Jonas Vingegaard is grateful to Tom Pidcock’s mother

Jonas Vingegaard says one unlikely figure deserves credit for salvaging his biggest moment of the season: Tom Pidcock’s mother.
Speaking Tuesday at Visma–Lease a Bike’s High HQ in the Netherlands, the Danish star was feted by dozens of staff before heading home to Denmark. It was also his first chance to reflect on the improvized celebration that followed Sunday’s cancelled Vuelta a España finale in Madrid.

“Winning the Vuelta a España is very special — with or without a celebration in Madrid,” Vingegaard said to the media, as reported by Wielerflits. “When I heard the news that there was no ceremony, I was very disappointed. That the moment of that tribute was taken away from me. However, this way was even nicer. It was a much more intimate moment. It’s one of the best moments of my career.”

A last-minute solution

The three-time Grand Tour champion said the impromptu podium came together in less than an hour, thanks to a spark from Pidcock’s mother, Sonja Harper. “The idea really came very last-minute,” he said. “It came from Tom Pidcock’s mother. Through Q36.5 and our team, we quickly arranged and set up everything. We all had to come from other hotels, but were close to Pidcock’s team. It was very nice and beautiful.”

They kept the plan under wraps, Vingegaard added, partly to protect American rider Matthew Riccitello, who was also receiving his white jersey for best young rider. “If that was known to the protesters, it is possible it might not have been so safe,” he said. Riccitello rides for Israel–Premier Tech, which was the target of several protests. During the TTT several protesters ran onto the road when they were in full flight. Multiple riders had to come to a stop, although their time was adjusted later for the delay.

The drama at La Vuelta

The stage in Madrid wasn’t the only one that was disrupted. Stage 11, which was to end in Bilbao, was stopped with 3 km to go. Pidcock and Vingegaard had gone clear of the peloton. Although the majority of riders didn’t cross the line, the Brit did, in a show of defiance. Something similar happened at Stage 16, when multiple protesters on the summit finish meant the race was halted at the bottom. Ineos–Grenadiers’ Egan Bernal took the win.

“They said: we want to go into town, party,” team boss Richard Plugge said. “Jonas had also just changed out of his kit, so he wasn’t really waiting for it either. But we said, we are going to honour our…