It’s November, which means rider interviews tend to focus on questions of retirement, and how “my beloved sport isn’t what it used to be, there’s no respect in the peloton anymore” and so on…
Thankfully, Jonas Vingegaard has yet to succumb to that level of grouching, but he has opened up on his thoughts beyond the peloton, and he appears to have two clear, but differing voices inside his head.
“I always said I wanted to do something with numbers, probably something in banking. I have always been good with numbers,” the two-time Tour de France champion told Danish channel TV MidtVest, who also ruled out staying in the field of pro cycling after retirement. But then came this revelation…
“After becoming an adult and renovating my own house, I realised that I actually like manual labour more than I thought,” said Vingegaard, who added of his future plans, “Time will tell. I am very fascinated by carpentry.”
We like this idea, the stoic, reserved Dane deriving personal satisfaction from private constructions. To be clear, this is probably some way off, with Vingegaard’s current contract running until the end of 2028, by which point he will only be 32, rather young by traditional standards. Either way, between banking and carpentry, all we know for sure is that there’s a biblical reference somewhere that we’re definitely not informed enough to make.
What’s interesting though, is that speculation was rife during the Tour de France was rife that he was struggling to maintain any form of work-life balance. The rumours began after his wife Trine Hansen gave an interview saying that Visma-Lease a Bike had asked their star rider to stop working on DIY projects in order to avoid risking injury.
Thankfully, with Vingegaard never one to indulge or engage with tabloid speculation, the story subsided, but it’s further proof – if it were needed – that the Dane, refreshingly, has interests beyond two wheels. Maybe his love of carpentry is fuelled in part by its “forbidden fruit” reputation that it’s acquired thanks to his employer. Anyway, in the depths of the off-season, we’re all here for it.
