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Vingegaard put an end to Tadej Pogacar’s (UAE Team Emirates) stranglehold over the Tour in 2022 and remains confident he can repeat the trick next month.
Jumbo-Visma’s designated leader is currently in France preparing for the Criterium du Dauphine but has split his time scouting several stages to come at La Grande Boucle, including the Puy de Dome on Stage 9.
Enric Mas (Movistar) and Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) were also on recon at the time and will both feature at the Dauphine, an eight-stage race scheduled to commence on June 4 in the nearby town of Chambon-sur-Lac.
The Dauphine will be Vingegaard’s first race since the Itzulia Basque Country two months ago, but the 26-year-old isn’t feeling the pinch, telling reporters: “I think winning the Tour gives me a lot of confidence and I believe I can do it again.
“A lot of things can happen, and I’ll have to be at my best level, but I think I can do it.”
“The feeling I have now is one of less pressure, now (that) I’ve won it once,” he added.
“Even if I never win it again and I retire in 10 years, I can still say I’ve won it and be proud of my career.”
Pogacar looms as the Dane’s biggest threat to a second Tour title, and the Slovenian recently prevailed in the pair’s most recent encounter at Paris-Nice.
The 24-year-old will not compete in the Dauphine, however, instead opting for two race days at the Slovenian National Championships to continue his recovery from the fractured wrist he sustained at Liege-Bastogne-Liege in April.
His absence hasn’t affected Vingegaard’s own expectations for the Dauphine, with last year’s runner-up happy to take the race day by day and get some competitive mileage back under his belt.
“Normally, this race doesn’t decide the Tour,” Vingegaard explained. “You might not be good here, and still, everything can change before July.
“I haven’t really thought too much about it, it doesn’t make sense that I go full gas in flat stages, so I’ll take it on the day-by-day. It there’s a chance, I’ll go for it.
“The (Stage 4) time trial is an advantage, but we’ve seen every once in a while you can do a bad TT. Also, in the other stages, we’ll have to see how everything turns out.
“I’m looking forward to racing again, anyway, it’s been a while now.”
