Campenaerts opens up on Vingegaard’s final Visma dinner and McDonald’s trip after Tour exit

Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike), who was forced to abandon the Tour de France during stage 15 after suffering a fractured collarbone, returned to the team hotel on Sunday evening to say goodbye to his Visma | Lease a Bike teammates before leaving the race.

Rather than focusing on his own disappointment, Victor Campenaerts (Visma | Lease a Bike) said the Dane helped lift the mood within the squad.

"He came to the hotel," Campenaerts told Sporza after stage 16's individual time trial.

"He'd probably already had his moment, and the emotional blow will probably only really hit him once he's back home, but he ended up comforting us more than we comforted him."

Campenaerts described Vingegaard's withdrawal as "a bitter pill" for a team that had been building towards the decisive stages of this year's Tour.

"That is my driving force, to bring out the best in myself, to try and win the Tour de France," the Belgian said.

"The stages we had targeted were still to come. It was the first time we had taken control of the race."

Despite the disappointment of abandoning the race, Campenaerts revealed that Vingegaard's final evening with the team was a positive one.

"We actually had a nice dinner; it was very pleasant. Usually, we have burgers and fries, but they’re the 'food coach' versions, different from the local chip shop, though still very tasty."

"But there was a McDonald's in a nearby village, and Jonas went out to get 'real' burgers and fries. He sat at our table. It was a really nice evening. I think everyone went back to their rooms feeling good."

With Vingegaard out of the race, Davide Piganzoli is the Dutch team’s highest-placed rider in the GC, 13th and 27:28 behind race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), placing more emphasis on targeting stage victories in the final week to add to the team's success in the team time trial on stage 1.

Campenaerts discussed the challenges with trying to adapt to a new game plan ahead of an attritional Alpine week. 

"That’s a difficult switch. Trying to win stages hasn't been on my agenda for quite some time. Tomorrow, we’ll try to come up with a solid plan as a team," he said.