“I feel good,” says Vingegaard. “I’ve had a strong winter, training has gone very well, and we’re starting with a strong team. Of course, the first race of the season is always exciting, and the competition has more race kilometers in the legs, but I’m really looking forward to riding this beautiful race.” Vingegaard aims to compete for victory. “Whenever I line up at the start, I always want to go for the win.”

Team director Reef also makes the ambitions clear. “We want to go for a strong general classification and be in contention for the win. Paris-Nice is always a nervous race, so it’s important to stay alert in every stage.”

In the French stage race, which Team Visma | Lease a Bike won the past two years with Matteo Jorgenson, danger lurks every day. A particular focus for Team Visma | Lease a Bike will be on the team time trial on day three. Reef explains: “The course is tricky, but I don’t think there are any extremely tough mountain stages where big gaps can be made. That makes the team time trial extremely important.”

Last year, Team Visma | Lease a Bike won the team time trial at Paris-Nice, and this remains a key objective, according to Reef. “We’ve studied the course carefully and already trained in our formation. We have a very strong team with plenty of powerful riders, but the course is quite technical. Still, I expect that with our experience we can put in a strong performance and get Jonas to the finish as quickly as possible.”

That team time trial should set Vingegaard and the team up for a strong overall result in Nice. Reef adds: “Jonas comes out of a good training block. Of course, he faced a setback that forced him to miss the UAE Tour, but he’s trained well and is in excellent shape. How that compares to the competition remains to be seen, but we fully expect to be in contention for the overall victory.”

Alongside Vingegaard, Edoardo Affini, Bruno Armirail, Wilco Kelderman, Davide Piganzoli, Axel Zingle, and Victor Campenaerts make up Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s seven-rider squad.