The last weeks of Jonas Vingegaard‘s approach path to the 2024 season will be identical to 2023, Visma-Lease A Bike management report, with the Dane preceding once again preceding his first race of the season, O Gran Camiño, with an altitude training camp in Spain.
Vingegaard will be at altitude in Teide from early February onwards, prior to defending his 2023 victory in O Gran Camiño.
En route to his first overall triumph of the season, Vingegaard won all three stages of the race, while the fourth was cancelled because of bad weather.
After the four-day event in Galicia, NW Spain (February 22-26) Vingegaard is then set to take part in Tirreno-Adriatico (March 4-10) – the one change in his 2023 race after taking part in Paris-Nice last year – the Itzulia Basque Country (April 1-6) and Criterium du Dauphiné (June 2-9) prior to the Tour de France.
“Jonas came through the [early season] training camp very well, with all the other riders in Spain and we’re happy with what we’ve seen,” Frans Maassen, Visma-Lease A Bike directeur sportif told Ekstra Bladet.
“All the riders who are going to altitude went home a little earlier, so they can have two weeks with their families before going to the altitude camp for three weeks.”
Regarding 2023, “Jonas has had a fantastic year, so we expect a lot from him again. He is one of the favourites for the Tour, and we hope to do it again, but of course, it won’t be easy with [Tadej] Pogačar, [Remco] Evenepoel and [Primož] Roglič.
Maassen added that new Belgian rider Cian Uijtdebroeks, set to take part in the Giro d’Italia and widely considered a potential stage racing star in the making, will be taking part in O Gran Camiño and Itzulia Basque Country alongside Vinegegaard.
At the same time, Visma-Lease A Bike is still getting used to the idea that they will be racing against Primoz Roglic, now with Bora-Hansgrohe, Uijtdebroeks’ former squad.
“He was one of our riders, so it will be strange,” Maassen said. “Now he’s one of our big rivals, so it won’t be easy. But we’re looking forward to it.”
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