(Paris) Jonas Vingegaard, double outgoing winner, will participate in the Tour de France which will start on June 29 from Florence, Italy, his team Visma-Lease a bike announced on Thursday.
The Dane, who has not appeared in the race since his heavy fall at the Tour of the Basque Country at the beginning of April, is one of the eight riders selected, just like the Belgian Wout Van Aert, who was also the victim of a serious accident at spring.
The Americans Matteo Jorgenson and Sepp Kuss, the Frenchman Christophe Laporte, the Slovenian Jan Tratnik, the Dutchman Wilco Kelderman and the Belgian Tiesj Benoot complete the team for the Tour which will arrive on July 21 in Nice.
“I can’t wait to start the Tour. The last few months have not been easy, but I thank my family and the Visma-Lease a bike team for their unfailing support. We worked together for this moment, I feel good and very motivated,” Vingegaard, 27, said in a team statement.
Victim of fractures of the clavicle and several ribs, a pneumothorax and a pulmonary contusion during his fall in the Basque Country, Vingegaard spent twelve days in hospital and only got back on a bike for the first time as May 7th.
He has not participated in any race since, but has prepared over the last two weeks during an altitude training course in Tignes with the rest of the team, while his great rival, Slovenian Tadej Pogacar, impressed the last month at the Giro.
“He’s coming back from a serious injury. In recent weeks he has shown what a champion he is, both mentally and physically, commented sports director Merjin Zeeman. Obviously, we don’t know how far he can go. We remain cautious, as he has not yet been able to race and his preparation has been anything but ideal. But he will be there, healthy and motivated. »
Wout Van Aert will also be there. The Belgian returned to competition in mid-May at the Tour of Norway after eight weeks of absence following his fall in Flanders on March 27 where he suffered fractures to his collarbone, sternum and seven ribs.
The Tour de France “was not on the program” this year, recalled the winner of nine stages on the Grande Boucle, who was supposed to do the Tour of Italy before having to withdraw.
“But, given the developments in recent weeks, I really wanted it and the team approved,” added the 29-year-old Belgian who will next aim for a medal at the Paris Olympics (July 26–August 11). .
