'I feel like a completely different person' – Jonas Vingegaard eyes new peak to take on Tadej Pogačar at Tour de France
Dane says he needs to be 'better than I was two ye𓄧ars ago', when he last beat Slovenian to maillot ja𒁃une

168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) is set to race for the first time since March at the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Critérium du Dauphiné on Sunday, and says he feels like a "different person" from last season heading into the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Tour de France.
In June 2024, the two-time Tour winner was still a question mark, wꦡit♑h his life-threatening crash at Itzulia Basque Country seeing him confirmed as a starter just nine days before the Grand Départ.
But this season, despite another 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:crash and concussion at Paris-Nice putting him out of racing for almost three months, the Dane is improving by the day, with the grand aim of taking back the yellow jersey from rival 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emir🅺ates-XRG) and claiming his third overall win.
"Even last year, going into the Tour, I was 🎃still kind of believing that I could go for the win," said Vingegaard, 🐈speaking to from training camp in Sierra Nevada.
"Obviously, that didn't work out, but this year, I feel like a completely different person, to be honest, in the way my boಌdy reacts toꩲ training, but also how my body is in general."
Vingegaard has most recently been spotted near Annecy, as he continues💫 to ramp up his preparations for the start of the Tour in Lille, on July 5, and feels li💜ke his shape is steadily improving.
Having lost the Tour last year by more than six minutes and seen world champion Pogačar reach new heights in the Grand Tour arena, Vingegaard is aware he'll need to discover a new peak if he is to defeat cycling's top rider.
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"I've always enjoyed the process of getting to the highest possible level for the Tour de France; it's always the big goal, and ꧒𝐆I always enjoy doing the hard work here," said Vingegaard.
"Everybody is taking a step at the moment, so obviously I also need to be ꧑better than I was two years ago," when he last won the Tour de Franc🌜e, "but I also have the feeling that I am improving."
Vingegaard will face off with Pogačar, and third Tour favourite 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), for ⛄eight days꧋ of thrilling racing at the Dauphiné next week, and it's a rivalry which the Dane is excited to renew.
The star GC pair have not raced each o🐼ther since the conclusion of the Tour last season.
"If I were racing without Tadej, it wouldn't be the same, and hopefully, he feels thไe same the other way around," added Vingegaard. "I actually enjoy havin✨g a rival like him."
The Dauphiné should act as the preview for what is to come across the three weeks of intense racing expected at the Tour in July, where the route will return to the site of two of Vingegaard's biggest triumphs over Pogačar: the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Col de la Loze and Hautacam.

James Moultrie is a gold-standard NCTJ journalist who joined Cyclingnews asℱ a News Writer in 2023 after originally contributing as a freelancer for eight months, during which time he also wrote for Eurosport, Rouleur and Cycling Weekly. Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert, Lizzie Deignan and Wout van Aert. Outside of cycling, h𓃲e spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby, football, cricket, and American Football to name a few.
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