Jonas Vingegaard facts for kids

Jonas Vingegaard Hansen (born 10 December 1996) is a professional road cyclist from Denmark. He rides for a top team called Visma–Lease a Bike. Many people think he is one of the best climbers in cycling. His friendly competition with fellow cyclist Tadej Pogačar is considered one of the greatest rivalries in the sport. Jonas is most famous for winning the Tour de France two times in a row, in 2022 and 2023.

Jonas didn't have much success early in his youth career. He first competed in a major cycling race, called a Grand Tour, at the 2020 Vuelta a España in 2020. The next year, in 2021, he rode in his first Tour de France and finished in an amazing second place.

In 2022, he returned to the Tour de France as a top favorite. He won the entire race, along with two individual stages. He also won the polka dot jersey, which is given to the best climber. This made him only the second Danish cyclist ever to win the Tour de France. His win, especially after the race started in Copenhagen, Denmark, made him a national hero.

In 2023, Jonas won his second Tour de France. Later that year, he finished second at the Vuelta a España, right behind his teammate Sepp Kuss. Because of his great achievements, Jonas was given the Vélo d'Or award in 2023, which recognizes the best cyclist of the year. In 2024, he had a bad crash that injured his lung, making him miss several months of racing. Even so, he came back for the 2024 Tour de France, winning one stage and finishing second overall to Tadej Pogačar.

Jonas's Cycling Journey

Starting Out in Cycling

Jonas Vingegaard grew up in a place called Thy in Denmark. When he was young, he played both soccer and handball. One day, when he was a kid, he watched a bike race called the Danmark Rundt with his dad. At the race, a local cycling club had a special bike setup where people could try riding up a pretend mountain.

Jonas decided to join that club, Thy Cykle Ring, and started racing. He rode with them for five years. Then, he moved to other clubs, Aalborg Cykle Ring and Odder Cykel Klub. When he first became a senior rider, he found racing very tough. But things got better when Odder Cykel Club started a team for riders under 23 years old in 2016. He started getting good results, even winning a race section in Hammel.

Joining Team ColoQuick–Cult

Jonas racing in 2017

Because Jonas was doing better in races, a Danish cycling team called ColoQuick–Cult signed him in May 2016. To help him balance cycling and daily life, the team manager, Christian Andersen, helped Jonas get a job at a fish factory. Jonas would skin fish from 6 AM to noon on weekdays, then train in the afternoons.

In 2016, when he was 19, Jonas achieved his first big international result. He finished second in a race called the Tour of China I.

In 2017, Jonas had a tough year. He broke his leg in a crash during the 2017 Tour des Fjords race. This meant he couldn't race for a long time. Before his injury, he had finished fourth overall in a French race called Tour du Loir-et-Cher. He also won the award for the best young rider in that race.

After recovering from his broken leg, Jonas came back strong in 2018. He even set a record time on a tough training climb in Spain. A sports expert who tested Jonas said,

He simply has a pump and a heart that is in a class of its own. His [heart] is far clear of the average of Danish, male cyclists'. He has a plus of maybe 15 percent, and that is significant.

This means Jonas has an incredibly strong heart and body for cycling!

Riding for Team Jumbo–Visma

Jonas joined Team Jumbo–Visma in 2019. That year, he won his first race in the top-level UCI WorldTour series, taking stage 6 of the Tour de Pologne.

In 2020, he finished eighth in the 2020 Tour de Pologne. He also completed his first Grand Tour, the 2020 Vuelta a España. In that race, he worked as a domestique (a teammate who helps the team leader) for Primož Roglič, who ended up winning the race.

2021: Tour de France Runner-Up

Jonas wearing the white jersey at the 2021 Tour de France

Jonas started 2021 by winning a stage in the UAE Tour. Then, he won two stages and the overall title in the Settimana Internazionale di Coppi e Bartali race. Later, he finished second overall in the Tour of the Basque Country, right behind his teammate Roglič.

In April, Jonas was chosen to join his team for the 2021 Tour de France. He was supposed to help Roglič, who was one of the main favorites to win. But on stage 3, Roglič crashed badly. Even though the team tried to help him catch up, they lost a lot of time. On stage 5, a time trial, Jonas finished third and moved into the top ten overall.

On stage 8, the first mountain stage, Jonas finished with the main group of riders, but he lost time to Tadej Pogačar, who took the yellow jersey. After this stage, Roglič had to leave the race because of his injuries. This meant Jonas became the team's main rider for the overall win.

