Jonas Vingegaard is full of optimism before the Critérium du Dauphiné, which begins on Sunday which is expected to give cycling fans a limited pretaste of the Tour de France.
In last year's Tour, Vingegaard was set back by a serious crash in the Tour of the Basque Country.
The crash basically ruined the Team Visma rider's preparations for the Tour of France, which was won by UAE rival Tadej Pogacar.
This time Vingegaard is confident that he can beat Pogacar in the Tour. But he won't reveal where he feels he has an advantage.
"I believe that I have the upper hand in one area. I'm not going to sit here and say what it is. Then they know it too. So we keep that to ourselves."
"If I didn't believe I could win the Tour, I would have participated in the Giro", Vingegaard says to the TV 2 Play program "Jonas Vingegaard - where will lives", which will be aired on Sunday morning.
Vingegaard believes that Pogacar had the upper hand in virtually every aspect in last year's Tour. The Dane does not expect that to be the case in this year's Tour.
"If I compare myself to how I was in the Tour last year, I am almost a completely different rider now than I was then", he says in the programme.
Vingegaard explained at a press conference before Criterium Dauphiné that he is looking forward to competing against Pogacar on more equal terms.
"Last year in the Tour de France, I knew I wasn't at my highest level. I know I can be much better this year than I was last year, partly because of the preparation."
"I actually think that I can beat him and do much better in the Tour de France this year", ends Vingegaard.