Jonas Vingegaard is to ride both the Tour de France and Vuelta a España in 2025, as he seeks to reach his highest level again after a mixed 2024.
The Visma-Lease a Bike rider's programme for the year was announced on Tuesday at the team's press event, along with his teammates. Vingegaard's season will begin at the Volta ao Algarve in mid-February before he heads to Paris-Nice, the Volta a Catalunya, the Critérium du Dauphiné, and then the Tour and Vuelta.
The two-time Tour champion has ridden the Tour and Vuelta in the same year once before, in 2023, when he won the French Grand Tour and then finished second at the Vuelta, behind his teammate Sepp Kuss.
At the Tour, he will clash once again with Tadej Pogačar of UAE Team Emirates, who won the race for a third time in 2024, building up a six minute lead by the end of the three weeks. Pogačar is also thought to be considering a tilt at the Vuelta later this year.
"My biggest goal for 2025 is to win the Tour de France for the third time," Vingegaard said in a press release. "It is the race that means the most to me. Its greatness is unique in the world of cycling. The Tour always gives me a special feeling, so I'm looking forward to it immensely. I will do everything I can to be at the start in my best possible shape."
The 28-year-old has not raced since the Tour of Poland last August, which he won, and will pin his numbers on for the first time in Portugal next month.
"It has been a while since I raced," he said. "I was glad to spend some time with my family after the season. In September we welcomed our newborn son. That was a very special moment for us."
2024 was a difficult year for Vingegaard, despite wins at O Gran Camiño, Tirreno-Adriatico, a stage win and second overall at the Tour, and victory at the Tour of Poland. A serious crash at Itzulia Basque Country in April derailed his preparation for the Tour, and ultimately left the Dane with too much of a mountain to climb to rival Pogačar in France.
"From a sporting point of view, 2024 was a bizarre year for me," he said. "It started fantastically with my overall victories in O Gran Camiño and Tirreno-Adriatico. I was perfectly on track towards the bigger goal ahead: the Tour de France. I felt I was ready. In my opinion, I was riding stronger than ever.
"It was quite a task to recover from the crash as well as from the disappointment. My injuries were worse than most people thought. I had sustained several fractures. In total, I spent twelve days in hospital, eight of them in intensive care. It was a difficult period, but I learnt a lot from it."
"It was already a personal victory that I was ready to start the Tour," he continued. "I was already incredibly proud of that. What came after that was an absolute bonus for me. That I managed to win a stage and that I finished second in the general classification was special. A few weeks later, I won a big race with the Tour de Pologne. I look back at those moments with a lot of pride."
Vingegaard will be joined at the Tour de France by Simon Yates, Matteo Jorgenson and Wout van Aert. Yates, Van Aert and Olav Kooij will also ride the Giro d'Italia for Visma-Lease a Bike. Van Aert's main goal for the season will be the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, after he missed both last year after crashing out of Dwars door Vlaanderen.
"Last year’s disappointment has only fuelled my motivation for the monuments," Van Aert said. "I want to shine in the spring classics together with my team."
