Jonas Vingegaard has addressed the UCI's latest call for WADA to "take a position" on the use of carbon monoxide (CO) inhalation and stated he would follow whatever guidance is given after it was revealed that teams used the gas as part of altitude training optimisation.
During the Tour de France, it came to light that the Dane's Visma-Lease a Bike team, Tadej Pogačar's UAE Team Emirates and Israel-Premier Tech had used carbon monoxide rebreathers to test blood values at the start and end of altitude camps, Escape Collective reported in July.
This is linked to, but not the same as, an alternate use of the gas the UCI has asked teams not to continue, which is "repeated CO inhalation", a method that according to Escape's findings uses the same equipment and could potentially be used to increase measures of aerobic capacity.
Speaking in a press conference ahead of the 2025 season, Vingegaard revealed that he didn't even know the second, more aggressive, potential use of CO existed. He then reiterated that he and Visma had only used it as a simple test to see if the altitude camp was having the desired effect.
"I understand if it's misused, but I never knew that it could be misused. I think I said before that we only used it to test if the altitude camps are working or not," said Vingegaard.
"So what I heard is that if you misuse it, it can be used instead of an altitude camp, and if you use it in that way, then they say there can be some health issues - but that's not the way we use it.
"But with that said, also what I heard is that when you do this one time, it's like smoking one cigarette and I mean, there are a lot of people smoking cigarettes every day."
UAE responded similarly in July to clarify that they don't use CO unethically and that it had only been utilised for measuring haemoglobin mass. However, Vingegaard was frank that he has no ambition to be on the wrong side of the rules, should WADA put a blanket ban on all CO use.
"It's a difficult question, and I won't take any side on that. Of course, I will follow what the UCI and WADA are saying about this," Vingegaard continued. "So if they will ban it, of course, I will never do it again."
WADA are yet to respond to the UCI's request to take an official position over the gas being used by teams in cycling, however, Vingegaard, like UAE, is sure for now that no lines are being crossed.
Keeping quiet about the Giro and 2025
Vingegaard also kept his cards close to his chest when talking about his schedule for the upcoming 2025 season, despite heavy rumours that he may opt for a Giro d'Italia debut ahead of his rematch at the Tour with Pogačar.
"That's something that I cannot answer yet. As I said before, we haven't, we haven't decided on the schedules yet," said Vingegaard when asked about a potential Giro bid.
"As I've said before in my career, the Giro is a race that I would like to ride in my career. But I cannot say if it's next year or the year after or if it will ever happen. I don't know. We will take it year by year, and for now, we haven't decided anything for next year."
He's been kept busy with the Birth of his second child, a son, and keeping his training up in Denmark before Visma's two training camps in December in January. That is when the goals and races will be mapped out fully. For now, he hasn't lost any of his sense of humour.
"The Giro is always an option. It also was last year. I mean, of course, the door is open. The door is also open for, I don't know, Flanders and Roubaix, so, I mean, nothing has to have been decided yet," joked the Dane as he again opted to keep his plans secret.
"The door is only closed once we have made the schedule, and we haven't finalized it yet."
He did, however, confirm that a crack at the 2025 World Championships road race in Rwanda is something he'd be interested in. He's yet to compete at the Worlds at the elite level but sees a three-year period of courses that could suit him, with Rwanda, Canada and France as the upcoming host nations.
"I think the next three, so Rwanda, and then Canada, and then in the Alps in France. So I think for sure it's hopefully, three good courses for me. But now for the moment, I think we only know next year, and I think that's a course, that also suits me quite well," Vingegaard said, despite his main focus remaining on the three-week Grand Tours.
"I think it has shown previously that I'm always better in the stage races so I think my main priority will be something different than the one-day races.
"But of course, when there's a World Championships like this with a good course for me, it's an opportunity. So also, of course, I would like to do that as well. Hopefully, I can be there and do my best."
What is certain, however, is that he will need to up his game from the 2024 race if he is to reach the levels of current world champion and reigning Tour de France winner Pogačar.
But Vingegaard hasn't lost faith after losing by 6:17 in July, with the knowledge that it was a "miracle" he was even there after the horror crash he sustained at Itzulia Basque Country and recovery he underwent from a punctured lung, broken ribs and a broken sternum.
"Of course, if everything had gone perfect for me this year in the Tour de France and I would have been beaten with six or seven minutes or how much it was, it would have been harder for me to keep the faith, but I know what happened to me," Vingegaard said.
"I know how bad it was. So when I know that, I also have a lot of faith and belief that I can be better because I know that the preparation I had was far from ideal. That gives me a lot of faith in myself.
"[Pogačar] was better this year than he was in 2022 and 2023 so I also have to be better than I was in those year years. I have to improve next year if I want to win it again. And of course, I'm also very motivated to do that, to get even better, to fight every day and to see if I can win it again."
