Where did the winter go? Racing has begun, and Jonas Vingegaard is set to start his season on Wednesday at the Volta ao Algarve.
“This way, I hope to be fresher in the second half of the season,” he said. “I’ve just completed a solid training block of several weeks,” he said to Sporza the day before Stage 1 . “My form is coming along, and I’m looking forward to racing again.”
He is doing things a little differently this year, pushing altitude camp until after some early races.
2025 season starts earlier
Vingegaard said he wanted to start the off-season early after everything that happened in 2024—and by that, he meant a seriously roller-coaster year. After a strong start to the season, his summer was thrown into doubt following a serious crash at Itzulia Basque Country. Despite the setback, he made a remarkable comeback at the Tour de France and later secured the overall victory at the Tour de Pologne.
In past seasons, Vingegaard began his campaign in Spain at O Gran Camiño. However, he said that the weather hasn’t been ideal there lately, so he wanted to mix it up.
Just Jonas Vingegaard going twice as fast as local riders up a climb
After Portugal, he will race Paris-Nice (March 9-16), followed by the Volta a Catalunya (March 24-30). In June, he’ll race the Critérium du Dauphiné (June 8-15) before heading into his main goal of the season, the Tour de France (July 5-27), where he’ll look to defend his title. After the Tour, he’ll line up for the Vuelta a España (Aug. 23-Sept. 14) and possibly finish the year at the worlds in Rwanda on Sept. 28. Although he’s raced the worlds as an under-23, he never has at the pro ranks.
Watch Jonas Vingegaard launch an absolutely monstrous attack at O Gran Camiño
Another change this year is his altitude camp. “We’ve done things a little differently. I haven’t been on an altitude camp yet—that will come in May,” he said. “It has nothing to do with the birth of our second child. That does have an impact on you, but I simply wanted to change things up for the first half of the season.”
“This way, I could spend more time with my family and should be a bit fresher in the second half of the season. Hopefully, I’ll reap the benefits then.”
Vingegaard is setting his sights on the overall victory in Portugal, given his stature in the peloton. He acknowledges the strong field of competitors and recognizes that he is not the only rider on his team with the potential to…
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