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COPENHAGEN, July 26 (Reuters) – Double Tour de France-winner Jonas Vingegaard stated on Wednesday he wish to race within the Olympics subsequent yr, after being greeted by hundreds of jubilant Danes standing within the streets of Copenhagen to have fun his second successive triumph within the sport’s premier race.
The Dane advised native TV 2 that he had knowledgeable nationwide coach Anders Lund that he was accessible for the Olympic street race in Paris subsequent yr.
“I would like to race within the Olympics. I’ve advised Anders Lund that if he desires me alongside, I’m prepared,” he stated.
Contacted by the channel, Lund welcomed Vingegaard’s supply however didn’t promise him an Olympic ticket.
“It’s not a route that fits me 100%, I consider. And there are numerous different good Danes, so it might be that he is not going to select me,” Vingegaard advised TV 2.
The soft-spoken champion spoke to media on the Metropolis Corridor the place he appeared on the balcony to have fun his triumph in entrance of a mass of followers decked out in pink and white, the colors of the Danish flag, or in yellow shirts, as famously worn by the chief within the Tour.
“I am an enormous fan of yours, and I’m not the one one,” Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen advised Vingegaard throughout a speech on the Metropolis Corridor.
“You’ve got received the hearts of all Danes, and we’re so happy with you,” Frederiksen stated.
Vingegaard, 26, is the primary Dane to develop into a two-time winner of the Tour de France after final yr becoming a member of 1996 champion Bjarne Riis as the one different Danish champion.
He moved into the yellow jersey after the sixth stage of this yr’s race and was then concerned in a basic and vastly compelling mountain battle with Slovenian double Tour-winner Tadej Pogacar.
Vingegaard, nevertheless, stamped his authority on the race when he hammered Pogacar by a crushing one minute and 38 seconds on the sixteenth stage, a person time trial, to successfully seal the deal.
Vingegaard himself stated after the race that it may need been his finest day on a motorcycle ever and the Danish followers agree.
Mikkel Feldtmann Hansen, 24, has taken the break day from his job as a sergeant within the Danish Royal Guard to return and greet the Danish Tour de France riders.
“It is such an accomplishment to win the Tour de France and it is uncommon to see Danish sports activities obtain these large wins and get to be cheered on by their nation,” he advised Reuters.
Vingegaard and his household have been flown to Denmark on Wednesday following celebrations within the Netherlands, house to his crew Jumbo-Visma.
“I nonetheless assume it is arduous to consider that I’ve received the Tour de France two years in a row. That we have received it,” Vingegaard stated.
Wearing yellow, Mina Kastbjerg, 56, waited for over 4 hours to have fun Vingegaard’s success.
“We’ve to point out that we have fun and admire what he has carried out,” she stated.
Reporting by Johannes Birkebaek, extra reporting by Anne Kauranen in Helsinki, modifying by Nikolaj Skydsgaard and Toby Davis
Our Requirements: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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