On stage 11, which included two climbs up Mont Ventoux, Jonas attacked on the second climb. Pogačar tried to follow him, but Jonas managed to drop him and gain almost 40 seconds. However, Pogačar caught him on the way down to the finish. Still, Jonas moved up to third place overall. As the race continued into the Pyrenees mountains, Jonas held his strong position. On stage 17 and 18, he finished second behind Pogačar on tough mountain finishes. On the second-to-last day, a time trial, Jonas again took third place, securing his second-place finish overall. He safely finished the final stage in Paris, becoming the second Danish rider ever to finish on the Tour de France podium.

2022: Tour de France Victory

Jonas (left) wearing the maillot jaune (yellow jersey) with Tadej Pogačar at the 2022 Tour de France

Jonas started 2022 strong, finishing second in the Tirreno–Adriatico race. He then placed sixth in the 2022 Tour of the Basque Country. His team, Jumbo-Visma, did very well at the 2022 Critérium du Dauphiné, where Jonas finished second behind his teammate Roglič and won a tough mountain stage.

He began the 2022 Tour de France in great shape. After the first stage, only Pogačar was ahead of him among the top riders. On stage 5, Roglič crashed, and Jonas almost lost a lot of time himself due to a bike problem. But his teammates helped him, and he didn't lose much time. In the next stages, he battled with Pogačar for stage wins and bonus seconds. He was the only top rider within a minute of Pogačar as the race entered the high mountains.

Stage 11 was a key moment. It included a climb up the Col du Granon, a mountain not used in the Tour since 1986. Jonas's team attacked Pogačar on earlier climbs. On the final climb, Jonas attacked with 5 kilometers to go. He dropped Pogačar for the second time in his career, and this time, Pogačar couldn't catch up. Jonas won the stage and took the yellow jersey, gaining a huge 2 minutes and 51 seconds on Pogačar. This was Jonas's first Tour de France stage victory. He defended his lead the next day on the famous Alpe d'Huez climb.

Over the next few stages, Pogačar tried to attack, but Jonas always responded. His team lost two strong riders, Roglič and Steven Kruijswijk, due to crashes or illness. But his best mountain helper, Sepp Kuss, was in great form. On stage 17, Jonas was the only rider who could stay with Pogačar's attacks on the final climb. Pogačar won the stage, but Jonas only lost a few seconds.

On stage 18, Jonas answered Pogačar's early attacks. Before the final climb up Hautacam, Pogačar crashed. Jonas showed great sportsmanship by waiting for Pogačar to catch up. On the final climb, Jonas followed Kuss's lead. Soon, Jonas and Pogačar caught their teammate Wout van Aert. Pogačar then seemed to struggle, and Jonas seized the moment, attacking hard. He gained over a minute on Pogačar, won his second stage, and secured an unbeatable lead in the Mountains Classification. This almost guaranteed his overall victory before the final time trial. The battles between Jonas and Pogačar were so intense that they left the other riders far behind. Jonas finished the final time trial strongly and crossed the finish line in Paris with his teammates, celebrating a historic Tour win. He also set a record for the highest average speed ever in the entire race.

After his Tour de France victory, Jonas took some time off from racing. He made his comeback in September at the CRO Race, where he won two stages and finished second overall by just one second.

2023: Second Tour Win

Jonas in the yellow jersey during the 2023 Tour de France

Jonas started 2023 in late February at the O Gran Camiño race in Spain. He dominated the race, winning all three stages that were raced (one stage was canceled). He also won the overall title and the mountains classification. Next, he competed in Paris–Nice, where he finished third overall behind Tadej Pogačar and David Gaudu.

He then entered and won the Tour of the Basque Country, taking three stage wins and the points classification. At the Critérium du Dauphiné, a very important race before the Tour de France, he won two stages and the overall race by a huge margin. Jonas's strong performances made him one of the top two favorites for the 2023 Tour de France, along with Pogačar.

At the Tour de France, Jonas started strong. On stage 5, he attacked and gained over a minute on Pogačar. This moved Jonas into second place overall. The next stage showed that the Tour would be a close fight, as Pogačar attacked and dropped Jonas, winning the stage and gaining 24 seconds. Even though he lost time, Jonas took the yellow jersey with a 25-second lead. Over the next mountain stages, Pogačar slowly reduced Jonas's lead to just 9 seconds after stage 13.

The race changed dramatically after the 22-kilometer time trial on stage 16. Pogačar rode first and set a very fast time. However, Jonas was on another level. He was much faster at every checkpoint and finished 1 minute and 38 seconds ahead of Pogačar. Jonas called it "one of my best days on the bike ever." Experts agreed it was one of the most amazing time trial performances in Tour history. The next stage, a tough mountain finish, was even more decisive. Jonas dropped Pogačar early on the final climb and finished almost 6 minutes ahead. This extended Jonas's overall lead to 7 minutes and 35 seconds. Jonas held this lead all the way to Paris, winning the race for the second year in a row.

