The Global Cycling Network visited Jumbo-Visma on Monday while the team was in Spain. The motivation for this visit was the recent announcement that Tadej Pogacar plans to compete in both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France in 2024. Naturally, the question arose: Will Jonas Vingegaard also be present at the Giro d’Italia?
“Many say that Pogacar is the best cyclist in the world.”
“You’ll have to ask me a year from now if Pogacar in the Giro was good for us or not,” begins sports director Merijn Zeeman to GCN. “It’s very difficult to say because we all know he is a quality rider, and many say he’s the best cyclist in the world. He makes the competitions super attractive. It will be very special for the fans to see him in the Giro.”
“This also creates a great challenge for us as a team: to see if we can beat him. But his double Giro-Tour makes cycling in general more complete and more interesting.”
“Sepp Kuss is proof that Giro-Tour is possible.”
“I am convinced that such a duplication is possible. Sepp Kuss is living proof of that,” continues Zeeman praising the Slovenian. “With such a talented rider and such a smart performance team, they can do it.”
The conversation then turns to the leader Jonas Vingegaard, who will compete in ‘La Grande Boucle’ and face Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic. “Normally Pogacar is the biggest rival, but we also think that Primoz and Remco will be very strong opponents.”
Rumors in the peloton about Pogacar’s inability to beat Vingegaard
There are rumors circulating in the peloton that Pogacar’s decision to compete in the Giro is an admission that he may not be able to beat Vingegaard in the Tour. However, Zeeman does not see things that way.
“What I suspect is that they’ve had frequent discussions with him in the team, as well as with his performance coaches. They discussed everything in the context of whether it was possible to compete at a high level in both races.”
“But what I also know, and he himself has said it several times, is that he loves the Italian races. The races and the atmosphere suit him, so his planning doesn’t surprise me.”
“Can confirm that Jonas will not participate in the Giro,” said Zeeman. “I think at one point, he mentioned in an interview that he wants to participate in all three Grand Tours in one year. I’m not sure if he knows what he’s saying, but he definitely will not participate in the Giro next year,” Merijn Zeeman concludes categorically.
