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Sea air, coastal wind and plains as far as the eye can see: these are actually the elements that Jonas Vingegaard (26) knows. But the Dane is king of the Alps and the Pyrenees. Thanks to his excellent climbing ability, he claims his second Tour de France victory on Sunday after three weeks of battle in Paris.
On Saturday’s final mountain stage after Le Markstein Fellering north of the Swiss border, Vingegaard stepped in one last time as a watchdog in the race and also neutralized the latest attack by his rival Tadej Pogacar (24) – as he did so many times on the tour in the mountains.
The Slovenian celebrates his second stage victory from the sprint of the smaller group, but Vingegaard defended the Maillot Jaune, just like last year’s winner. On Sunday he triumphantly enters Paris. Who is the man from the Danish North Sea coast who feels so comfortable in the mountains?
From shy to consistency personified
“I was a shy boy, now things are better,” laughs Vingegaard in the official Tour de France magazine. He is still calm, even after his first overall win a year ago. “I’ve stayed the same,” he assures.
Vingegaard is someone you can count on. The 60kg (1.75m) lightweight has been solid at the top level over the past three weeks compared to Pogacar (1.76m, 66kg), always making up for the rival’s explosive strikes with his regular kick. And he took advantage of Pogacar’s weak days to create a time buffer in the general classification. shipper? There was no one from Vingegaard on this tour. His consistency impressed. That wasn’t always the case.
The fish factory made him stronger
Five years ago, Vingegaard skinned fish in his home on the North Sea coast. In a factory in Hanstholm (Dä) he worked on the assembly line and then packed the fish in boxes. It was advice from his then team boss Christian Andersen (56), who remembers the unpolished Vingegaard: “He was not well organised, had no structure in his daily life and got up late.”
As a result, Vingegaard worked early mornings until noon, then immediately got on his bike for training. During this time, he rode for lower-level Danish team ColoQuick before moving to the Netherlands in 2019 to join Jumbo-Visma.
Vingegaard reached the cycling Olympia later than others. Two years ago he finished second overall in the Tour de France, over five minutes behind the younger Pogacar, who won the Tour for the second time. At the time, Vingegaard only participated by slipping in as a substitute after the cancellation of Dumoulin’s tour.
“I was 32 – he looked like 14”
The time in the fish factory was not only the period in which Vingegaard learned the trade, it also fitted an important building block in his life at the time. At ColoQuick, he met Trine Hansen, who worked in the team’s marketing department. She later told “Equipe”: “When I first saw him I was 32 years old and he looked like 14. But he was so persistent that I fell in love.”
Now the 37-year-old and their daughter Frida (2) regularly stand with open arms in the finish area to welcome the man who has blossomed from a shy boy from the North Sea into a mountain king and winner of the Tour de France.
Looking at the photos of Vingegaard hugging his wife and daughter after the stages, one of his statements takes on even more weight. The Dane is repeatedly asked about doping skepticism. He assures, “I’m not taking anything and I won’t take anything that I wouldn’t give to my two-year-old daughter.”
The winner’s ceremony a year ago already showed how important his loved ones are to Vingegaard. The small family will not pass up the opportunity to once again celebrate cycling’s greatest victory on Sunday.
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
