'It would have been a disaster' - Vingegaard glad he skipped Rwanda Worlds

On the eve of the Vuelta a España, Vingegaard had ruled himself out of the demanding Kigali Worlds, believing that it would be impossible to be competitive there after fighting for overall victory in Spain.

Three weeks after winning the Vuelta, Vingegaard returned to competition at the European Championships road race, but his debut for the Danish national team was short-lived. He was dropped with over 100km to go, and he abandoned soon afterwards.

Vingegaard’s Tour de France rival Tadej Pogacar proceeded to solo to victory at the European Championships just a week after claiming a second straight rainbow jersey with an astonishing individual display in Kigali.

“I’m glad I lined up and gave it a try. But more than anything, I’m glad I didn’t ride the Worlds – that would have been an even bigger disaster,” Vingegaard told Feltet.

“It was because I didn’t think it was possible for me to go to Africa. I had ridden both the Tour and the Vuelta, and honestly, I’m glad I didn’t go to the Worlds. It would have been a waste of my time and everyone else’s.”

Vingegaard had betrayed clear signs of fatigue in the final week of the Vuelta, though he capped overall victory over João Almeida by pressing clear alone to win on Bola del Mundo on the final weekend.

After racing the Tour and Vuelta in quick succession, however, Vingegaard found himself too drained to train in the weeks immediately after carrying the red jersey to Madrid.

“I wasn’t able to train for two weeks because I was simply too tired. It was right around the time of the Worlds that I did my first training session. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to; I just couldn’t,” Vingegaard said.

“Of course, we had hoped that I could do better. Training actually went okay leading up to the Euros, and that gave us hope, but it just didn’t work.”

Vingegaard had drawn criticism in Denmark in years past for opting against participating in the World Championships and Olympic Games, but he said the European Championships debacle was proof that he had been correct to do so.

“Instead of people always saying, ‘Jonas doesn’t care about the national team,’ I hope that they now understand there’s a reason I don’t always line up,” said Vingegaard, though he didn’t rule out taking on the Montreal Worlds next September. “The Worlds is definitely a race I’d like to ride next year, but it also depends on how the rest of my season looks.”

On that note, Vingegaard has yet to confirm his schedule for 2026 amid speculation that he will make his Giro d’Italia debut before riding the Tour, where he is seeking a third overall victory after his triumphs in 2022 and 2023. Speaking to TV2 on Wednesday, the Visma | Lease a Bike rider insisted that his 2026 plans have not yet been decided.

“The Tour is just the biggest thing in cycling, so that will probably be the big goal. Whether the Giro is part of those plans too, I can’t answer now,” said Vingegaard.