Vingegaard absent from Denmark’s Olympic line-up

AFP | Copenhagen

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard, who was seriously injured in a horrific crash eight weeks ago, was notably absent from Denmark’s Olympic selection presented yesterday.

The four riders selected were Mikkel Norsgaard Bjerg, Mads Pedersen, Mattias Skjelmose and Michael Morkov.

Visma-Lease a Bike rider Vingegaard, 27, was hospitalised after suffering rib and collarbone fractures and sustaining lung damage in a mass crash on the Tour of the Basque Country on April 4.

In a video posted on X, formerly Twitter, in early May, Vingegaard said he was back training on his bike and hoped to be in shape to defend his Tour de France title.

“We don’t know exactly how my shape and recovery will go but I will do everything I can to get there,” he added of the June 29 to July 21 race.

The Paris Olympics open just a few days later, on July 26. Earlier this week, Danish media quoted Vingegaard’s coach Tim Heemskerk as saying that the Dane had traveled to Tignes in France to begin high-altitude training.

“It’s a new step for him, and now it’s starting to look like normal training,” he told daily B.T. Heemskerk did not say whether Vingegaard would be in shape in time to compete in the Tour de France.