Vingegaard awaits tough challenge toward Tour: "We need to step up in all areas"

Pogačar raised the bar between Virenze and Nice à la NCOI by several meters again last summer. And so it's all hands on deck at the Killerbees, but they are confident they can also get Vingegaard to that level. But that certainly won't be easy, Tim Heemskerk reveals in conversation with Velo. "We have a lot of work ahead of us and need to improve on all fronts," says the Dane's coach. "Pogačar raised the bar higher this year. Now we, Jonas and the team, need to close that gap." But yes, how do you overcome more than six minutes? "With proper preparation and some changes in his training and nutrition, then of course Jonas can win the Tour again," Heemskerk is confident.

It must be said: perhaps those six minutes and seventeen seconds were also somewhat misleading. Vingegaard suffered a severe crash at the Tour of the Basque Country in April and sustained a collarbone and rib fracture, a pneumothorax, and a lung contusion, leaving him in intensive care for days. The footage was terrible. It was a miracle that the two-time Tour winner was already competing again at such a high level in France. But according to Heemskerk's statistics, even 2023's Jonas Vingegaard - who won that year's Tour by more than seven minutes ahead of the current world champion - would have had a hard time now, too. "We need to look at all areas of training for Jonas. We saw the numbers Pogačar and Evenepoel did on Plateau de Beilles, but also on the San Luca in stage 2. Pogačar is absolute top-top on all types of effort. We need to work toward that."

So, a considerable task awaits the team and the rider in the coming months. Everything must be brought out and re-evaluated. "What Pogačar has done this year is beyond impressive. It seems like he has no weaknesses. Jonas needs to move up in all areas to match that,” Heemskerk continued. “So we need to look at threshold, durability, fatigue resistance. We also need to improve his explosivity, which is very difficult. That takes time." Time is scarce because, in more than 250 days, the yellow circus will begin again. Until then, it is up to Heemskerk and Vingegaard to set the bar higher than the Slovenian again.

However, there are obstacles on that road, as the Danish rider has become a father for the second time and has no intention of leaving Denmark. "Denmark isn’t the best place to be training, especially toward the Tour. Jonas needs to be happy and with family, but also needs the correct environment to perform. We have to carefully construct that puzzle because we know Jonas has a great priority on his family, and we respect that," Heemskerk concluded.