Wingegaard: “I won’t go to the Vuelta this year, I need to rest”

Jonas Wingegaard performed in Florence at the beginning of this tour: about his “first win” that he was able to arrive in time to participate in the race after a serious fall in early April in Itzuliaspent 12 days hospitalized in Vitoria with a pneumothorax. He arrived, but was far from repeating his crown in the world’s most important race. His stage win in Le Lioran in a battle with Pogacar gave the Dane some hope of dreaming of yellow, but Tadej was quick to put an end to it.

Visma rode the 2023 edition, winning the Giro-Tour and Vuelta, and in the French race they wore yellow for 15 days, reached the top of the podium in Paris and also won the team classification. Not so, Jonas’s second place is very honorable for everything he has been through, and in 2025, if everything goes as planned, the fifth chapter of the historic rivalry will take place. “Under other circumstances, I would be disappointed, but given everything that has happened, given the fall I suffered, I cannot be disappointed. My preparation was not the best, but despite everything, I did it at a high level. “I would have preferred to win, but I have to admit that Pogačar deserved it,” said the Dane, who congratulated his rival at the finish.

“The Tour is my favourite race, there is something special about it, I would like to come back and win. The yellow jersey is the most beautiful thing, I am very proud to have won two, but I want a third,” added Jonas, accompanied by his wife, who was heavily pregnant, and their daughter. At the post-tour press conference, AS asked the Dane if he would be attending La Vuelta: “No, I won’t be going this year, I need to rest. I’ll be back in the future.”

Evenepoel, the 2022 La Vuelta winner and Tour debutant, leaves a superb podium in third place. the position of the box, and the addition of the scene: “I have taken a step forward in my career. It was clear that there were still differences with Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingagor, but I came to test myself and I think I have a good future.”

Other notables who had a special day yesterday were Richard Carapaz and Mark Cavendish. The former, winner of the mountains classification, yesterday received another prize that he had already learned about before the start in Monaco: the Tour’s Super Combative. A designation that has caused controversy among fans who have supported Tobias Halland Johannessen of One-X in droves. The Norwegian, from the biggest to the smallest in the Tour, was the protagonist in several escapes, but so was Carapaz… and he also managed to complete one of them.

As for the rest of the classification, Biniam Girmay had a special day, becoming a pioneer in this Tour after becoming the first black African to win a stage (of which he ended up with three) and the points jersey. Waiting for him in Nice were many Eritrean flags and his family. Special mention goes to Mark Cavendish, who stood on the podium in recognition of being the rider with the most stages in the Tour, adding 35th place this year. “It might have been my last race,” he said after finishing last overall, which in his case was a minor matter. The UAE also took the podium as the top team (of the eight starters, only Ayuso was absent, the only retirement), after, in addition to Pogacar, his teammates Almeida, 4th, and Adam Yates, 6th, took their places in the standings, honours overall.

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