"My biggest goal for 2025 is to win the Tour de France for the third time," was Jonas Vingegaard on the homepage of his Dutch team Visma | Lease a Bike quoted in January. On the way to the Tour of France, the 28-year-old has already competed in the Tour of the Algarve and Paris-Nice, where he was forced to abandon after a crash. He was originally due to start in the Tour of Catalonia. However, the Dane now has to withdraw from this after his Crash at Paris-Nice skip. The two-time Tour champion's next start is planned for the Critérium du Dauphiné in June.
"I still have some ground to make up in Paris-Nice. I haven't won the Tour of Catalonia yet either. So I'm motivated to race for victory there. But that's the case in every race I ride. I'm motivated to show myself in the coming season," said Vingegaard in January when his plans for 2025 were unveiled.
With the publication of its racing calendar, the team also cancelled out speculation about a possible start for Vingegaard at the Giro d'Italia a cancellation. Instead, the Dane will tackle the Vuelta a España in August as his second Grand Tour after the Tour de France.
At the Giro, however, newcomer Simon Yates is expected to pull the coals out of the fire for Visma | Lease a Bike in the battle for the pink jersey. Wout Van Aert and top sprinter Olav Kooij are also expected to be at the start.