Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) is set to race for the first time since March at the Critérium du Dauphiné on Sunday, and says he feels like a "different person" from last season heading into the Tour de France.
In June 2024, the two-time Tour winner was still a question mark, with his life-threatening crash at Itzulia Basque Country seeing him confirmed as a starter just nine days before the Grand Départ.
But this season, despite another crash and concussion at Paris-Nice putting him out of racing for almost three months, the Dane is improving by the day, with the grand aim of taking back the yellow jersey from rival Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and claiming his third overall win.
"Even last year, going into the Tour, I was still kind of believing that I could go for the win," said Vingegaard, speaking to Eurosport from training camp in Sierra Nevada.
"Obviously, that didn't work out, but this year, I feel like a completely different person, to be honest, in the way my body reacts to training, but also how my body is in general."
Vingegaard has most recently been spotted near Annecy, as he continues to ramp up his preparations for the start of the Tour in Lille, on July 5, and feels like his shape is steadily improving.
Having lost the Tour last year by more than six minutes and seen world champion Pogačar reach new heights in the Grand Tour arena, Vingegaard is aware he'll need to discover a new peak if he is to defeat cycling's top rider.
"I've always enjoyed the process of getting to the highest possible level for the Tour de France; it's always the big goal, and I always enjoy doing the hard work here," said Vingegaard.
"Everybody is taking a step at the moment, so obviously I also need to be better than I was two years ago," when he last won the Tour de France, "but I also have the feeling that I am improving."
Vingegaard will face off with Pogačar, and third Tour favourite Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), for eight days of thrilling racing at the Dauphiné next week, and it's a rivalry which the Dane is excited to renew.
The star GC pair have not raced each other since the conclusion of the Tour last season.
"If I were racing without Tadej, it wouldn't be the same, and hopefully, he feels the same the other way around," added Vingegaard. "I actually enjoy having a rival like him."
The Dauphiné should act as the preview for what is to come across the three weeks of intense racing expected at the Tour in July, where the route will return to the site of two of Vingegaard's biggest triumphs over Pogačar: the Col de la Loze and Hautacam.
