Two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) has not been chosen for the Olympic Video games in Paris, with Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Crew Emirates) taking over the final of Denmark’s 4 allotted locations.
Bjerg will journey the highway race on August 3 alongside Mads Pedersen, Mattias Skjelmose (each Lidl-Trek), and Michael Mørkøv (Astana Qazaqstan), who had already been introduced by the Danish Olympic committee. Mørkøv can even compete on the observe.
It is going to be Bjerg’s first Olympic Video games and he can even be Denmark’s consultant for the person time trial on July twenty seventh.
In November final yr, Vingegaard declared that he wish to go to the Olympics in Paris, saying to Danish information company Ritzau “I hope that I will likely be chosen, however it is not going to shock me if I’m not. It could be that the nationwide coach chooses 4 others as a substitute.”
The Visma-Lease a Bike rider is getting back from damage after a crash within the Itzulia Basque nation in April. He’s presently coaching at altitude in Tignes as he seeks to defend his Tour de France crown.
All in for Mads Pedersen
Hopes for a Danish medal on the Olympic Video games in Paris relaxation on the shoulders of 2019 world champion Mads Pedersen. The 28-year-old is effectively suited to the classics-style course round Paris which takes within the quick sharp Côte de la Butte Montmatre on the closing laps. Bjerg is about to play a supporting function for Pedersen within the highway race.
“I look ahead to serving to Mads. I’m an assistant rider each day and specialize in simply that. I do know I could make a distinction to the staff. Now we have a robust Danish staff, and we should present that we’re able to combat for the medals in Paris,” Bjerg stated on the Denmark Sport Federation’s web site.
Final month, Bjerg performed a key function in Tadej Pogačar’s Giro d’Italia win. He revealed that he’ll now skip the Tour de France with a purpose to deal with the Olympic Video games. Bjerg has his personal aspirations in Paris for the person time trial, by which he’s an outsider for a medal.
“I look ahead to the time trial. I’ve labored with time trials for 10 years, and I do know what it takes to ‘peak’ in that self-discipline,” stated Bjerg.
“I’m extremely proud to be going to the Olympics. I’ve gone all in. Since December I’ve solely been at residence 14 days, and in any other case I’ve simply [been at] races and been to coaching camps. I selected to journey the Giro d’Italia and skip the Tour de France with a purpose to be utterly prepared for the Olympics. That is why I am additionally actually relieved to be chosen.”
