Jonas Vingegaard’s first time trial in this year’s Tour de France didn’t go as planned. He lost nearly a minute and a half to Remco Evenepoel and just over a minute to Tadej Pogačar, dealing a heavy blow to his overall chances. Given his amazing TT just two years ago, where he legitimately thought his power meter was broken, Wednesday’s result was not optimal.
“I was definitely surprised. I didn’t expect to take that much time on him today,” Pogačar admitted after the stage. “Yes, I thought he would be closer. Maybe he just didn’t have his best day.”
Visma – Lease a Bike’s Head of Racing Grischa Niermann didn’t mince words.
“That was not what we expected in terms of time loss, and we have to deal with that,” he said to Wielerflits. “Jonas systematically lost time on his rivals, which is not the time trial we had hoped for.”
Vingegaard’s TT
It was clear from the start things were no bueno.
“After four kilometres, he was already eight seconds behind Remco, which is quite a lot. That gap just kept growing steadily throughout the stage. It wasn’t a single bad moment, but a constant loss of time. It’s not like it was his first time trial, so I don’t think it felt right for him today.”
Still, there’s two weeks left of racing.
“All riders faced the same conditions, and clearly others were better today. Jonas has trained hard on explosiveness and spent a lot of time on the time trial bike. That’s not the cause here. These time trials are crucial this Tour, and now we’ll have to attack more aggressively,” Niermann said.
Going forward
So now what?
Vingegaard has been exceptionally aggressive in these first few stages, clearly wanting to make a statement. He attacked on descents—maybe saying, “Hey, I ain’t afraid of no ghosts”—and he’s truly the only rider in the peloton who can match Pogačar up the hills.
So yes, today was a setback. We all remember the “I’m gone, I’m dead” moment—and that was very different circumstances than this edition of the Tour de France. But pro cycling—especially stage racing—is a roller coaster. One day can change everything. Either way, look to the high mountains to be some incredible racing between the greats.
Stage 6 is a lumpy day from Bayeux to Vire Normandie. It’s a long day in the saddles at 201.5km. Be sure to check back with Canadian Cycling Magazine for a report and photos.
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