He may be one of the preeminent Grand Tour winners of a generation, but it has been a long time since Jonas Vingegaard has won a three-week race. Two years and 27 days to be precise – at least as I write this.
The intention, and neither Vingegaard nor his team are being the least bit coy about this, is to bring this period to a close with an emphatic GC victory at the Vuelta a España, which begins this Saturday.
The Dutch Visma-Lease a Bike squad for the race is no end-of-season 'B' outfit, and boasts some of its biggest hitters in support of Vingegaard. Sepp Kuss, Matteo Jorgenson and Victor Campenaerts are among his team.
The only issue with this selection – which applies to Vingegaard as well – is how well recovered from the Tour de France they might be. Everyone talks about the Giro-Tour double – well, fewer riders have done the Tour-Vuelta double.
Vingegaard had a not-unsuccessful Tour de France, with eight podium places on stages and second overall.
The Dane also said he had put in some of the best numbers he had ever seen, which offered huge encouragement after a tough road to recovery following his early-season crash at Itzulia Basque Country last year.
Super numbers or not, his Tour de France performance fell short of his goal of overall victory, and the Dane is out to claim a not-insignificant consolation prize in Spain.
He has rested after the Tour, has been on an individual training camp, and is keen to get racing.
“I’m here for the overall win," said Vingegaard of the Vuelta on the team's website. "And with this team supporting me, that seems like a realistic goal. There are many stages where differences can be made, so it’s important to be ready from the very start. I’m ready and would prefer to start racing right away.”
Vingegaard will start the race as the favourite for victory, but he won't have things all his own way. UAE Team Emirates-XRG (who else?), led by Juan Ayuso and Tour de Suisse winner Joāo Almeida, will be on hand to take the fight to him, even if Tadej Pogačar is absent.
Ayuso has raced little since quitting the Giro d'Italia after being stung by a bee, and should come into the Vuelta fresh. Almeida on the other hand, left the Tour de France after a heavy crash and has had his own recovery to work through.
It's a pairing that could well cause Vingegaard trouble, and he'll also have to take on Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla), Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers), among others.
Clearly, the Vuelta will be no cakewalk for the Dane but – assuming Sepp Kuss doesn't take some time early on in the race – it does look like the best opportunity he has had to win a Grand Tour since… well, since Sepp Kuss took some time early on in the race in 2023.
