“I don’t think Jonas needed this” - Tom Dumoulin doubles down on Vingegaard criticism as giant chainring gamble fails to pay off in Giro time trial

Tom Dumoulin’s scrutiny of Jonas Vingegaard’s Giro d’Italia has continued, with the former teammate of the Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader now questioning the Dane’s equipment choice after his underwhelming Stage 10 time trial.

Vingegaard had been widely expected to take the Maglia Rosa from Afonso Eulalio on the 42km individual time trial from Viareggio to Massa.

Instead, he finished 13th on the stage, three minutes down on Filippo Ganna, and remained 27 seconds behind Eulalio overall.

That was still a useful GC day for Vingegaard, who gained 1:57 on the Portuguese race leader. But it was not the dominant ride many had expected, and after already criticising the Dane’s Stage 9 tactics, Dumoulin has now turned his attention to a technical choice from the time trial.

Speaking on Kop over Kop, Dumoulin focused on Vingegaard’s decision to ride with a 68-tooth chainring. That was even larger than the 64 used by stage winner Ganna, and it caught the attention of the former world time trial champion.

For Dumoulin, the issue was not simply the size of the chainring. It was whether the setup made sense on a day when Vingegaard did not appear to have his very best legs. “If you are not having a good day and you are not riding fast enough, then you end up riding either too light or too heavy,” Dumoulin said. “I don’t think Jonas needed this.”

That line sharpened the discussion around Vingegaard’s Stage 10 ride. The Dane did not collapse, and he remains in a strong Giro position, but the time trial was supposed to be the day he stamped authority on the race. Instead, he lost time to Thymen Arensman, Ben O’Connor and Derek Gee-West, while Eulalio survived in pink.

Dumoulin’s explanation went deeper than a simple equipment critique. He argued that such a large gear can make it harder to find the ideal cadence and chainline, especially if the rider is not travelling fast enough to make the setup work perfectly.

“If you have to shift, you can easily skip two sprockets and quickly end up riding too light or too heavy,” Dumoulin explained. “If you try to ride such a big gear, the chain sits on the left-hand side of the cassette. The consequence is that you have more mechanical resistance than you want. Ideally, you want the chain to run as straight as possible.”

Dumoulin’s latest comments come after he had already criticised Vingegaard’s racing on Stage 9, when the Visma leader followed Felix Gall on the final climb before attacking late to win at Corno alle Scale.

That earlier criticism centred on Vingegaard’s refusal to contribute more while Gall was trying to distance other GC rivals. “Then I think: you are the great champion of this Giro... At least take a turn,” Dumoulin said. “I did not find that very stylish. That one turn really would not have cost him any strength for the third week.”

In a separate translated version of the same criticism, Dumoulin also argued that Vingegaard risks making himself less popular through that kind of racing. “I do think he makes himself less loved with this,” Dumoulin said. “There is a lot of respect for guys like Van der Poel and Pogacar because they race with their hearts. In moments like this, I do think: Jonas, why?”

This time, the criticism was more technical than tactical, but it fed into the same wider question around Vingegaard’s Giro. He has won two stages, gained time on most of his GC rivals and sits only 27 seconds off pink, yet his route towards the Maglia Rosa is being examined more closely than expected.

Stage 10 added to that picture. Vingegaard was still better than Eulalio, Gall and Jai Hindley, but Arensman’s second place for Netcompany INEOS changed the podium battle and showed that the Dane was not the strongest GC rider on the day.

For Vingegaard, the overall situation remains far from alarming. Eulalio’s lead is now down to less than half a minute, and the Giro still has several mountain stages to come on terrain much better suited to the Visma leader.

But the time trial was a missed opportunity to take control of the race earlier than expected. Dumoulin’s latest comments add another question to that outcome, not only asking why Vingegaard did not gain more time, but whether his giant chainring gamble was the right choice in the first place.

The Maglia Rosa remains within reach, but after Stage 10 it is clear that Vingegaard’s path to it is being examined more closely than ever.