Jonas Vingegaard has pulled out of his planned 2026 season debut at the UAE due to illness and a recent crash, his Visma-Lease a Bike team announced on Friday morning.
It was due to be one of the first big general classification showdowns of the season, with Vingegaard set to take on a red-hot Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and rising UAE Team Emirates-XRG star Isaac Del Toro.
"Jonas Vingegaard will not line up at the start of the UAE Tour later this month after all," read a statement released by the Dutch team. "A recent crash followed by illness has ruled out his planned participation."
Vingegaard crashed on January 26 in training after a controversial incident with an amateur rider, where he was reportedly tailed on a descent before coming down. Despite not sustaining serious injuries, the team called for more "space and peace" to be given to pro riders.
Subsequent illness a week after that incident in Spain has meant a delayed start to the Dane's season.
If Visma stick to his original plan, he will now make his debut at the Volta a Catalunya, which will be his only race before taking on the Giro d'Italia-Tour de France double.
"I was really looking forward to returning to the UAE Tour and am therefore disappointed that we have had to make this decision," said Vingegaard.
"However, the combination of the crash and subsequent illness made it necessary. It is better to fully recover first so that I can then focus on my next goals."
