Vingegaard left San Benedetto taking with him the seventh victory of the season and the trident of Neptune, with which the king of the Two Seas is rewardedJokingly after the race, he called it one of the most beautiful and unique prizes to add to his collection, because it ties him to his previous job at the fish counter. The Dane's next challenge will be the Tour of the Basque Country, won last year over Landa and Izagirre.
First the Tour
In the days of the Tirreno-Adriatico Everyone tried to get him to say that he would come to race the Giro, but two things were clear: his great politeness in always answering in a friendly way and his intention to remain linked to the Tour for as long as he feels he can win it. On the final day of the Tirreno, the same day in which Jorgenson He won Paris-Nice, Vingegaard seemed cheerful and more witty than usual.
"It's a fantastic day for our team," he said, "with Matteo winning Paris-Nice and me here. I imagine it couldn't go better for us. We're very ready for these events. We made a good base over the winter and then we just came down from the altitude training camp, where we did a lot of hard work.I saw how hard Matteo worked up there, so I was sure he had a very high level and that he was capable of doing something really good in France. This gives me a lot of confidence. It has been said that without Van Aert and Roglic at the Tour we might be less strong, but Seeing your teammates win gives you confidence and conviction that we can fight for victory againI like racing in Italy. I like the places, the roads, the cheering and the fans. I don't rule out coming to the Giro one day, but as long as I can win the Tour, that will be my goal."
Roglic, a rival
The Tour de France challenge will be, as usual, thrilling and of the highest level. It has not gone unnoticed, also because Vingegaard himself pointed it out, that his team will find itself without Van Aert and Van Hooydonck, who did their part last year, and without Roglic, who has become an opponentThe first confrontation between the two is now upon us. They will compete in the Basque Country, which Primoz won in 2018 and 2021, while Jonas is the outgoing winner.
“It will be a bit strange, I think,” he says, “because I’ve raced on the same team as him for the last five years, so racing against him will be a really special feeling. But I'll have to force myself to consider him as an opponent as anyone else.Like Remco, like Ayuso, like Pogacar. I imagine that once they understand this, not much will change."
Jorgenson Column
Jorgenson's arrival and his ability to perform at such a high level somehow lifts him up. When you reach the end of a cycle like Roglic's, It is necessary to immediately recreate some support points and the American has all the requirements to become one.
"I roomed with him in Tenerife for three weeks," Vingegaard explains, "and he's a truly exceptional guy. He's calm and very professional, and it's not difficult to be with him. I think he fits very well into our team in every aspect, in training and nutrition.He's made a big step forward this winter, and I think everyone can see that. Not that he was a bad rider before, because I remember that last year at Paris-Nice, in the last stage I was struggling to follow him.. And when I heard they had signed him, I immediately said it was an excellent purchase and he has already demonstrated it."
Managing the effort
We want him at the Giro and we absolutely want him at the Classics. In the days leading up to it Vingegaard also had to dodge questions about Liège: these are races that he likes, but he remains faithful to the choices made with the necessary elements in hand.
"The same goes for the Olympics," Vingegaard says. "I'd even be ready to do them. But when I look at the possibilities and the number of riders we can bring, I realize it would be very difficult for me to make the selection process, on a course that really doesn't suit me. I think we have a lot of quality riders in Denmark who deserve to go to the Olympics more than me.So you could say I'd be happy to go, but I doubt I'll do it. The Zurich World Championships, on the other hand, are a different story; in theory, they're much more suitable. That's an option we still have to study, because we haven't decided what my post-Tour program will be yet. The Tirreno gave me good feelings, but I can't say I really went all out in the effort.Monte Petrano was a very tough climb, but it's not always necessary to go all out. Now I'm going home with my trophy and until the Basque Country I won't go to high altitude again, I'll stay at sea level."
He smiles at the reference to the Corsa dei Due Mari and then, before leaving, he makes short videos for the men at RCS Sport. With seven victories collected in eleven days of racing, it is clear that the mood is light.And the best part is that the real season hasn't even started yet.
