The 2022 Tour de France was Denmark and Danish ace Jonas Vingegaard to boot. With the Grand Départ in Denmark and the 25-year-old Dane's eventual win in Paris, the 2022 Tour was a truly Danish tour. In an interview with the first Danish Tour winner, he gives a nice insight into the role of cycling in his life and about his 'home routes'. His favourites, in other words. We already feel like going back to 'the land of everyday wonder'. Vingegaards' Favourites: cycling in Denmark in optima forma.
At Jonas's home: Thy National Park
Vingegaard grew up in Thy in North Jutland, one of the most beautiful regions, bordering the North Sea. A beautiful region for cycling, especially the Thy national park. No wonder Jonas' love for cycling was born here. He first rode his own rounds and only later joined a local club, first in Thy, then in Aalborg and then Odder.
But back to Thy National Park. It is literally untouched nature and there are some great routes you can ride. If you're looking for variety (and some beautiful gravel lanes) we have some great ideas for you. Not only are there some new, signposted routes that are beautiful, but you can also ride from here to the northern tip of Route 1. Pretty cool anyway. Also check out our Jonas' Favourites collection on Komoot! The two new routes are both themed:
- Animal Paradise -> you mainly drive past otters, cranes and other bird species, while driving through hilly landscape that dates back to the ice age.
- Forces of Nature -> Here you really drive along the North Sea. The dunes here are perhaps as beautiful as in the Netherlands.
The routes can be found in the collection at the bottom of this article: Vingegaards' Favourites: cycling in Denmark
Cycling in North Jutland
Back to Jonas and his family. These days he lives in Glyngøre, also in North Jutland, some 2.5 hours by bike from where he grew up. He knows this route like the back of his hand. Since his teenage years, this has been his training ground. It is the routes and roads that he still loves: 'the nature there is beautiful and you have little traffic', says the young Tour winner.
Aalborg
Vingegaard was also a member of the local cycling club in Aalborg, Denmark's northernmost city. There are some great routes waiting for you there too, according to the Dane. The best routes you can find there is the one between Hobro, Aalborg and further along the east coast between Hans (what's in a name) and Hadsund. If you combine the two, you have 180km ahead of you. You can do that in two stages, of course, but for the real go-getters, this is a wonderful (sunny) day on the bike. Another favourite of Vingegaard's is the route around Mors, a small island in the Limfjord and around Salling, the peninsula near Glyngøre.
As a final tip, Vingegaard comes up with the Pøt Mølle, just under 30 kilometres from Aarhus. A 565-metre climb, with an average of 9.7 per cent. That does get us excited. It's a bit like the better climbing in Limburg, Flanders and Luxembourg. It is not surprising that Jonas picks out this little climb. It was precisely on this hill that later Tour winner Vingegaard had his breakthrough in 2016. It is also considered the toughest climb in Denmark.
Denmark breathes cycling
Jonas and his young family like to travel around his homeland themselves when the season is over. So who knows, maybe you can join him for a ride around Glyngøre. He says himself about cycling in Denmark: 'The bike fits easily in the boot of the car, so I can take it anywhere in Denmark when I go to visit friends or family and that way I can train wherever I am then.' Of course, it also helps that Denmark is a safe place to cycle, with good routes and little traffic.
When we were in the region in May 2022 to explore the tour route, it was the same. The people are very friendly, they are considerate of you and in general there is much less traffic than, for example, in the Netherlands.
Jonas Vingegaard on the Tour start
"The best view was when we drove across the Great Belt Bridge, That was really a wonderful memory."
READ ALSO: Our articles on the tour course in Denmark & the Pedaleurs' beautiful trip in April 2022.
- In the wake of the Tour, on detour through Denmark
- Cycling in Denmark: on the trail of the Tour start (2)
- Cycling to Denmark: Wanderlust & Hygge
Netflix and chill
There will be a Netflix documentary on Vingegaard in 2023, where he will be put back in the spotlight, with detailed 'behind the scenes' content. You can then get an insight into what it takes to win the Tour and what details are important to grab just that few seconds' lead. The docu is scheduled for the first half of 2023.
