Not even a heavy crash with 30 kilometres to go on stage 2 of the Vuelta a España could prevent Jonas Vingegaard from fulfilling his role as overall favourite, with the Danish racer not even waiting until the Vuelta returned to Spain on Tuesday to claim the overall lead.
Vingegaard’s searing late acceleration past local favourite Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) at the mist-enshrouded summit of Limone Piemonte was a narrow win, by less than half a tyre’s width. But given the weight of expectations on his shoulders, as well as his bad crash, it was a hugely impressive victory.
In one fell swoop, Vingegaard has delivered an early blow that nets him his third Vuelta stage win and first-ever lead. Rather, just like when Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) conquered the maglia rosa on stage 2 of the Giro d’Italia in 2024 in the not-so-distant – geographically speaking – summit finish of Oropa. The Dane has also sent a clear message to his rivals that he wants to control the Vuelta from the word go.
He certainly has less of an advantage than Pogačar after Oropa in May 2024, when the Slovenian’s solo to the finish meant he was already 45 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. Overall, Vingegaard’s lead is only a scant four seconds on Ciccone, and a further 23 riders are within 25 seconds or less.
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