Just two years ago, Jonas Vingegaard secured his second Tour de France yellow jersey in as many years, becoming only the 13th male rider to retain their title. Yet, as we arrive at the start of the 112th edition of the Grande Boucle, you'd be forgiven for forgetting that the Dane won the 2023 race by a margin of over seven minutes, a time gap greater than that Tadej Pogačar inflicted on the Visma-Lease a Bike rider last July.
In the 24 months that have passed since Vingegaard's second Tour victory, Pogačar's dominance has seemingly been at every turn. But it's not as if the Visma-Lease a Bike talisman has stood still as the Slovenian pedalled onto a new level of performance.
Vingegaard arrived at the 2024 Tour with just 14 race days in his legs since the start of the year, thanks to what many would consider a season-ending crash at the Itzulia Basque Country. He spent 12 days in hospital with a broken collarbone, several broken ribs, and a collapsed lung. The next time he would pedal in anger was on the first stage of the Tour, eventually finishing second.
Fast forward to this spring, and another setback hampered the 28-year-old's momentum. A seemingly innocuous crash early on stage 5 of Paris-Nice left him with a concussion, hand contusion, and facial pain that forced him out of the stage race.
Nine days off the bike followed, a blow to the Dane’s training programme but he was still able to return to racing at the Critérium du Dauphiné.
Yet for those who expected a muted return at the pre-Tour stage race, it was anything but from Vingegaard. His aggressive riding style on stage 1 didn’t result in a win, but perhaps proved even more valuable as a reminder to the peloton that Visma’s main man still has more than enough sting to test his rivals.
"He was doing everything we wanted him to do and he is now in the shape we wanted him to be," explained Visma-Lease a Bike sports director Grischa Niermann to Cyclingnews at the traditional Tour warm-up event.
The German coach had a ‘so far, so good’ attitude, perhaps cautious that, as the team have discovered so often in the past, disaster and ill fortune can strike at any time regardless of how well preparations have gone.
A renewed level of explosivity was notable in Vingegaard on that opening day, with Pogačar and other challengers tested on the opening day of the race. Niermann welcomed this show of strength.
"We knew that last year he was a lot less explosive due to his crash, and of course, he surprised me in the end that Jonas was second in the bunch sprint."
Admitting that Vingegaard has focused on this area of his skillset in his months away from racing, he added: "We also know that he has become a bit more explosive, but he will still not be as explosive as Pogačar.
"It was one of the goals, but that was clear after last year. Due to the crash and a little bit less muscle mass he was just less explosive."
The team believe the Dane has put the hard yards in to restore his body composition so that he’s able to ignite or respond to the sharper accelerations from the likes of Pogačar.
"I mean, he always has a decent kick. It's just, he doesn't always get to show it," affirmed teammate and 2023 Vuelta a España winner Sepp Kuss.
"It’s just a confirmation of how well he’s going too."
Winners working for winners
Kuss is one element of a stacked Visma-Lease a Bike Tour de France squad that features no less than three Grand Tour overall winners.
Vingegaard will be supported by the American duo of Kuss and Matteo Jorgenson in the mountains, plus newly-crowned Giro d’Italia winner Simon Yates and Wout van Aert as a super-domestique on all terrains as well as green jersey contender.
Tiesj Benoot, Victor Campenaerts, and Edoardo Affini round out the eight-man line-up that could rival most iconic mountain trains in years gone by.
With so much talent in a team though, does this cause internal problems or is it a privilege? Niermann was adamant that the team had their priorities in order.
"It’s a pleasure. We have a very strong team for the Tour," he said.
"Going into the Tour, Jonas is our leader. But of course, it's a nice, luxury position to also have Sepp, to also have Simon, to also have Matteo there, so that's nice."
No stranger to the perils of conflicting team ambitions, Kuss was also clear about the plan. Highlighting how the strength in depth acts as added insurance.
"We all know that Jonas is the main guy, so the better we are in the mountains, it doesn't hurt.
"But yeah, you never know what can happen in the Tour. Both of them could go well [Vingegaard and Yates] as well as Matteo with a bit of leadership."
Kuss was in a relaxed mood at the Dauphiné, all too aware that his peak form will be needed in the second half of the Grand Tour.
For his younger compatriot, who won Paris-Nice earlier this year for a second time, it’s a case of pushing his limits to see where he can end up in the GC battle over three weeks.
"Not so much [change since last year] just trying to improve for myself, especially in climbing, so I can get my level higher and be closer to these guys and hopefully have a role to play in July," Jorgenson said to Cyclingnews.
"I've done everything I can to show up here as skinny and as fit as I can, both of those things went super well, I've had almost no issues," added the American who has just extended his deal with the Dutch squad through to 2029.
Grand Tour momentum
Visma-Lease a Bike may feel as if they’ve been playing second fiddle to UAE Team Emirates-XRG in recent times at most major stage races, but Simon Yates’ Giro win acts as a clear reminder, if they needed one, of their ability to win three-week races.
The confidence gained from the Lancastrian’s pink jersey triumph has reverberated around the squad and will surely prove beneficial at the Tour.
"For Simon personally, I'm sure he has a lot of weight off his shoulders, having that big win," said Kuss.
The Colorado-native feels it will also give their team leader extra belief too. "Simon can go to the Tour without expectation and for Jonas I think it's really good knowing how strong he was there in the Giro."
Meanwhile, Jorgenson sees the victory as confirmation that the work going on behind the scenes will eventually prove fruitful for the team and himself.
"[Simon's win] just provides us with another confirmation that what we're doing is correct, and that all the systems we have in place are working well," he said.
"To see Simon make the step, I mean he's never changed teams in his career I think, so to come here and make the step to winning the Giro tells me a lot about the team and gives me confidence that what I'm doing every day and the grind is working at least for most guys. It was cool to see, and gave me passion again for racing."
The team will take a lot from having that Grand Tour win already under their belt for 2025, but as Vingegaard aims at his third Tour de France win, he'll certainly be hoping that momentum and passion amongst his teammates can materialise into victory in Paris in three week's time.
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