Jonas Vingegaard could still go to the Tour de France, and go to try and win, but Visma Lease a Bike says his possible start in the race is now complicated. Team management claims the the Dane's participation in his year's race was still up in the air just 10 days away from the start.
The team also says whether he rides may be about if he can compete in the event, being competitive rather than starting with the realistic aim, and chance of winning again.
And having not race since his back crash at Itzulia Basque Country 10 weeks ago, the team says the two-time Tour winner also has the fear of another fall on his mind. Though his team mate, Wout van Aert is also on the comeback from a major crash, he has at least raced again in recent weeks.
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But for Vingegaard, if he lines up at the start of the Tour on Saturday week in Florence, it would be his first day in a race in almost three months.
Visma-Lease a Bike sports director Merijn Zeeman told the Cycloo Wielercafe podcast the ambition for his star rider, and the deciding factor on a possible start in the Tour, was now about whether he could be "competitive" rather than aiming for yellow.
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“The Tour is not like a major time trial where the best rider always wins,” Zeeman said. “So there is also a tactical component to it, and whether you can stay out of trouble. So we are going to take a decision.
“It wasn’t just a broken collarbone," he said of the crash at the start of April, when Vingegaard also suffered a punctured lung and fractured ribs.
"We mustn't forget that it was a crash with a very big impact. There's also the fear of another fall. After the Dauphiné I drove on to Tignes, so I talked to him about it a lot.
"Wout Van Aert is already a lot further along, he has already ridden the Tour of Norway, but Jonas has of course been in a tough situation since the Itzulia Basque Country race. He is now training. But training is one thing, but whether you can be competitive in the Tour is something else.”
“We are not yet ready to say that he will start if he can get on the podium. But sometime we will take stock - will he go or will he not? How is he doing now? What can we expect?”
