Twenty-seven-year-old Dane Vingegaard, who won the world’s most famous race the previous two years, broke his collarbone and several ribs in a fall in the Basque Country in early April, also suffered a pneumothorax and a bruised lung. He returned to training at the beginning of May. Van Aert, who is two years older, had a heavy fall at the end of March at the Trakő Flandry classic. The reigning world runner-up broke his collarbone, sternum and several ribs and bruised his lung in the accident.
While Vingegaard has not yet entered the races, Van Aert did not participate in the Giro d’Italia, where he was supposed to appear for the first time in his career, but at the end of May he appeared in the Tour of Norway stage race. In recent days, both have been preparing in the French ski resort of Tignes, where they should gradually be joined by other competitors of the Dutch team who are considered for the start of the Tour. However, the team management has not yet decided on the lineup.
“From my point of view, it’s 50-50 whether Jonas will ride the Tour or not,” his coach Tim Heemskerk told the Danish daily BT. “It was essential that he complete the program here (in Tignes). The first week at altitude was for adaptation and recovery, now he has a week of hard preparation and another one ahead of him. It will be important how his body reacts, whether he can handle it all. These are the most important days for decisions. It is also important that he himself feels that he is better and better prepared,” added Heemskerk.
It is very similar with Van Aert, who originally planned to skip the Tour and concentrate on the Olympics in Paris. In his case, too, the team will decide according to how it reacts to the demanding high-altitude training.
“We want to have both at the start, but in their best form. We will evaluate everything according to the data on their strength and heart rate, but also according to their feelings. They are still far from being as good as they could be if it weren’t for the injuries, but we don’t want to take it too negatively. I estimate that the chance of starting the Tour is somewhere just above fifty percent for each of them,” said the Belgian’s coach Mathieu Heijboer to Het Nieuwsblad.
Obviously, even with the names involved, the team will wait as long as possible. “We will really decide at the last minute. There is no ultimatum,” Heijboer pointed out. And he immediately swept off the table the idea that Vingegaard could only ride for the stage laurels if he was not 100% ready. “It would be quite difficult for someone who is a two-time Tour winner to think like that.”
