Jonas Vingegaard claimed to have tasted success at home in Denmark without suffering from burnout after winning the 2022 Tour de France.

After winning the Tour de France, defeating Tadej Pogachar, Vingegaard missed his home race, the Tour of Denmark, and returned to racing for the first time in two months at a low-key CRO race in Croatia in late September. Other than competing in a criterium, he finished the season only participating in Il Lombardia.

France Maassen, Jumbo-Visma's sporting director, said in August that Vingegaard was having a tough time after the Tour de France because of the extra pressure, and fellow Danish rider Michal Morkoff said that Vingegaard was " In a lengthy interview published by Het Laatste Nieuws (opens in new tab), Vingegaard denied any talk of exhaustion after July. He said, "It was all an exaggeration, the media made up a story that never happened. Why should I hide it?

"I'm still the same Jonas I was before I won. Quiet and peaceful."

Asked directly what happened after the Tour, Vingegaard said, "I celebrated my victory and went home. Nothing more, nothing less."

"I was still thinking about competing in the Vuelta, but the conditions were not ideal. Seriously, I enjoyed myself with friends and family. I relaxed and had a good winter. As a Tour winner, everyone has an opinion on what you should and shouldn't do, right?"

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. All I can say is that it doesn't affect me. I don't care. I just listen to the people on my team." After winning the Tour de France, Vingegaard was the center of attention at every race he raced, including the post-Tour criterium and the criteriums held in Singapore and Saitama after the Tour de France.

He suggested they were a little different from the actual races.

"Sometimes I feel like a circus monkey," he joked. Of course, you can say 'no' to such an invitation. Of course, one can say 'no' to such advances. That way, you won't feel like a circus monkey, but it won't be a financially sound deal."

Regarding the absence of Primoz Roglic in the lineup for the 2023 Tour and next July's Jumbo-Visma, Vingegaard said he is not overly worried because the race will have a very different atmosphere than in 2022 anyway. He will be the sole leader of the Jumbo-Visma.

"It will be different anyway. Primosch was the one who mentored me and was my mentor in the team. He's going to the Giro and it will be fun for him," Vingegaard said.

He admitted that he would not be able to mount a two-pronged, two-leader attack on the Galibier, as he did in 2022 when Jumbo Visma isolated and cracked Pogachar.

He recognized that "without Primosh, it is impossible."

Vingegaard denied rumors that he might opt for the Giro d'Italia and dismissed the possibility of the 2023 Giro d'Italia.

"I'm looking forward to coming back with the number one jersey. I will be the only leader. It's like being the defending champion, it's more pressure and less pressure at the same time. I won the Tour," he explained in the HLN article.

"Sometimes I wake up and tell myself it wasn't a dream.

"Even if I never win again, I can say I made it once. On the other hand, it all falls on my shoulders. No problem. I even feel comfortable being the defending champion. In any case, the goal for 2023 is not just to win the Tour de France again.

After coming so close to a one-week stage race in the CRO race, Vingegaard said he will skip the Ardennes Classic in order to pursue a one-week stage race in the spring.

"At the moment, I can't perform in one-day races. I am not sure why. I still need to get the hang of it," Vingegaard admitted.

"Next year I'm aiming to win the overall in a stage race. I will participate in the Grand Camino (February 23-26), Paris-Nice (March 5-12), and the Tour of the Basque Country (April 3-8). These are specific goals for the Tour."

"Above all, I want to start the Tour fresh. Even more so than this year."