'Full respect for the program he's had' - Mørkøv understands Vingegaard's European struggles

Lining up for his first one-day race in over a year, it was not the day that Jonas Vingegaard had hoped for at the European Championships. The recently crowned Vuelta a España champion was distanced from the group of pre-race favourites with 110km remaining before abandoning shortly afterwards, later admitting to having an off day.

Danish national coach Michael Mørkøv admitted that Vingegaard's surprising early exit derailed the team's tactical plans of a two-up attack from the 28-year-old and Mattias Skjelmose in an attempt to topple the seemingly invincible Tadej Pogačar, who soloed to yet another emphatic victory on Sunday in Drôme-Ardèche, France.

"It was decisive. My hope going all the way was that Jonas had been sharper than he was, and that with him and Mattias we could have had a tactical advantage," Mørkøv told Feltet after the race.

Mørkøv had anticipated that Vingegaard would be in a similar condition to that which saw him win his maiden Vuelta a España, a first Grand Tour victory in over two years to add to two Tour de France titles. However, the Danish coach was fully understanding of the outcome after two tough Grand Tours in the legs over recent months for Vingegaard.

"It is clear that the hope on paper was that we had Jonas in the same condition as when he won the Vuelta three days ago," said Mørkøv. "I had thought he would hang on better, but I have full respect for the program he's had."

In Vingegaard's absence, Skjelmose stepped up to finish in seventh place, a result that earned praise from his national coach.

"It is a strong follow-up to the 4th place he rode into the World Championships last week. Mattias is sitting with the best riders in the world.”

Skjelmose looks to be ending 2025 on a high, after finishing 2nd at the Tour de Luxembourg with a stage win and finishing 4th at the World Championships, in a year where he defeated both Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel at the Amstel Gold Race, and this is something that Mørkøv hopes the Dane can replicate in the future, by closing the current gap.

“Unfortunately, he still needs a little to be able to ride with Pogacar and Remco, but he is sitting just outside the final, and I think again that Mattias delivers a great performance," Mørkøv explained.

Despite the disappointment of the race result, Mørkøv emphasised that having Vingegaard on the national team was valuable beyond the day's outcome.

"It has been a great pleasure to have Jonas Vingegaard with us. He has contributed enormously to the Danish national team – both at the elite level and in the youth team. He has contributed a lot with his presence," said Mørkøv.

The national coach also remains optimistic about Vingegaard's future participation with the national team, adding, "I am pretty sure that he, despite the outcome of the race, has had a good experience with the national team. I expect to have him in play for the upcoming championships.”