The Tour de France started from Bilbao on July 1st with the fervor of three days in the race’s golden book in mind. In 2022, the Danish fever had, for three days, escorted the peloton and carried Jonas Vingegaard to success on the Champs-Elysées. A victory celebrated by a country after the return to Copenhagen of the yellow jersey (which made people forget the doping-tainted episodes of Bjarne Riis, winner in 1996, and Michael Rasmussen, yellow jersey excluded from the 2007 Tour). In 2022, the Danes had won three stages on the Grande Boucle (Magnus Cort Nielsen in Megève, Jonas Vingegaard at the Col du Granon and in Hautacam). A year later, the Danes (eleven riders starting from Bilabo) still managed to pull the cover to them.
Mads Pedersen (2019 world champion) won in the sprint in Limoges (8th stage), Jonas Vingegaard crushed the Combloux time trial (16th stage), before the victory of Kasper Asgreen (winner of the Tour of Flanders 2021) in the nose and beard of the sprinters (the 51st success on the Tour of the Soudal-Quick Step team of manager Patrick Lefevere ).
On the honor roll of this Tour, in the wake of Jonas Vingegaard, a solid yellow jersey whose performances have aroused suspicion, Denmark occupies a prominent place behind Belgium (4 bouquets for sprinter Jasper Philipsen), tied with Spain (3), inspired by the departure of the Basque Country on a Tour which saw eleven countries share the stage victories.
And with this 28th stage victory (won by a 16th rider) on the Tour de France, Denmark ranks eleventh among nations in the number of bouquets. That of a nation that is no longer afraid to take center stage.