Jonas Vingegaard ended his season on a high with victory at the Saitama Criterium in Japan, saying he finally feels back to his best after last year’s serious crash.
The Danish rider, a two-time Tour de France champion, suffered a heavy fall at the Tour of the Basque Country in April last year, which left him with a punctured lung and several broken bones. The recovery took longer than expected, but this year he finished second at the Tour de France and went on to win the Vuelta a España in September.
Vingegaard said the win in Saitama showed that he had fully recovered, both physically and mentally. “You never really know if you’ll get back to your old level after a crash like that,” he said. “By the end of this year, I can see that I’m able to push just as hard as before.”
He also admitted it took a long time to regain confidence. “It’s been a slow process, but I’m finally at the same level again. Now I hope I can start improving rather than just recovering.”
The Dane had to fight for his win in Japan. He crashed three-quarters of the way through the 60km race but managed to get back on and rejoin the peloton before launching his winning attack on the final lap.
“Luckily I didn’t hurt myself,” Vingegaard said. “I just slipped, got back on, and managed to win. At first, I only thought about catching up, then an attack came that I followed, and from there I went solo.”
Vingegaard crossed the line ahead of Italy’s Jonathan Milan and Australia’s Kaden Groves. His victory marks a strong end to his comeback year and a confident step towards next season.
