After two years of setbacks, crashes and finally a dominant performance at the Volta a Catalunya, the question is: is Jonas Vingegaard finally back to his best?

The Dane looked superb at the Volta, adding to his earlier Paris–Nice win and showing the calm, ruthless climbing that once made him the only rider able to truly trouble Tadej Pogačar. Seems like a long while ago though eh?

Vingegaard says he has “spent the last two years fighting my way back” – and right now, it seems that that battle is bearing fruit.

With the Giro still to come before July’s Tour de France, there is still plenty to prove however. But for the first time in a long time, there is a sense, at least amongst Vingegaard and his fans, that the Dane may be able to give Pogacar a fight at the Tour. He is all set to race in the Giro d’Italia first, which should give a clearer picture of how strong he is.

The question is, will be able to recover in time for the Tour, even if he has a great (ie winning) Giro?

It’s a risky plan, to race 3 weeks in May and then head to the Tour, but to beat the Slovenian, risks must be taken.

I guess in a sense, if he wins the Giro, great, happy team, his star shines again – and if he then drops off at the Tour – ie gets smashed by Pogi, as most still expect – then he can say ‘well, one Grandee is pretty good and naturally I was tired…’

It’ll be an interesting 2 months or so!