All class: Vingegaard sat up after Evenepoel’s crash, even though solo

Some crazy scenes in the finale of Stage 3 of the Volta A Catalunya today. Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel were away for the last 30 km during the third stage, but were ultimately caught. It looked like they might just outkick the peloton until Evenepoel crashed with 500 m to go. Race leader Dorian Godon took another win.

Visma-Lease a Bike’s Vingegaard held back rather than press on after Remco Evenepoel’s late crash in a chaotic finale to stage 3 of the Volta a Catalunya. After the race he said he had no interest in capitalizing on the incident.

Speaking to Eurosport per Wielerflits, the Visma – Lease a Bike rider admitted the moment caught him off guard. He said he wasn’t entirely sure what caused the crash. All he could see was that Evenepoel “suddenly went over the handlebars,” adding it “looked really crazy” and that he immediately hoped the Belgian was okay.

Rather than push on for the stage, Vingegaard chose to ease up. He explained that, in that situation, it didn’t feel right to take advantage. Instead he opted to wait and allow the race to come back together, expressing hope that Evenepoel would be able to continue the race.

The Dane also conceded the finale didn’t play out as expected. He had anticipated a larger group contesting the stage, but instead found himself isolated with Evenepoel after the pair split things in the crosswinds. He said that Evenepoel was incredibly strong on the flat. The Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe rider was flying in the final kilometres, looking aero as hell.

There was a moment of tension between the two, however. Vingegaard acknowledged that Evenepoel appeared frustrated at times, gesturing for more cooperation, but shrugged it off, noting that each rider has their own tactics in those situations.

“I wanted to grab my handlebars from below before the sprint. Then I rode into a hole in the road. I never saw it. It was neither clearly visible nor marked. That took my handlebars out of my hands,” Evenepoel said.

But in the end, Vingegaard showed his sportsmanship. It’s not the first time we’ve seen the multiple Grand Tour winner play nice. Back in 2022 at the Tour de Franece ’ Vingegaard took a stage win after a tense duel with Tadej Pogačar. But it was not without drama.

With 39 km to go, Pogačar attacked, and Vingegaard followed.

Then came the turning point. Vingegaard nearly slid out on the descent, moments before Pogačar crashed. As the Slovenian remounted, the Dane eased up…