Jonas Vingegaard is keeping his Tour de France hopes alive, heading to an altitude training camp in Tignes, France, to continue his recovery from injuries suffered in a crash at the Itzulia Basque Country in April.
According to a report in the Danish outlet BT, the two-time Tour de France winner has made enough improvements to begin training normally.
"He has been away with the family in Mallorca, but now he is starting the altitude training in Tignes," his coach Tim Heemskerk said to BT. "It's a new step for him, and now it's starting to look like normal training. He arrived at altitude yesterday, and initially, there was not much training. He just has to adapt to the altitude.
"My hope is that he can train with the rest of the team when they come to Tignes after the [Critérium du] Dauphiné for training camp before the Tour and become a full member of the team," Heemskerk added but said no decision has been made yet whether Vingegaard would be fit enough for the Tour de France. "Right now, the most important thing is today and tomorrow."
Vingegaard broke his collarbone and several ribs and also sustained injuries to his lung in the crash on stage 4 of the Itzulia Basque Country on April 4. The crash also took down Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quickstep), who broke a collarbone, and Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe), who suffered a knee injury - two of his main rivals for the Tour de France.
While Evenepoel and Roglič made relatively quick recoveries, Vingegaard spent 12 days in hospital before he could return to Denmark to recover, and his training still includes rehabilitation exercises.
"We try to increase his fitness on the bike, but also to strengthen his shoulder through exercises and get him closer to the optimal weight," Heemskerk said, adding that he was surprised how much Vingegaard has improved since he got back on the bike in early May.
"He has prepared in the best possible way by climbing a bit and practising descents in Mallorca, where, for the first time, he really got up to speed again," Heemskerk said. "It was about being somewhere with a good climate and where he could enjoy the time around training with his family. In Tignes, it's more about performance with normal training, massage, etc.
"I think it was good for him to be with his family down there, where they had some good times, and he could recharge his batteries. It was good for him to have a break where the weather was good, and he got to train."
Vingegaard was originally scheduled to race the Critérium du Dauphiné, which starts on Sunday, but the team decided to allow him more time to train to see if he can be ready for the Tour de France, which begins on June 29 in Florence, Italy and ends in Nice instead of the usual finish in Paris, which is getting prepared to host the Olympic Games.
