'I like to win big races' - Vingegaard highlights Catalunya victory as more than Giro preparation

Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) admitted that he didn’t expect such significant time gaps as he romped clear on the slopes of the altered Coll de Pal at the end of stage 5 of the Volta a Catalunya, seizing control of the GC standings. The Dane explained how he didn’t feel his best at the start of the stage in La Seu d'Urgell

“Actually, it was quite a hard stage. We had a plan from the morning. I didn't feel the very, very best in the beginning, but on the last climb, I felt very, very good, and yeah, my teammates did incredible today," Vingegaard said in his post-race interview.

Vingegaard’s Italian teammate Davide Piganzoli (Visma | Lease a Bike) was part of the day’s breakaway, and Sepp Kuss (Visma | Lease a Bike) protected his team leader well on the lower slopes of the Coll de Pal. This was significant as things were made more complicated with two Visma riders crashing on the descent of the penultimate climb of the day, the Collada Sobirana.

“We had Davide [Piganzoli] in the breakaway, so we didn't have to pull all day, and then Sepp [Kuss] and he made the difference for me in the end today, and yeah, it was good teamwork today."

When Vingegaard surged clear with 6km remaining, creating clear daylight over the competition, he didn’t look back, pressing on the pedals and extending his advantage all the way to the altered finish line on the Coll de Pal.

In the end, Vingegaard’s winning margin was 0:51 over Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM), with Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) finishing 6th on the stage at 1:38, margins he hadn’t expected.

"No, to be honest,” said Vingegaard when asked if he expected the sort of time gaps he produced. “But in the end, I felt really strong on the last climb, so I'm really happy with the gap I made today.”

Vingegaard was also asked if he sees the Volta a Catalunya as a stepping stone to the bigger objectives to come, with his next race being the Giro d’Italia in May.

However, the Dane declined the idea that the Spanish race was simply about preparation, and highlighted the prestige of adding another WorldTour win to his palmares, his milestone 30th WorldTour win.

“No, it's a big race. I like to do big races. 
I like to win big races, and that's why I'm here also,” said Vingegaard. “And of course, then it's also a good preparation for what's coming up for me later on in the season.”

The hunger for success doesn’t fade, and Vingegaard admitted that he already has his eyes set on adding another stage win in Catalonia, but insists he’ll take the race as it comes, with the priority being to secure the GC. 

“
I will not rule it out that we want to go for another stage. Now we have to recover and see how we feel tomorrow, and then see how it is. Of course, there's also a lot of other riders in the bunch.”

Stage 6 on Saturday is another significant stage for the GC contenders, with the second summit finish of the race in Queralt. Vingegaard holds an advantage of 0:57 over Gall in second, while Lenny Martinez (Bahrain-Victorious) sits in 3rd at 1:09.