Tour de France: Jonas Vingegaard profile

Jonas Vingegaard did the previously unthinkable by overhauling Tadej Pogacar at last year's Tour de France and he returns in 2023 looking to defend his title.

The Dane won on both the Col Du Granon and Hautacam to demonstrate his dominance and, while he was defeated by Pogacar in Paris-Nice, his recent overall win at the Criterium du Dauphine suggests he will be ready to go again in July.

Name	Jonas Vingegaard
Age	26
Nationality	Danish
Team	Team Jumbo Visma
Tour de France appearances	2
Tour de France general classification wins	1 (2022)
Tour de France stage wins	2

Jonas Vingegaard's background

Born in the Danish district of Thy in northwestern Jutland, Vingegaard excelled from a young age, playing both football and handball, but found a flare for cycling and joined his local club, Thy Cykle Ring, in 2007 after watching that year's Tour of Denmark. 

After five years with Thy, he moved to Aalborg Cykle Ring in 2013, before competing for Odder Cykel Klub in his final junior season in 2014 and he maintained that association until turning professional with Team ColoQuick–Cult in 2016.

Steady results, including taking the record on the Spanish test climb, the Coll de Rates, attracted the top teams and Jumbo Visma signed him for the 2019 season.

Jonas Vingegaard's career achievements

Unlike Pogacar, Vingegaard took time to find himself in the peloton, making his grand tour debut in 2020, finishing 46th at the Vuelta a Espana.

However, a second place behind team-mate Primoz Roglic at the Tour of the Basque Country in 2021 sparked interest, but he was still expected to play a supporting role to the Slovenian at that year's Tour.

Roglic struggled, though, and Vingegaard assumed leadership duties after his colleague failed to start stage nine and emerged as Pogacar's biggest challenger. He eventually finished five minutes and 20 seconds behind his rival on his Tour debut, but his emergence served as a point of notice.

After being runner-up in the 2022 Tirreno-Adriatico, another second to Roglic at the Dauphine generated talk of a joint-leadership bid at the Tour and Vingegaard laid down a marker in the opening time-trial.

In front of a home crowd in Copenhagen, he finished a second ahead of his colleague in the opening day time-trial.

Again Roglic was hit by harsh luck, losing more than two minutes after crashing into a dislodged hay bale. However, the pair dovetailed to drop Pogacar on the Col du Granon as Vingegaard rode away for the victory that set up his overall triumph.

Roglic again had to abandon, but his team rode on and after losing out to Pogacar on the Peyragudes on Stage 17, Vingegaard responded by taking the following day's stage on the Hautacam, confirming his status in yellow. After edging his rival in the penultimate day's time-trial, the Jumbo star rode into Paris with a lead of three minutes and 34 seconds.  

Vingegaard has kept a relatively low-profile racing schedule in 2023, focusing on hitting his training numbers, but has responded to his defeat in March's Paris-Nice by winning both the Tour of the Basque Country and Dauphine. 

Jonas Vingegaard's riding style

Similar to Pogacar, Vingegaard shines in all disciplines, riding hard in the mountains and after improving significantly against the clock since joining experts such as Roglic and Wout van Aert at Jumbo, proving himself as a standout time-trialist.

Weighing in at just 60kg with a height of 5ft9, his focus on hitting numbers in training means he generates the ideal watts-per-kilo ratio for his physique.

Like Pogacar, this all-round excellence makes him the archetypal general classification rider and at 26, he still has scope for development.

Jonas Vingegaard's Tour de France odds

Vingegaard is 11/10 to become the 14th rider to retain the Tour title and just 1/4 to finish in the top three for the third consecutive year.

It is 11/4 that he fails to finish in the top three and that looks unlikely, especially considering the big guns he will have to support him, with Van Aert, Sepp Kuss, Christophe Laporte and Tiesj Benoot pencilled in as protection on both the flat and in the mountains.