Jonas Vingegaard maintains every member of Jumbo-Visma is “totally clean” and nobody is “taking anything illegal” after clinching the Yellow Jersey at the Tour de France.
The Dane’s victory caps a dominant race for the Dutch team, who have picked off six stage victories, including three for Wout van Aert, who triumphed in Saturday’s Stage 20 time-trial to Rocamadour.
Vingegaard, who has two wins, while Christophe Laporte also has a stage victory, was asked following the Stage 20 whether Jumbo-Visma should be trusted, a question posed to each Tour winner since the Lance Armstrong scandal, which has contributed to much of cycling’s murky past.
And despite no implication or evidence of any wrongdoing, from either Vingegaard or his team, the rider answered candidly, explaining the team set-up and training philosophy.
“We are totally clean, every one of us,” Vingegaard said. “I can say that to every one of you.
“No one of us is taking anything illegal. I think why we’re so good is the preparation that we do.
“We take altitude camps to the next step. We do everything with material, food, and training. The team is the best within this. That’s why you have to trust.”
Van Aert, when also asked about doping, was less warm in his response, claiming, “it’s such a sh** question, it comes back every year.
“Because we’re performing at this level, we have to defend ourselves, I don’t get it.
“We work super hard for this. Cycling has changed. I don’t like it that we keep on having to reply to this. We have to pass controls every moment of the year, not only at the Tour de France, also at our homes.
“We’re just training for it. If you just look through our team, how we’ve developed through these years, it hasn’t come from nowhere.”
