Jonas Vingegaard 'will do everything' to defend Tour de France title as he recovers from injury - 'I hope to be there'
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Published 07/05/2024 at 13:11 GMT
With the Tour de France fast approaching, two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard faces a race to recover from injury in time to compete. The Dane suffered serious injuries at the Itzulia Basque Country in April but was back on the road this week. "I will do everything I can to get there in top shape," Vingegaard said, adding that he's "improving day by day."
Visma boss Plugge gives update on Vingegaard and Van Aert
Jonas Vingegaard says he will “do everything” to return to full fitness in time for the Tour de France after returning to road cycling for the first time since suffering a serious injury.
The two-time defending Tour champion is recovering from a frightening crash at the Itzulia Basque Country in April that left him with a collapsed lung and broken collarbone.
But the Dane is hopeful that he will be competing for the yellow jersey once more when the Tour de France starts on June 29.
“I hope to be there at the start of the Tour de France,” he said in a video update posted by his team Visma-Lease a Bike.
“We don’t know how exactly my shape and recovery will go, but I will do everything I can to get there in my top shape.”
Vingegaard went down in a horror crash on Stage 4 of the race in the Basque Country that saw a host of big-name riders suffer serious injuries.
The Dane was stretchered into an ambulance after the incident, which was sparked when a rider slid off after some contact on a descent to set off a chain reaction in the peloton.
Vingegaard is cautiously optimistic about his recovery after returning to the road.
“This is the first time back on the bike for me riding outside,” he said.
“It’s really nice to finally be able to ride like normal again and to be able to ride on the road is really amazing. I’m looking forward to taking the next steps.
“I feel good, it’s improving day by day. I still have some things to recover from but it’s going better and better.”
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) broke his collarbone and Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) sustained cervical and spine fractures, while Primoz Roglic (Bora-Hansgrohe) also sustained injuries in the horror incident.
The 2024 Tour de France runs from June 29 to July 21, live on discovery+ and Eurosport.
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