Jonas Vingegaard has confirmed he will be riding the 2023 Vuelta a España after securing Tour de France victory, strengthening one of the strongest Vuelta contender lists in years.
“See you in Barcelona, at the Vuelta,” Vingegaard told Spanish sports newspaper Marca and other Spanish media on Sunday morning, before traveling to Paris for the final stage of the Tour.
“I will try to stand up for GC and Primož [Roglič] will do it too. Obviously we are two front runners,” he said in an interview ahead of the 21st stage of the Tour de France.
Vingegaard and Roglič are standout names in a star-studded field that also includes last year’s Vuelta winner Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) and the riders who finished second and third at this year’s Giro d’Italia: Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) and former Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers).
Also scheduled to race are former Vuelta podium finishers Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Enric Mas (Movistar) and Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates).
With Vingegaard being crowned the winner of the Tour de France for the second consecutive year on Sunday, he has a month to recover before traveling to Spain on August 26 for the start of the Vuelta a España in Barcelona.
He will start the Vuelta as joint team leader at Jumbo-Visma with Primož Roglič, who won the Giro d’Italia in May. Roglic is aiming for a record-breaking fourth Vuelta win this fall. Superdomestique Sepp Kuss is also expected to ride the Vuelta as he recovers from his Stage 20 crash and fatigue at the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France. Wilco Kelderman and Attila Valter are also among the team’s long list.
It’s not clear what role Vingegaard will ultimately play in the Jumbo Visma plans for the Vuelta, but his presence will greatly strengthen the team as they battle to become the first team ever to win all three Grand Tours in a single year.
“The goal is to win three Grand Tours this year,” team manager Richard Plugge recently confirmed to Het Laatste Nieuws.
Vingegaard has never before raced in two Grand Tours in the same season, but in 2020 he played a crucial role in the mountains of the Vuelta as a support for Roglic, including a memorable outing on the tough Alto de la Farrapona in northern Spain.
The 2023 Vuelta a España features a typically mountainous route, with summit climbs on the Tourmalet and Angliru, and a mid-race time trial in Valladolid.