At the start of stage ten of the Vuelta a España, Jonas Vingegaard is laughing. He’s just been interviewed alongside his Danish compatriots, Mads Pedersen and Mikkel Bjerg live on television and he’s joking about tactics and hairstyles. This is a very different bike rider to the one we saw two months ago during the Tour de France when he fielded questions about a yellow jersey which was steadily slipping further and further out of his reach.
Part of the reason for the Visma-Lease a Bike rider’s light mood might be that this is not the Tour, but the Vuelta and we all know that the atmosphere is different. It is the end of the season, we are in Spain — a country of late starts and frequent siestas — and the stakes are simply not as high. Notably, four-time Tour winner, world champion and long-term rival of Vingegaard, Tadej Pogačar, is not present at the Vuelta and the entire shape of the race is shifted because of this.
This doesn’t mean less pressure for Vingegaard though. In fact it’s quite the opposite; it means that the Dane is the stand-out favourite to win the red jersey. He has the one of the strongest mountain domestiques in the race supporting him in Matteo Jorgenson, he boasts most decorated palmarès of any rider on the start list and this is a Grand Tour he hasn’t won before. The 28-year-old has repeatedly proven himself as the best climber in the race with two stage wins to his name already and we’re only just at the halfway point through the race. In many ways, it won't even be a big story if Vingegaard stands on the top step of the podium in Madrid in two weeks — the real headlines will come if he loses. When you’re Vingegaard at a Vuelta a España without Tadej Pogačar, winning is the expectation.
It seems, though, that this assumption isn’t weighing too heavy on the Danish rider. He’s appearing unequivocally calm and in control whenever his rivals apply the pressure and is, importantly, picking his moments to attack wisely. He won’t be drawn into trying to take too much time on the general classification too soon and while he currently leads the race, Vingegaard fell into the red jersey on stage 10 without even really meaning to. Torstein Træen lost contact with the GC group on the final climb of the day and Visma-Lease a Bike paced steadily on the front, Vingegaard only ending up in red because of the Bahrain-Victorious rider’s struggles further down the mountain.
Once, we might have asked questions about how the extra media requirements and podium ceremonies which come with leading a Grand Tour so early might impact Vingegaard – especially since this is his third time in red in this race already – but the 28-year-old’s demeanour so far this Vuelta dispels any doubt. Right now, it does not seem like stress can even infiltrate Vingegaard's orbit.
His calm approach to this race is only exacerbated by the drama permeating through his competition at UAE Team Emirates-XRG. João Almeida, who currently sits in third place overall and is expected to be the closest challenger to Vingegaard for red, has been cast into the spotlight following yesterday’s unprecedented announcement that his teammate Juan Ayuso would leave the Emirati team early at the end of this season. This comes after weeks of speculation regarding tensions between the pair, something that will certainly have been using unnecessary energy throughout the week so far.
Visma-Lease a Bike know better than anyone the importance of playing the long game in a three-week race, exerting themselves only when it is utterly essential and the rewards are suitable. Vingegaard did that on stage nine and took a deserved victory before the first rest day and we can expect more calculated, measured performances like that as the race continues. There is a certain balance to be found when riding the general classification of a Grand Tour: it’s being focused but calm, sharp but relaxed, strong but loose. Right now, with the red jersey on his shoulders, Jonas Vingegaard is getting everything right.
