Two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) has not been chosen for the Olympic Games in Paris, with Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates) taking over the final of Denmark’s 4 allotted locations.
Bjerg will experience the street 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 will even compete on the observe.
It will probably be Bjerg’s first Olympic Games and he will 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 probably be chosen, nevertheless it won’t shock me if I’m not. It might be that the nationwide coach chooses 4 others as a substitute.”
The Visma-Lease a Bike rider is getting back from harm after a crash within the Itzulia Basque nation in April. He is 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 Games in Paris relaxation on the shoulders of 2019 world champion Mads Pedersen. The 28-year-old is nicely suited to the classics-style course round Paris which takes within the brief sharp Côte de la Butte Montmatre on the closing laps. Bjerg is ready to play a supporting position for Pedersen within the street race.
“I sit up for serving to Mads. I’m an assistant rider every day and specialize in simply that. I do know I could make a distinction to the crew. We have a powerful Danish crew, and we should present that we’re able to battle for the medals in Paris,” Bjerg mentioned on the Denmark Sport Federation’s website.
Last month, Bjerg performed a key position in Tadej Pogačar’s Giro d’Italia win. He revealed that he’ll now skip the Tour de France to be able to concentrate on the Olympic Games. Bjerg has his personal aspirations in Paris for the person time trial, during which he’s an outsider for a medal.
“I sit up for 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,” mentioned Bjerg.
“I’m extremely proud to be going to the Olympics. I’ve gone all in. Since December I’ve solely been at house 14 days, and in any other case I’ve simply [been at] races and been to coaching camps. I selected to experience the Giro d’Italia and skip the Tour de France to be able to be utterly prepared for the Olympics. That’s why I’m additionally actually relieved to be chosen.”