Decision made: Vingegaard rides the tour - this is the line-up of Vimsa | Lease a Bike
Thomas Goldmann
· 20.06.2024
There has been speculation for a long time, but now there is certainty: Jonas Vingegaard will take part in the 2024 Tour de France. The 27-year-old Dane, who won the Tour of France in 2022 and 2023, is part of the Visma | Lease a Bike squad, which the Dutch company announced on Thursday.
Jonas Vingegaard on starting at the Tour de France 2024
"I'm looking forward to starting the Tour. The last few months have not always been easy, but I would like to thank my family and the Visma | Lease a Bike team for their tireless support. We've been working towards this moment together and of course I'm very excited to see where I stand. I feel good and am very motivated," Vingegaard is quoted as saying on the Homepage of his team.
The Tour de France team from Visma | Lease a Bike
- Jonas Vingegaard
- Sepp Kuss
- Matteo Jorgenson
- Wilco Kelderman
- Christophe Laporte
- Tiesj Benoot
- Wout van Aert
- Jan Tratnik
Vingegaard was in April crashed heavily during the Tour of the Basque Country and suffered several broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a bruised lung and a broken collarbone.
However, Merijn Zeeman, Head of Sport at Visma | Lease a Bike, is keeping a low profile when it comes to expectations of his protégé. "Of course, we don't yet know what he's capable of. We are cautious because he has not yet been able to race and his preparation has not been ideal, to say the least. But he will be at the start, healthy and motivated."
Wout van Aert also at the start of the Tour de France 2024
Wout van Aert, the team's second superstar, is also part of the Visma | Lease a Bike Tour de France squad. At the end of March, the Belgian suffered a Crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen broke his collarbone and several ribs. He made his comeback at the Tour of Norway at the end of May. There, van Aert finished third on the final stage and fourth the day before. Together with Vingegaard, the 29-year-old recently prepared for the 2024 Tour de France at an altitude training camp in Tignes.
Originally, the Tour of France was not on van Aert's season schedule. It included the Giro d'Italia, after which the all-rounder wanted to concentrate on Olympia focus on the future. However, the fall at the end of March jeopardised these plans.
"Of course, that wasn't originally the plan, but after my development over the last few weeks, I really wanted to do it and the team agreed. Of course, our main goal is to achieve a top result with Jonas. I want to contribute to this with an outstanding team," says van Aert.
The Visma | Lease a Bike line-up for the 2024 Tour de France will be completed by Sepp Kuss (winner of the 2023 Vuelta a Espana) Matteo Jorgenson (second in the 2024 Criterium du Dauphine), Christophe Laporte (reigning European road champion), Wilco Kelderman (third in the 2020 Giro d'Italia) and the two classics aces Jan Tratnik and Tiesj Benoot.
