"From that moment on, the four of us really did a 'dead pull'" - Inside Visma's sensational team time trial that put Vingegaard in yellow jersey
CyclingSunday, 05 July 2026 at 10:20
Team Visma | Lease a Bike enjoyed close to their best possible start to the 2026 Tour de France: putting Jonas Vingegaard into the yellow jersey, taking a first stage win and taking some time on Tadej Pogacar.
When it came to the opening team time trial in Barcelona, new ASO rules for the stage meant that it was all about strategy as the Dutch team carefully crafted a plan to launch Vingegaard to victory.
The 19.9 kilometer test saw the opening section predominantly flat before two climbs to the finish - one topping out with less than 3 kilometers to go and the final 800 meters to the line all uphill.
When comparing Visma and Pogacar's UAE team's finale, Vingegaard enjoyed greater numbers around him and was launched by Davide Piganzoli after Matteo Jorgenson emptied the tank. Meanwhile, Pogacar had only Isaac del Toro in the final three kilometers, with the two balancing work to ensure the Mexican also put in a strong time.
After the stage, Edoardo Affini gave an inside look at how they formulated their strategy as she shared insights into their 'dead pull' for Vingegaard's yellow redemption.
Affini breaks down team time trial win
“The team tried to calculate all possible scenarios to see what the best strategy was to get Jonas across the finish line in the fastest time,” he told WielerFlits after the stage.
“We ultimately chose to take on the flat section with five riders. At a certain point, Matteo [Jorgenson] stopped leading to recover better for the first part of the climb. From that moment on, the four of us really did a 'dead pull': as long as possible, as hard as possible, and full throttle. I think that choice yielded a very good result.”
When it comes to Sunday's stage 2, Affini insisted that his time is now as he attempts to savour the moment with his teammates and leader.
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“I think we need to enjoy this first. Everyone really wants to savour this moment, because winning the team time trial was a very important goal for the team. Sometimes you forget to enjoy it, but this is the Tour,” Affini said.
Celebrations are in order before a sharp re-focus on the challenge ahead: “We have now won the team yellow jersey and the team time trial. So yes, tonight we are going to enjoy it for a bit, and tomorrow (Sunday) we will start thinking about the upcoming stages again.”
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- Correct First major test will be the Pyrenees, not because the route here is scaring, on the contrary it is relative mild. However the pivotal denominator could be the excessive heat, on Tuesday the temperature on much of the route is forecasted to be around 42 degrees C. The TDF riders react very different to heat. Despite specific heat training and numerous cooling devices it is still the genes that eventually determines the individual physiological threshold for heat. From previously we already have data that signifies to what extend individual riders performance are related to excessive heat, including heat for several days in a row. Very exciting days ahead - watch the weather forecast.Jakob05-07-2026
- Given that he's not even riding for GC this Tour, I'd say he's not "overrated" - he's probably going to be used as a luxury domestique/road captain if he changes teams. I don't get the feeling that the cycling media has ever hyped him as being anything more than he is: a solid diesel climber/stage-getter who tend to get underrated by other teams until he nicks off in a breakaway and lands himself in the top 5 or higher. The fact that those doco series' followed him and made him look he was some sort of tantrum diva isn't really his fault. The guy is incredibly hard on himself, and his dry sense of humour/self-depreciating personality type doesn't seem to translate well - Jonas has the same problems with some of his statements - so I guess people can think what they want, but seems to me that there's a lot of severely over-hyped/delusional riders out there and he's not on that list.antipodeanpedalfan05-07-2026
- Visma has poked the bear.Cooldude05-07-2026
- Pogi got the best climbing time, his usual levelabstractengineer05-07-2026
- Pogi set the fastest time on the climb. Its already over unless he cracksabstractengineer05-07-2026
- 8 Lipowitz Florian Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe 0:35 9 Seixas Paul Netcompany INEOS 0:38 10 Foss Tobias Decathlon CMA CGM Team 0:39 he already transferredabstractengineer05-07-2026
- Racing against the clock is always boring for spectators. However, this format of TTTs is preferable over the others, in that the results are a good indication of where each rider would eventually finish in the standings at the end of the race, although that is not evident in this case, as we are getting ahead, this being just the first stage of a 21-day race. I guess that's because it shows both individual, as well as team capabilities lumped together, with a slight emphasis on individual abilities.FredMan05-07-2026
- He’s terriblemij05-07-2026
- 87 kg is a lot to carry around over rough cobbles and it's no surprise he's punctured so many times. As for Vauquelin, what comes around goes around (Onley at the Dauphiné)
Rafionain-Glas05-07-2026 - When I read Pogi is "immediately on back foot", I had a smirky smile on my face. Like "race is over, Vini has already won". Ha ha!Ride197405-07-2026
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