{"id":704204,"date":"2026-01-18T12:21:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T12:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/704204\/"},"modified":"2026-01-18T12:21:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T12:21:12","slug":"i-still-have-60-race-days-id-love-to-win-one-day-races-like-tadej-but-right-now-its-not-possible-jonas-vingegaard-hits-back-at-criticism-of-four","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/704204\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI still have 60 race days\u2026 I\u2019d love to win one-day races like Tadej, but right now it\u2019s not possible\u201d \u2013 Jonas Vingegaard hits back at criticism of four-race 2026 calendar"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nThe structure of his season is built around one overriding target. Winning the Tour de France<\/a> again. And in 2026, that ambition now runs through Italy as well.<\/a>Why the calendar looks smallVingegaard\u2019s confirmed programme lists just four race blocks: UAE Tour, Volta a Catalunya, Giro d\u2019Italia and Tour de France<\/a>, with his post-Tour schedule to be decided later.<\/p>\n

That has drawn comment from fans and pundits who want to see the sport\u2019s biggest names racing each other more often. Vingegaard understands that view, but says performance has to come first. \u201cIf you do too much in the spring, you pay for it in the Tour,\u201d he explained. With a Giro-Tour double now part of his plan, he says a lighter early season is not optional but necessary if he wants to fight for yellow in July.<\/p>\n

That logic has shaped everything about 2026. His Giro debut is not a side project. It is part of his Tour build-up, a different route to the same goal.<\/p>\n

One-day races and the Pogacar comparison<\/p>\n

Another part of the debate is about what Vingegaard does not ride.<\/p>\n

While Tadej Pogacar<\/a> races deep into the one-day calendar and targets Monuments, Vingegaard stays away. He does not hide from that contrast. \u201cI\u2019d love to win one-day races like Tadej, but right now it\u2019s not possible,\u201d he admitted. He said he has not yet found the right way to prepare for those races, even though he enjoys watching them and respects Pogacar\u2019s approach.<\/p>\n

For Vingegaard, that is not a philosophical choice. It is a practical one. He says the level in modern cycling is so high that \u201cyou really need to prepare 100 percent for every race,\u201d and spreading focus too widely risks weakening the one objective that defines his season.<\/p>\n

Burnout, pressure and modern cycling<\/p>\n

The interview also touched on a wider issue inside the peloton.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on recent retirements and talk of burnout, Vingegaard acknowledged the mental and physical weight of elite cycling. \u201cAt times it\u2019s too hard,\u201d he said, adding that the constant travel and pressure can become overwhelming.<\/p>\n

He suggested the sport might need to think more individually, because riders respond differently to life on the road. \u201cSome guys are okay with being away a lot, for others it\u2019s very hard,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

That thinking also feeds into his own calendar choices. The aim is not to race less, but to race in a way that still allows him to perform when it matters most.<\/p>\n

\"Jonas<\/p>\n

After winning La Vuelta 2025, Vingegaard now only needs the Giro to complete his set of Grand Tour victories<\/p>\n

Giro first, Tour always<\/p>\n

In 2026, Vingegaard will chase something he has never done before: victory at the Giro d\u2019Italia.<\/p>\n

That goal has its own meaning. It would give him wins in all three Grand Tours. But inside his camp, the Giro is also seen as part of his Tour preparation, not a replacement for it.<\/p>\n

Vingegaard himself made that clear when discussing why his spring has to be lighter. Combining Giro and Tour means every decision before May carries more weight than ever. After the Tour, he says his season will be reassessed. \u201cAfter the Tour, we\u2019ll see how I feel and then decide if the season is done or if we plan some more races.\u201d<\/p>\n

So the calendar may look short, but it is not casual. It is calculated.<\/p>\n

Four race blocks. Around 60 race days. One central ambition.<\/p>\n

Vingegaard is not stepping back from competition. He is betting that doing less, more precisely, is the only way to beat the very riders he is being compared with.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The structure of his season is built around one overriding target. Winning the Tour de France again.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":612903,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4104],"tags":[4230,42456,31323,81082,79,16152,180916,20680,16,15],"class_list":["post-704204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-cycling","tag-giro-ditalia","tag-jonas-vingegaard","tag-simon-yates","tag-sports","tag-tadej-pogacar","tag-team-visma-lease-a-bike","tag-tour-de-france","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115916078002138217","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704204","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=704204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/704204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/612903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=704204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=704204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=704204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}