For years, Jonas Vingegaard has quietly built his Tour de France form on the sunny roads of Italy. Now, he is heading straight into the crosswinds of France to settle a score before July even begins.
In the neatly ordered world of Grand Tour preparation, there are two distinct paths to the Tour de France. You either go to Italy for Tirreno-Adriatico, where the days are short, the coffee is excellent, and the vibe is relatively relaxed. Or, you go to France for Paris-Nice, where the crosswinds will try to throw you into a ditch, the weather is statistically miserable, and the racing is nervous enough to give a sports director an ulcer.
For the last few seasons, Jonas Vingegaard has happily chosen the Italian route. The quiet, methodical Dane seemed perfectly content to let his rivals batter each other in the French sleet while he tested his legs on sunny Italian summit finishes. But this year, the script has flipped. Team Visma has confirmed that the two-time Tour champion will skip Tirreno to make his debut at the Race to the Sun.
For Vingegaard, it is a risk. Paris-Nice is famous for its chaotic, nervous flat stages where a split in the peloton can cost you minutes in seconds. It requires a different kind of focus than the steady, high-wattage climbing he is famous for. But if he can survive the crosswinds of the Beauce and dominate the Col de la Couillole, he will take first blood in the Tour knife fight.