Jonas Vingegaard ruled out of Evenepoel showdown at UAE Tour

Jonas Vingegaard has ruled himself out of the UAE Tour, citing a recent training crash and illness. The Dane had been scheduled to start his season at the WorldTour race, which takes place from February 16 to 22.

“I was really looking forward to returning to the UAE Tour and am therefore disappointed that we have had to make this decision,” Vingegaard said in a statement on Friday morning. “However, the combination of the crash and subsequent illness made it necessary. It is better to fully recover first so that I can then focus on my next goals.”

Visma | Lease a Bike did not indicate if Vingegaard will seek to replace the UAE Tour on his schedule with another race. The Volta a Catalunya (March 23-29) is the only other race on his programme ahead of his Giro d’Italia debut in May. Vingegaard will also lead Visma at the Tour de France.

The decision to skip the UAE Tour means that Vinegaard will miss a clash with Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG). Tadej Pogacar has already signalled that he will not return to defend his crown at the UAE Tour, preferring to start his season at Strade Bianche in March.

It marks the third year in succession that Vingegaard’s Spring schedule has been interrupted by a crash. In 2024, he sustained serious injuries in a mass crash at Itzulia Basque Country, while last year he abandoned Paris-Nice with a concussion and missed the Volta a Catalunya as a result.

Vingegaard crashed while training near Malaga last week in an incident that prompted his Visma team to ask amateur cyclists and fans to refrain from interacting with their riders during training rides. The team confirmed that Vingegaard has not sustained any serious injuries in the crash.

On Friday, however, Vingegaard revealed that he suffered an unspecified illness in recent days, and he opted to postpone the start of his season.