Visma | Lease a Bike's sports director Grischa Niermann shared a video with Jonas Vingegaard and three amateur riders.
"His car overtook us in the middle of the climb (for Col du Soulor) and it stopped on the side of the road. Grischa Niermann said that Vingegaard was about two minutes ahead and that we could catch him because he was not driving very fast", says the 19-year Frenchman Paul Capelle, who was one of the three fortunate riders, to TV 2 Sport
"We had to up the pace to around 400 watts to reach him. We reached him and I said it was incredible to see him and I asked if it was no problem if we could ride along and follow. He agreed to that, and we did almost all of his training with him", says Paul Capelle.
Jonas Vingegaard met the three Frenchmen on the Col du Soulor climb before they drove on to Hautacam and the Frenchmen enjoyed a four-hour training session with the Tour de France favorite.
Capelle said that the normally shy Dane was in a talkative mood and they discussed nutrition and the upcoming race calendar.
"He was also interested in me. He asked if I was involved in sports and if I raced. We talked about everything and it was pretty cool", says Capelle.
The three young Frenchmen thanked Vingegaard for his kindness during the extended training session, and said they had had an experience they will probably never forget.
"We feel incredibly lucky, and it won't happen again in my life. Otherwise, I will play the lottery if it happens again. For him it was a little training, for us it was incredible", says Capelle.
Vingegaard is currently preparing for his next race which will be the Criterium du Dauphine from 8-15 June. The Tour de France starts on 5 July.
