'We have a title to defend here' – Jonas Vingegaard to make surprise return to racing at Paris-Nice

Jonas Vingegaard is to make a surprise return to racing next week at Paris-Nice, after delaying his season due to illness.

The Visma-Lease a Bike rider was due to start his season at the UAE Tour, but decided to skip it after crashing during training and subsequently falling ill. It will be the Dane's third Paris-Nice, after finishing third overall behind Tadej Pogačar in 2023, and last year, when he left the race partway through after crashing and suffering concussion.

Matteo Jorgenson, also of Visma-Lease a Bike, has won the last two editions, although the American is not racing Paris-Nice in 2026. The race runs from Saturday 8 March to Sunday 15 March.

Vingegaard, who won the Tour de France in 2022 and 2023, was victorious at the Vuelta a España last year, and is now targeting the Grand Tour treble in the Giro d’Italia, which he will ride for the first time this spring.

After his UAE Tour withdrawal, the Giro and the Volta a Catalunya were the only races on his calendar before July’s Tour, but that has now been rejigged. It is not known whether Vingegaard will still race Catalunya, which begins on the 23 March. The Giro begins on the 8 May in Bulgaria.

"I am excited to be at the start of Paris-Nice once again. It is a prestigious race with a lot of history. As a team, we have a title to defend here," he said in a team statement. Matteo Jorgenson has won the race for Visma for the past two years, but is skipping the race for a more Classics-focused spring.

"After crashing and falling ill, I took the necessary time to recover. Now I feel ready to start racing again and am looking forward to it after a long winter of training."

Vingegaard crashed his bike last month after being followed by an amateur cyclist on a descent near Malaga, Spain.