas Vingegaard is at home in top condition. He chose paternity leave over the rainbow jersey and Italian autumn, and the Danish World Championship team is a little disappointed.

Vingegaard has undoubtedly had the most intense year of his life, physically and mentally. In April, he crashed hard in the Tour of the Basque Country, which put him in intensive care for two weeks. The Dane of Visma | Lease a Bike then recovered quickly and reached a level in just five weeks of training, winning a stage of the Tour de France and finishing second in the GC.

An unprecedented achievement, however, left Vingegaard completely exhausted and mentally overstimulated. "Somehow, I've never been as tired as I am now either," he said on the final day of the Tour. He recharged the battery in roughly three weeks with his pregnant wife Trine and daughter Frida. Then we saw him in the Clasica San Sebastián (DNF) and the Tour of Poland, a stage race he swiftly won.

Vingegaard ended his season. The legs were still so good, but Visma | Lease a Bike confirmed it had been enough after the Tour of Poland. "His wife will soon give birth to their second child, and as an athlete, he needs to recuperate after an intense spring and ditto summer,'' said the Dutch formation.

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Vingegaard (left), second in the 2024 Tour

Skjelmose had hoped for teammate Vingegaard

In addition to a beautiful Italian autumn, including the Tour of Lombardy, Vingegaard missed the World Championships in Zurich. The Dane won't mind, as his family celebrated the arrival of a healthy son. Apart from Visma | Lease a Bike, Denmark cannot now rely on the country's big superstar either, so it remains a matter of waiting. At his team, Vingegaard will normally be at the start of his first-ever World Championship in Canada in 2026, but so far, he never competed for the world title.

That is a bummer for the Danes. Mads Pedersen and Mattias Skjelmose now have to pull the strings in Switzerland, and the latter Lidl-Trek climber was very honest recently with IDLProCycling.com when we pointed out Vingegaard's absence from the World Championship. "I would have loved to ride on one World Championship team with Jonas, but I hate that he is not here. But I understand his choice, and it is what it is. Let's hope we can race together soon," said the number five rider from the recent Vuelta a España.

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Skjelmose won't be in awe of Van der Poel and co.

Skjelmose, who crashed and gave up in his last race before the World Championship in Luxembourg, does not seem to be a title contender for the rainbow jersey, though he may belong to the list of outsiders. "I think I came out of the Vuelta well. I've had some time off the bike and enjoyed some relaxed time with family and my girlfriend. I feel good now, although my performance in the Vuelta has yet to be processed. That will probably only happen after this season; my focus is still too much on the World Championship. The most important thing is the best possible preparation for Zurich, to find top form," it sounded before the Tour of Luxembourg.

The Danes will have to devise a trick, with Skjelmose stressing that there is no awe within the selection for top favorites Pogacar, Evenepoel, and Van der Poel. "I think it's cool to race with Van der Poel in Luxembourg, but we have to be careful not to make idols of our colleagues in the peloton."

Bram van der Ploeg (Twitter: @BvdPloegg | email: [email protected])      

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