Jonas then competed in the 2023 Vuelta a España, sharing the team leadership with Primož Roglič. In the first week, he stayed among the favorites. But on the stage 10 time trial, he lost about a minute to Remco Evenepoel and Roglič. He found himself over two minutes behind his teammate and race leader Sepp Kuss, who had gained time in an earlier breakaway. However, Jonas soon fought back, winning stages 13 and 16. He also finished second to Roglič on stage 17, moving into second place overall, just 8 seconds behind Kuss. He ended up finishing second overall, 17 seconds behind Kuss. Roglič finished third, making it an amazing one-two-three finish for their team.

2024: Crash and Comeback

Jonas at the 2024 Tour of the Basque Country

In 2024, Jonas again started his season at the O Gran Camiño race in February. He won the overall title, the mountain classification, and the points classification. He won all stages except the first time trial. He then raced in the Tirreno-Adriatico in March, winning the overall title and the mountain classification. He won stages 5 and 6, finishing 1 minute and 24 seconds ahead of the second-placed rider, Juan Ayuso. Ayuso said about Jonas's performance, "I think I'm the first human in this race. Hats off to Jonas."

Jonas's participation in the Tour of Basque Country was cut short. He was involved in a big crash on stage 4 in April, which also affected other top riders like Primož Roglič and Remco Evenepoel. Jonas suffered a punctured lung, a broken collarbone, and several broken ribs. He had to go to the hospital. This was his first serious accident since winning the Tour de France in 2022. His team confirmed he had a successful operation on his collarbone and would need weeks to recover. His sports director said Jonas would only go to the Tour de France if he was "one hundred percent" ready.

On June 20, it was confirmed that Jonas would be part of his team's Tour de France lineup, ending weeks of questions about his fitness.

On July 10, Jonas won his fourth career Tour de France stage on stage 11. He out-sprinted his main rival, Tadej Pogačar. After his win, Jonas said, "Three months ago, I really believed I was going to die. Now, sitting here with a stage win in the biggest race in the world, it's incredible." He finished the 2024 Tour in second place, behind winner Tadej Pogačar. During the race, Jonas was often grouped with Pogačar, Evenepoel, and Roglič as cycling's "Big Four" because they were so dominant in major races.

On August 18, he won the overall title of the Tour de Pologne. This was his third stage race victory of the season. After this win, Jonas decided to end his 2024 season early, skipping the Vuelta a España and the World Championships. He said he was "tired" and had "never been this tired after a Grand Tour before."

2025: New Season Starts Strong

Jonas started the 2025 season by competing in the Volta ao Algarve race. Even though he was in sixth place overall before the final stage, Jonas won the last uphill time trial. This victory gave him both the stage win and the overall race title. It was his first win in over six months and the third year in a row that he won his first race of the season.

During stage four of Paris–Nice, the race was stopped because of a severe hailstorm. When it restarted, Jonas finished second on the stage and took the overall leader's jersey. However, on stage five of Paris-Nice, Jonas crashed with 84 kilometers left in the race. He suffered a concussion, a cut lip, and injured his wrist. He lost 26 seconds on the stage and lost the leader's jersey to his teammate Matteo Jorgenson. Jonas later had to leave the race.

Jonas's Life Off the Bike

Jonas Vingegaard is the son of Claus Christian Rasmussen and Karina Vingegaard Rasmussen. He has one sister, Michelle. He went to Hillerslev School for primary school and then Tingstrup School. He also attended a special sports school called ISI Idrætsefterskole, focusing on cycling. After that, he studied at Thisted Handelsgymnasium for secondary education.

Jonas married Trine Marie Hansen (born in 1987) in Glyngøre. They met when Jonas was riding for Team ColoQuick, and Trine was the team's marketing manager. In September 2020, they welcomed their daughter, Frida. In September 2024, they had a son. Trine's mother, Rosa Kildahl Christensen, became well-known in Denmark after appearing on a baking TV show called Den store bagedyst.

Jonas's Achievements

Major Race Results

Grand Tour Results

Grand Tour general classification results
Grand Tour	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Giro d'Italia	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Tour de France	—	—	2	1	1	2
Vuelta a España	—	46	—	—	2	—
Major Stage Race Results
Race	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Paris–Nice	—	—	—	—	3	—	DNF
Tirreno–Adriatico	—	—	—	2	—	1	—
Volta a Catalunya	—	NH	—	—	—	—	—
Tour of the Basque Country	32		2	6	1	DNF	—
Tour de Romandie	72		—	—	—	—	—
Critérium du Dauphiné	—	—	51	2	1	—	2
Tour de Suisse	—	NH	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and Honors

• Danish Sports Name of the Year: 2022
• Vélo d'Or: 2023

See also

In Spanish: Jonas Vingegaard para niños