'Not many races decided by four seconds' - Vingegaard unfazed as Ayuso claims bonus seconds at Paris-Nice

It was a relatively eventful stage for Ayuso despite being one that was destined to end in a bunch sprint. The 23-year-old narrowly avoided a crash, taking swift action to avoid being taken down, and he shared a good-humoured analogy after the finish, describing the incident.

"I went farming today, I avoided a crash by going into the grass, so I managed to save that one", Ayuso explained to Danish TV channel TV2 at the finish in Montargis where Max Kanter claimed his first WorldTour win.

On a more positive note, Ayuso was active at the intermediate sprint point, gaining four bonus seconds, an intriguing plot point in the fight for the yellow jersey.

"I thought the break was probably going to be there, but when the seconds were up for grabs, the team positioned me perfectly, all I had to do was the last 100 metres. I nearly got six [seconds], so it was a close one."

"But I'm happy with it,” said Ayuso, who moved up to sixth in GC, 0:08 behind race leader Luke Lamperti (EF Education-EasyPost).

Notably, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) didn’t contest the hunt for bonus seconds, and the Dane explained that he believes that the race won’t be decided by the four seconds that Ayuso gained. 

“Well, I don't think so... now I have to be careful what I say, but I don't think this race has ever been decided in four seconds in history, without being sure of my history. But there aren't many races that are decided by four seconds,” Vingegaard told TV2. 

The stats suggest that it can come down to the fine margins as Paris-Nice has been decided by four seconds three times in the last decade, with Geraint Thomas winning by four seconds in 2016, Sergio Henao by two seconds in 2017, and Marc Soler by four seconds in 2018.

When asked about Vingegaard’s response, Ayuso simply responded that it's "Better to be in front than behind, of course.”

What both riders won’t be undecided about is the fact that stage 3’s 23.5km team time trial from Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire to Pouilly-sur-Loire is set to be a pivotal day for the general classification contenders. 

For the fourth consecutive year, the team time trial is set to play its part in the battle for the yellow jersey in the Race to the Sun. There’s, of course, the added significance this season due to the fact thatthe Tour de France is kicking off with a team time trial in Barcelona on July 4. 

Twelve months ago, it was Vingegaard and his Visma | Lease a Bike teammates powered to victory, putting the foundations in place for Matteo Jorgenson to defend his Paris-Nice crown. 

For Ayuso, it’s his first outing in the discipline with his new team, Lidl-Trek, but the Spaniard highlighted the experience he has from the past with his former employers. He was part of a winning UAE Team Emirates-XRG team in the team time trial at the Vuelta a España last August. 

Speaking to CyclingProNet before the start of the stage, Ayuso was asked about his feelings ahead of the important race against the clock.

“Yeah, it’s obviously the first time I’ll do it with the team, but I think I’ve done many in the past few years, especially in all the Vueltas a España I’ve done, so I think I more or less have experience,” Ayuso told CyclingProNet.

“We’ve practised quite a lot in the team over the winter, and also we came here before to do one training session more. We have quite good chemistry, and I hope tomorrow we can show it. I think we have a good team to try and go for the win.”

When asked about how significant the stage could be for the GC, Ayuso was quite honest in its significance, also highlighting the rest of the route.

“I think a lot. This Paris-Nice is not like a super queen stage where you can make big, big differences. Also, now we’re seeing that maybe in Nice there’s really bad weather, so we will see what we can and what we can’t race,” said Ayuso. 

“So I think tomorrow has, I don’t know what percentage, but I think more than 70% of the general classification can be decided tomorrow.