"A time trial like this suits me well" - Jonas Vingegaard takes double victory as he tears down GC rivals at Algarve
Cycling
Against the clock, Jonas Vingegaard continues to be an extremely talented rider and today at the Volta ao Algarve he has proved it once again. Many riders struggled with the undulating course and summit finish at the Alto do Malhão, but the former Tour de France winner thrived and won both stage and overall classification.
“This was a really nice time trial, I really enjoyed it. I always like this," he said in a post-race interview. "A time trial like this suits me well, but of course it also depends on your legs. It can’t be such a nice time trial if you have bad legs, but I had great legs and I’m happy that I was able to finish it like that.”
At the Alto da Fóia Vingegaard lacked the usual team support and Visma was on the back foot. Vingegaard himself did more work than he had hoped for, and then he saw João Almeida slip away with 16 seconds in the final kilometer. With several outsiders also unexpectedly getting in the fight, things looked tighter than usual for the Dane who ended his 2024 season in mid August.
He had talked about a change in the time-trial position, and that could pose a risk to his chances of performing today - as was the case for example with Primoz Roglic, who surprisingly finished outside the Top10. Vingegaard had to go through three UAE Team Emirates - XRG riders and Laurens de Plus if he wanted to dream of the yellow jersey, but he did so with a brilliant time-trial that also gave him the win.
“It was a really good day for me and for the team. I am happy with the overall victory and I am taking revenge for that earlier day," he said. "I am super happy and very proud. My daughter said this morning that I had to win, so that gave me extra motivation today. I wanted to win for her.” With Wout van Aert also finishing a strong second place on the day, the Dutch team will have a big sigh of relief into the spring.
Suddenly with this win, everything feels back on track for the Dane after a long winter, and with two big stage-races to tackle now in the upcoming month, he will certainly have good odds of taking more big wins. "I feel good. I am happy to do well here and I am looking forward to the next part of the season," he concludes, with Paris-Nice next on the schedule where he will team up with Matteo Jorgenson.
🇵🇹 #VoltaAoAlgarve
— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) February 23, 2025
⚡️ pic.twitter.com/XhB5h6J0bQ
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- If niermann this he can predict cramps, that would be helpful for a lot of people around the world. It was the standard strategy for Benoot and Jorgensen to attack and they should haveabstractengineer03-04-2025
- Wow! People have to understand that being light is absolutely a good thing on cobbles, as bouncing means you have to lift yourself over and over again. Being a lighter cyclist is always a good thing (ceteris paribus), unless you're going downhill.acem8203-04-2025
- What very expensive legal affair?Caralladas03-04-2025
- Powless just got “better” at 28, Rog hasn’t gotten worse at 35, GT only really started getting going in GT late twenties. Give the guy a chance, he’s not even been let off the leash yet, remember what Jonas achieved GT wise since being given leader status.Mistermaumau03-04-2025
- Jorgenson turns 26 this year, he won't get much bettervappaxbipmv02-04-2025
- i completely agree. wouter has been through a meat grinder. he’s such a class act, a man of such character that he would never complain or make excuses, that’s why it’s so infuriating to hear him spoken about as if he was failing, choking, or in any way not fulfilling what’s expected of him. i get it, he’s a PRO, so part of what he gets paid for is to be a target for anyone with an opinion. fair enough. MY opinion is that he needs TIME to overcome a pile of injuries. i hope he gets there, because he deserves a pile of wins.OCexile02-04-2025
- I just went through the list of events in his recent riding history listed in another article (so not including his very expensive legal affair and any potential trouble at home) and it’s a half miracle he’s still riding at all. He's outfallen Roglič for sure, who always came away RELATIVELY unharmed.Mistermaumau02-04-2025
- ugh. slice and dice this any way you like. if you’re one of the belgians TRYING to believe wout is going to be in the fight at de ronde and roubaix, this is an ice cold dose of reality. my opinion is that nobody — ESPECIALLY his own team — should have been fanning any expectations of wout at this point after what he’s endured.OCexile02-04-2025
- I guess when you’re high, you don’t (need to) focus on anything ;-)Mistermaumau02-04-2025
- True but things also change, Primoz will get older, Remco crashes, MJ isn’t peaking yet and people can improve their weaknesses faster than others improve their strengths, cf MVDP climbing, JV TTing.Mistermaumau02-04-2025