Imagine you’ve just won the Tour de France, the biggest, most prestigious event in the cycling world for the second time. You’re on top of the world.
You arrive home in Denmark, feeling triumphant and ready for some rest and relaxation. Instead, your wife suggests you try to win the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana in the same year. Wow, honey, that sounds like you want to physically kill me.
That’s apparently what Trine Marie Hansen, the wife Jonas Vingegaard, thinks he should do. In an interview with Danish newspaper B.T. “My quiet dream is that Jonas rides all three grand tours in one year,” she said.” I think he should utilize his current level to do so.”
I don’t think Trine is really up on her grand tour cycling history. Nobody does that. Not even the superstars of the sport — Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Hinault, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali and Chris Froome — ever tried to pull that off.
Because it’s crazy. You’d end up a broken man. Your body would never recover. You’d fall off your bike like Tom Simpson on Mount Ventoux and you’re done. It’s a miserable death slog.
Trine, this is not a “quiet dream.” This is pure madness. Give your husband a break, why don’t cha? Jonas has proven he’s physically and mental tough. He’s riding to win the Vuelta in a few weeks. But riding and trying to take victory in all three grand tours in one year?
Jonas, I’m sure that Trine means well. She loves you and wants what’s best for you. But maybe she doesn’t fully understand the exhaustion level of a grand tour. Maybe she should have a chat with the Jumbo-Visma team physiologist. He could explain some things about near-death experiences, crushing your immune system, going so deep into the hurt locker you never really come back.
You handle this your own way, Jonas. You know your wife better than anyone. Trine, that’s a great idea but no.
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