Jonas Vingegaard has already returned to training, and his team, Visma Lease-a-Bike, already knows that they have a lot of work to do if they want to beat the Slovenian and win the Tour, knowing how they will challenge Tadej Pogachar in the next Tour de France. We are working on it.

Dane has not raced since winning the Tour de Pologne on August 18. He became a father of two shortly thereafter, but has kept a low profile: he has only raced 44 days in 2024 due to a bad crash and serious injury at Ituria-Basque in April.

Vingegaard punctured his lung and fractured his ribs and collarbone, hampering his preparation for the Tour de France. He took on Pogachar, eventually finishing 6:17 behind in Nice. He was physically and mentally exhausted.

While most competitors, including Pogachar, are enjoying their off-season breaks, Vingegaard is already back in the saddle, building a new base for 2025 and working on how to close the gap on his biggest rival, Visma Lease-a-Bike.

“He's had a long break and his last race was the Tour de Pollogne in August. He has started training and working on his body for next year,” said Grischa Niermann, now the race director of Visma Ries-a-Bike after Melaine Zeman moved on to soccer

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“I think that's normal, and we'll have a good plan next week to see exactly what his 2025 season will look like.”

The Tour de France should be the centerpiece of Vingegaard's 2025 season. However, one option would be to compete in the Giro d'Italia beforehand so that Vingegaard can return to his best form in July.

“I haven't decided yet, but I have won the Tour de France twice and I haven't won this year. I haven't decided yet, but it's very possible.

“The Giro-Tour is an option, as was Tadej Pogachar this year. There is also the Tour Vuelta, or just the Tour.” He has yet to decide.

Vingegaard, like Pogachar and the other big overall contenders, did not attend the 2025 Tour de France route presentation.

Niermann and Wisma Lease-a-Bike team manager Richard Plug watched the route announcement from the Palais des Congrès in Paris and liked it. The first week in northern France may be a test of nerves and bike skills for Vingegård, but the numerous top mountain finishes and high mountains are perfect for him. They will now embark on their Vimaris-a-Bike strategy for 2025.

“We like it, and it feels really good for Jonas,” Niermann said.

“I think it's a very good course and I think it's a very hard Tour de France, especially in the second half. Jonas has really good memories of the climbs, like the 5000-meter climb, like the stage to the Col de la Rose.

“We have to do our homework now to close the gap that we had this year. We know that if Jonas prepares normally and doesn't crash, he will be much better than this year. But there is also a big gap between him and Pogachar. The gap to Pogachar is huge.

France Maassen is well aware of the work and improvements that Wimsa Lease-a-Bike needs to make to challenge Pogachar.

“Pogachar is simply the best. It is up to the rest of the peloton to close the gap. We have to work with the rest of the team to beat him. Hopefully, next year we can close the gap a bit more ......” he recently told Wieler Fritz.

“They call him the new Eddy Merckx. I've never seen Eddy run, but Pogachal's run is phenomenal. But two years ago I was able to beat him in the most important race of the season.

“He is very out of reach right now, but Jonas at his best should be able to compete with him. This year the front runners didn't do as well as they would have liked and there were some big crashes. But if we have a good winter and prepare well for next season, it will be different.”