Bjarne Riis has urged Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) to consider a transfer to the newly formed Netcompany-Ineos, telling Danish newspaper B.T. that the two-time Tour de France winner's current team is "not strong enough" to challenge Tadej Pogačar's UAE Team Emirates-XRG.
The comments, made on on April 29 to Danish newspaper BT, come a day after Ineos Grenadiers and Danish IT company Netcompany unveiled a five-year co-title sponsorship reportedly worth €100 million, and during an unsettled 2026 campaign for Visma | Lease a Bike.
The 1996 Tour de France winner, Riis, used ambition as the reasoning behind his opinion. "Right now it would be a dream team for Jonas. The best team he could go to if he wants to challenge Pogačar," he said. Ineos have had the backing of Sir Jim Ratcliffe, one of the richest men in the world and co-owner of football club, Manchester United. This means they had already got a good chunk of funding, adding the financial might of Netcompany means that personnel, resources and experience that are required to build a Grand Tour winning team to challenge UAE Team Emirates-XRG is possible.
"It would show a lack of ambition if Jonas did not even consider this possibility. I'm not saying he will actually make the switch, but he should at least think seriously about it."
Why the comments landed now
The Netcompany-Ineos partnership, which was announced on April 28, sees a big Danish owned business join the British registered team. The name of the team will change to the new one for the Giro d'Italia, which starts in Bulgaria. The new kit, colours, name, and an eyebrow-raising goal of winning the Tour de France again in the next five years. Sir Dave Brailsford called it "one of the most significant partnerships in cycling" and "the beginning of a new chapter" for a squad that has not won the Tour since 2019.
The deal centres on Netcompany's PULSE platform, an AI-driven system already deployed in real-time environments including Munich and Heathrow airports, which the team plans to embed across training, racing and recovery decisions. Netcompany CEO André Rogaczewski said the partnership supports the company's "strategic ambition to accelerate growth across Europe by demonstrating the impact of cutting-edge technology and AI at the highest level of sport."
The last time we saw Pogačar in real trouble was when Vingegaard had his entire team, including then teammate, Primož Roglič attack the Slovenian star. Pogačar followed every move and paid for it by losing significant time that, eventually, led to him losing the Tour de France to Vingegaard. Visma | Lease a Bike have since lost a lot of key riders with the likes of Roglič moving to Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Simon Yates retiring, not to mention Sepp Kuss lacking consistency recently. Vingegaard himself has had several setbacks from a training crash earlier this year being the latest problem.
Riis pointed to these departures as evidence. He said he was "afraid to say it, but right now his Visma team is not strong enough," and argued that recent departures had reduced Visma's depth while Ineos now had the resources to build a strong support block.
Bausager: 'I would be surprised if they hadn't spoken to him'
Riis is not the only Danish voice connecting Vingegaard to the new project. Per Bausager, a well-connected Danish cycling commentator and former pro, told Feltet that he has heard repeated rumours of Ineos interest in the Dane, and that the arrival of a Danish title sponsor makes the link harder to ignore.
"I know... Or it's not right to say that I know, but I've heard repeated rumours that they (Ineos Grenadiers) are very interested in getting Vingegaard. And with such a Danish sponsor, I probably wouldn't say that the possibility won't decrease," said Bausager.
Bausager went further, suggesting the connection may not be coincidental. "When the rumour has arisen, I could also imagine that there is a connection: that it is Netcompany's ambition that it should be like this," he said.
Asked whether there had already been conversations with Vingegaard, Bausager said: "Whether there have already been conversations with Vingegaard? There may well have been." Added the former pro.
"Of course, one can only speculate about these things, but it is not such speculation that it is far from exaggerated to think that someone from Netcompany has already spoken to Vingegaard. I don't know if any decisions have been made, but I would actually say that I would be surprised if they hadn't spoken to him."
Vingegaard's stated position
Vingegaard's own public position does not align with Riis's suggestion or Bausager's speculation. Speaking to Danish outlet Ekstra Bladet earlier this year, the 29-year-old said: "I've ridden here for so many years that I can't see myself anywhere else." He has been with the team since 2019 and has given no public indication he is seeking an exit.
For the time being, Riis and Bausager's speculation will remain just that. However, conversations may well be taking place between Netcompany and Vingegaard's personal team for a possible move in the future. Time will tell.
Cover image credit: Billy Ceusters
