Jonas Vingegaard’s Visma-Lease a Bike team have said they aren’t concerned by having a deficit of 6:22 to the new pink jersey, Afonso Eulálio, who claimed the lead of the race from the breakaway on stage 5 of the Giro d’Italia.
Eulálio finished second on a dramatic 203 km day from Praia a Mare to Potenza, but finished more than seven minutes in front of the main group of GC favourites, who rolled across the line after a much calmer second half of the stage.
When asked whether that 6:22 deficit was at all concerning heading towards the first big mountain stage of the race on Friday, Visma sports director Marc Reef simply replied “No,” to Cyclingnews at the team bus, and was very relaxed as he debriefed the day to reporters.
Vingegaard was kept well-protected by his teammates as wet roads and dangerous descents threatened to throw a spanner into Visma’s Giro, with clothing playing an important role on such a cold and rainy day. After his eye-catching wardrobe choices from Paris-Nice, today was more straightforward, according to Reef.
“We tried to get him all of the clothing he needs. We were with the car beside him quite often with the bunch, but actually he came through today on quite a good day,” said the DS.
“He only changed his jacket one time. He was not cold, he had good clothes, so all in all I think a good day for us.”
Even with their relative calm despite the big gap they have to make up on Eulálio, there was a moment where their expected main rivals in the fight for pink, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, came to the front and started pacing. Starting with around 76 km to go, it didn’t last too long and was more about positioning for the descent, according to their staff.
“We still had the resources available that we planned to have until this point, and of course we wanted to be in the downhill in a good position and use those guys in the best possible way,” said Red Bull DS Christian Pömer to Cyclingnews after the finish.
“We saw Lidl was struggling already at that point, and just to have control over the race situation and not get on the back foot.
“Today was as expected, super chaotic. We were well prepared with everybody already with a heavy rain jacket in the bottle that we’d cut open. Well, unfortunately, I had to get out of the car to go out and help one rider change. It was really wet and really fucking cold. I think the guys managed it well.”
Pomer said the responsibility to chase down the big gap from Eulálio was more down to Visma, who started as the heavy race favourites with two-time Tour de France winner and reigning Vuelta champion Vingegaard, who is aiming to complete the full set of Grand Tour GC victories at the Giro.
“Well, our big goal here is the podium, and I think it’s more up to Visma to be worried about this guy,” said the Austrian, with their main leaders Giulio Pellizzari and Jai Hindley sitting four seconds ahead and on the same time as the Dane, respectively, after five stages.
“Giulio looked really good, but we all know the Giro is not the race where you can make predictions in the first couple of days. At the first uphill test on stage 2, he was good, but he’s a young rider, and we have to plan with him day by day.”
Visma’s Reef was unfazed by Red Bull’s movements on stage 5, and seemed quietly confident with a brutal stage and finish to the iconic Blockhaus climb looming on Friday.
“I think that they wanted to lower the time gap to the break, that’s what they did, and for the rest of the stage, everybody wants to be in position,” he said. “There was also a fight before the climb, and a big of stress, but nothing really happened there. It was just one pace all the way to the top.”
Red Bull seem to be going all in for the third week at this year’s Giro, with Pomer not placing too much importance on how stage 7 plays out, even with the brutal Abruzzo ascent set to massively change the GC picture again.
“I mean, there are two scenarios: either Vingegaard takes a bit of time on us, or [Giulio] takes a bit of time on Vingegaard, but either way it has nothing to say about the outcome of the race,” said Pomer, perhaps taking Simon Yates’ late surge to the pink on the penultimate stage just 12 months ago as inspiration.
“I think we stay focused on our goal, which remains the podium, and our general approach, that we will try to save energy until the last part of this race. As we say many times at this race, it is there [in the third week] that it matters.”
Reef’s biggest concern actually appeared to be the threat of potential illness, with the risk of catching a cold or getting ill on a grim, wet day like today massively increasing.
For now, Vingegaard’s biggest rival is still himself, according to his team at least. Staying safe and staying healthy will be key before he’s able to impose himself in the High mountains.
“Everybody is feeling good. We will have to see what the consequences are after a day like this,” added Reef before the team headed off after a tough but overall successful day.
“You see that also more often in the past, that a few days after, there is already something going on in the bunch with what I see and I hear, that riders are not healthy. A day like this is for sure not helping in that sense, but we do what we can, and hopefully everybody stays healthy.”
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