Jonas Vingegaard braced for ‘GC day’ on Tour’s Montjuïc showdown
There will be no gentle reintroduction to life in the yellow jersey for Jonas Vingegaard, who is braced for a battle between the overall contenders on stage 2 of the Tour de France to Barcelona.
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Vingegaard took the yellow jersey for the first time since 2023 when he led his Visma | Lease a Bike team to victory in the opening day team time trial, and he set off from Tarragona on Sunday with a 12-second buffer over his eternal rival Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).
Speaking to TV2 before the stage got under way, Visma’s lead sports director Marc Reef downplayed the idea that his team could seek to farm out the maillot jaune to a breakaway on the Tour’s second day in Catalunya. He was of the view that Vingegaard, Pogačar and the GC men would contest the stage win in Barcelona.
“It depends on what the race situation will do, but we are ready for it to be a GC day,” Reef said. “I think that will happen on that final lap. We also saw it from the experience in Catalunya a few times that it’s really hard. It’s really the strongest riders that will be there and they will race with each other. That is something that will also happen today and we are ready for that.”
Reef’s thoughts were echoed by Vingegaard when he arrived in the mixed zone before the start, with the Dane anticipating attacks from his rivals in the finale, which sees the peloton take in three ascents of the Côte du Château de Montjuïc.
“Obviously, we’ll have to see how the race unfolds, but I reckon it’ll be a really tough day and a battle for the general classification. And so, naturally, I’ll also try to hold on to the jersey,” Vingegaard told TV2.
“I don’t think this is the stage that suits me best. So we’ll have to defend more than we’ll have to attack.”
Vingegaard won the Giro d’Italia in May to complete a full set of Grand Tour victories, and he is now seeking to win a third Tour following his triumphs in 2022 and 2023. He reported in the mixed zone wearing a facemask on Sunday, but he confirmed that the measure was simply a precaution.
“It’s because I’ve had a history of falling ill in recent Grand Tours, so this is more about being proactive,” Vingegaard said. “I’m not having any problems at the moment.”
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