Brian Holm believes Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) needs a break after his demanding 2026 campaign, and believes the fractured collarbone does not fully explain why his season ended early.
Speaking to Feltet.dk after Visma confirmed the decision on Monday, the former Danish rider and sports director offered his interpretation of why Vingegaard ended his season.
“He needs a breather. I don’t believe the other explanation,” Holm said. “It sounds fine when you say it is about the injury, and I would say that too. He has had a busy season, and he needs a breather and time for the things he prioritises.”
Holm stressed that he was not criticising the two-time Tour de France winner for ending his season, nor was he disputing the collarbone fracture.
Visma’s official statement said the fracture, sustained in Vingegaard’s Tour crash on July 19, had delayed his return to training. He underwent surgery after the crash and will now concentrate on recovery before preparing for 2027.
“After a long and intense racing period, a recovery period was planned after the Tour de France anyway,” Vingegaard said. “Due to the collarbone injury, the start of my training has been delayed and it is not possible for me to get back to top level in the coming period.”
Team director Marc Reef also referred to the combined demands of Vingegaard’s schedule and injury. “After a busy period with many days of racing and the collarbone fracture Jonas sustained in the Tour de France, it is best for him to focus on 2027,” Reef said.
Holm said he expected Vingegaard to end his season when the Dane did not resume training soon after the Tour.
“When he had not started training with fire in his eyes some time after the Tour, it was already over,” Holm said. “I did not understand the discussion about whether he should race. It would have taken a small miracle for him to be ready.”
The former sports director added that Vingegaard thinks differently from other riders and does not race simply for the sake of taking part.
“He does not think like 99% of cyclists, and he does things his own way,” Holm said. “Jonas is among the very best riders, and although part of me wants to criticise him, another part says: now keep your mouth shut. He has won the Tour twice. I would have been happy just to take part and finish, so who am I to criticise him?
“Most of us have ridden the World Championships many times, even when we perhaps did not know whether we could finish. He does not think that way. He does not come to a race to be a domestique.”
A demanding return to his best
Vingegaard had already enjoyed a successful and demanding season before his Tour crash. He won Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya, then secured the Giro d’Italia overall by 5:33 ahead of Felix Gall (Decathlon-CMA CGM).
His Giro victory made him one of the few riders to have won all three Grand Tours, while his five stage wins underlined his dominant form.
Those results followed a long recovery from his serious crash at the 2024 Itzulia Basque Country, where he suffered several fractured ribs, a collapsed lung and a broken collarbone. Vingegaard said during the Giro that it had taken him close to two years to return to his previous level, despite collecting major victories during that period.
The crashes suffered by Vingegaard in recent years have pushed him to be very vocal about rider safety in races. Back in April, the Dane described the sport as extremely dangerous and said he would advise his children against following him into cycling because of the risks and the amount of time riders spend away from home. His comments were covered in our report on his concerns about cycling’s direction.
Vingegaard and his team are now focusing on his goals for the 2027 season as rumours online suggest that the multiple Grand Tour winner might retire sooner rather than later despite being just 29-years-old.
Cover image credit: Morgan Bove
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