Following his second consecutive Tour de France victory, Jonas Vingegaard made a triumphant return to Denmark on Wednesday. Thousands of people lined the streets to welcome him home.
Tens of thousands of people had gathered on the square outside Copenhagen’s city hall, just as they had a year earlier, when Jonas Vingegaard won his first Tour de France championship. “Vingegaard!, Vingegaard!, Vingegaard!,” rang from the crowd.
He added
“It’s still hard to understand, that I have won the Tour de France two years in a row. He said during a speech at city hall. If someone had told me five years ago, I don’t think I would have believed it, or I know I wouldn’t have.”
Many people wore the Danish national colours of red and white, while others wore yellow shirts that matched the jersey worn by the Tour de France’s leader.
As Vingegaard enjoyed his second open-top parade in Copenhagen after landing in a private jet, people lined the streets to wave at him.
Since Bjarne Riis, who later admitted doping, won the illustrious race in 1996, the 26-year-old from Denmark is the first Dane to have done so.
After a 21-day race, Vingegaard finished ahead of Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar, the winner in 2020 and 2021, by 7 minutes, 29 seconds on Sunday.
Since Italian Vincenzo Nibali’s victory in 2014 by 7 minutes and 39 seconds, his winning margin was the most.
According to broadcaster TV2, more than a million people in the 5.8 million-person nation tuned in to witness the race’s final stage. TV2 recorded a peak of over 1.2 million viewers across its digital and television broadcast for the last stretch on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said during a speech.
“I’m a big fan of yours, and I’m not the only one. More than anything you have won the hearts of all Danes, and we are so proud of you.”
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