Tour de France winner Vingegaard given hero’s welcome in Copenhagen

Jonas Vingegaard made a triumphant return to Denmark following his second successive Tour de France victory

Jonas Vingegaard made a triumphant return to Denmark on Wednesday following his second successive Tour de France victory, as thousands lined the streets to welcome him home.

“Vingegaard!, Vingegaard!, Vingegaard!” echoed from the crowd of tens of thousands gathered in the square outside Copenhagen’s city hall, just as they had a year earlier, when Vingegaard won his first Tour de France title.

“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,” he added.

Many wore the Danish red and white, while others donned yellow shirts mirroring the jersey worn by the leader of the Tour de France.

Crowds also lined the streets to wave at Vingegaard as he enjoyed his second open-top parade wearing the famous jersey into Copenhagen after landing in a private jet.

The 26-year-old was the first Dane to win the iconic race since Bjarne Riis -- who later admitted to doping -- in 1996.