<\/p>\n
That reserved nature, far from being a limitation, became the foundation of a working relationship built on trust and shared temperament. \u201cIn being calm. Our introverted characters suit each other. A certain trust developed very quickly between us.\u201d<\/p>\n
From unknown climber to Tour winner<\/p>\n
When Heemskerk began working with Vingegaard, expectations were modest. His climbing ability was clear, but little else was defined. \u201cWhat kind of rider he would eventually become, we had no idea at that point. That he would win the Tour de France twice? No, we never expected that back then.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vingegaard\u2019s background stood in contrast to many of his peers. He was still working part-time at the fish market in Hanstholm and had limited exposure to elite training environments. \u201cI quickly realised that Jonas still had a lot to learn. In training, for example, he would just put water in his bottle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Early progress was rapid but uneven. Physical gains came quickly, while racing brought its own challenges. \u201cIn his first race, the Ruta del Sol, we saw that he was still very nervous in competition. That stress limited his performance.\u201d Even when results arrived, responsibility weighed heavily. After taking the leader\u2019s jersey in the Tour de Pologne, Heemskerk recalls that \u201cthe responsibility kept him awake all night, which meant he recovered poorly from the effort the day before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Discipline over instinct<\/p>\n
One of the clearest themes running through Heemskerk\u2019s reflections is Vingegaard\u2019s absolute commitment to structure. \u201cIn terms of compliance, following schedules, he does everything, so to speak, to a few decimal places. If you tell him to train for five hours in a certain zone, he rides those five hours in that zone.\u201d<\/p>\n
That precision is not blind obedience. \u201cHe understands very well that by following training schedules perfectly, you can discover exactly what works and what does not work for him.\u201d According to Heemskerk, this consistency has allowed the performance staff to refine preparation with unusual clarity.<\/p>\n
Success has not changed him<\/p>\n
Despite becoming one of the defining figures of modern Tour racing, Vingegaard\u2019s routines have remained intact. \u201cThe only thing that has changed him is becoming a father, being a family man. He now has two children.\u201d Beyond that, Heemskerk insists little has shifted in how they work together.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe remains that reserved person and that will not change. That is who he is.\u201d Celebration, when it comes, is brief. Outward emotion fades quickly, with joy shared privately with family and team-mates rather than publicly displayed.<\/p>\n
Resilience forged through adversity<\/p>\n
Heemskerk also reflected on the impact of Vingegaard\u2019s heavy crash and subsequent recovery. \u201cIf you experience a crash like that, it affects you emotionally, especially in the beginning.\u201d Yet he believes the episode strengthened his rider mentally.<\/p>\n
That resilience was evident during hospital visits. \u201cHe already expressed his will to make the Tour. He had already had a small pedal bike delivered, one without resistance to place under a desk.\u201d The message was clear. Preparation began immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the exercises and training sessions we then planned towards the Tour, he executed very precisely, just as he does every year.\u201d Once the Tour focus begins, Heemskerk sees a transformation. \u201cThen it is essentially Vingegaard version 2.0. He has a goal, he is on a mission, and he will do everything throughout that entire period to succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" That reserved nature, far from being a limitation, became the foundation of a working relationship built on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":658406,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4104],"tags":[4230,31323,79,16152,180916,201277,20680,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-658405","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-jonas-vingegaard","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-tadej-pogacar","12":"tag-team-visma-lease-a-bike","13":"tag-tim-heemskerk","14":"tag-tour-de-france","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=658405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658405\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/658406"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=658405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=658405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=658405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}