«I remember my first participation in 2023. I have many memories – said Vingegaard yesterday in the pre-match press conference at the Paris-Nice – some good and some bad. I came here to win, but instead I finished third, so I was a little disappointed. You can't always win, but I came back to do it.I'll have to stay indoors during the first stages, without wasting time. Then we can gain ground in the team time trial and also the next day. to the Loge des Gardes, five minutes of tough climb. Then there are the last two stages, which will be really challenging."
The Park of the Pretenders
The French race starts today, with a one-day advantage over the Tirreno-Adriatico, which starts tomorrow. In the complex and unique interweaving of calendars, without Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel, who will be able to stop jonas vingegaard to take her home?
Last year the Dane won the Tirreno-Adriatico, with disarming superiorityNowadays, there are only four riders – between the Classics and the Tours – capable of significantly distancing themselves from the rest of the group and making a clear difference. One is the Dane, the other is Pogacar, then there are Evenepoel and Van der Poel. For this reason, without any unforeseen events, It's easy to include Vingegaard among the favourites of the French race. Even because the 2024 winner, Matteo Jorgenson, will run to his side and it is understandable that he will be called to help him.
Against them, the starting field is solid, but not irresistible. Soudal-Quick Step has Schachmann who won the race twice. The UAE Emirates Almeida will be joined by Sivakov and McNulty. Red Bull-Bora is relying on Vlasov. Jayco-AlUla deploys O'Connor, second in the 2024 Vuelta and the World ChampionshipsFinally, Bahrain Victorious will once again feature the Buitrago-Martinez.
The point after the Algarve
Vingegaard shows up at the start of the Paris-Nice trying to fine-tune the condition after the half-tone debut of the Volta ao Algarve, won thanks to the time trial, but struggling more than expected on the climbs.
«We learned a lot in Portugal – continued Vingegaard – especially about the first uphill finish, which didn't work for me. We tried to understand what it was about to try to do better.Here I'll also have a very strong team, while in the Algarve I was alone and that's why I found myself in a difficult position. Since then I've recovered. I've had good training sessions at home. I'm in pretty good shape, I haven't been to high altitude yet so I'm not in the best shape, but not bad either.I hope I have gained a few percentage points compared to the Algarve."
Eight challenging stages
Paris-Nice has eight stages, as Vingegaard mentioned. It starts from Le Perray en Yvelines and will end next Sunday in NiceAfter the first two days dedicated to sprinters and the fast team time trial of the third, The first shake-up in the standings will come on the fourth day, with the uphill finish at La Loge des GardesIt is the place where in 2023 Pogacar defeated Vingegaard for the first time, winning the stage.
The next day, the stage of La Cote Saint André proposes again a classic Ardennes profile, preceding the sixth (nervous) day of Berre l'EtangThen there is the uphill finish at Auron on the seventh day, after climbing the Colmiane. Finally The eighth stage ends in Nice after four climbs and the Col de Quatre Chemins, 9 kilometres from the finish.
The total count speaks of 1.212,6 kilometers with a total difference in altitude of 15.863 meters and 28 mountain grand prix.
The Vingegaard Calendar
After telling Eurosport the disastrous state he found himself in last year after the fall at the Tour of the Basque Country, the Dane explained that his level at the Tour de France was unacceptable. So since then he has rolled up his sleeves, thinking about revenge against Pogacar. Even at the cost of snubbing the classics and races on which the Slovenian is instead building his legend.
«We have seen that stage races suit me very well – said Vingegaard – so I'm more inclined to those than one-day racesLast year I won the Tirreno-Adriatico, so the most natural thing is to aim for the Paris-Nice, to do something a little different from recent years. I would like to win as many WorldTour stage races as possible and Paris-Nice is the biggest, outside of the Grand Tours.
"We'll be racing with two leaders here, Jorgenson and myself. I have a great relationship with him, and I'd be happy if he won. I'm not so selfish as to think only of myselfI'll be happy to sacrifice myself if he's in a position to win, or if he's the strongest and has a chance of winning. And I'm sure it will be the same the other way around, if I'm the one who deserves it. We're the same on this."
