"I guess it's nice not to have the leader's jersey" - Bruyneel and Martin on Vingegaard's 'deliberate plan' to lose the red jersey

Ben Turner surprised the main sprinters by powering to victory on the finish of stage four of the Vuelta a España 2025, outsprinting top favourites Jasper Philipsen and Mads Pedersen. Behind him, David Gaudu became the new red jersey holder after finishing ahead of Jonas Vingegaard, though the two remain on the same time overall.

On their podcast The Move, Johan Bruyneel and Spencer Martin suggested Vingegaard losing the leader's jersey was not just circumstance, but perhaps part of a deliberate plan. "I guess it's nice not to have the leader's jersey" Martin commenced. "You get to go home early. Who doesn't want to go home? And plus for a team time trial, it's not as important as for an individual time trial to hold the lead of the race, because, you know, you're in the bubble of the team".

According to Bruyneel, the switch was likely agreed upon between Vingegaard and Gaudu. "I am pretty confident that that's even a prearranged conversation they had with Vingegaard saying: Hey, you know what? I'm not interested. I'm going to sit back, just make sure you're in the front. So it was whoever had the better placings, as long as there's enough spaces in between. I think that's a conversation that happens at the start of the stage or even before, even yesterday at the cool down on the rollers".

The reasoning, Bruyneel argued, was largely practical. "Just because Vingegaard just didn't want to do podium today, you know, didn't want to do the interviews. I think it's highly likely he has it back tomorrow. So it's just one day".

For Gaudu, however, the gain carries significance, as the French rider had never worn the leader's jersey of a Grand Tour before. "As long as Gaudu was up there and there was five, 10, 50 places in between, he would have the leader jersey, which is great for Gaudu. Red Jersey during a grand tour in France. It's a good morale booster".

"It's like a win-win too, because like I said, then Jonas gets to go home, go home right after the stage. He doesn't have to stay for the podium. I would want to do that".

Both analysts also touched on the broader dynamics of the first week of the race. While Visma and Vingegaard have appeared very active, taking home one stage and actively fighting for bonus seconds, Martin pointed out that UAE have been much less visible. "I think part of the reason we're not seeing them is because they're on the limit of their technical skill", he argued. "I think these have been fast, tricky finishes of stages. This is not built for Juan Ayuso or Joao Almeida. Maybe they're slightly undercooked".

Martin framed this restraint as a conscious strategy. "You look at the second half of the route and you think, would I really want to invest any excess energy outside of those stages? Because I know I'm the seconds guy. I'm always saying every second counts, you know, I understand in modern cycling, 10 seconds is a lot, but you look at those stages and you think, well, do 10, 12 seconds on stage 2 really matter?"

For Martin, UAE’s patience echoes the tactics that once defined Vingegaard. "Who they remind me of actually is Jonas Vindegard at the 2022, 2023 Tour de France. Like his strategy was always sit back, like a fish on the line, like let Pogacar run wild through the first 10 stages. And I'm going to pull him back in the second half."

The irony is hard to miss: the very dynamic that once defined the Pogacar-Vingegaard rivalry seems to have flipped. Pogacar’s team now looks to be the ones holding back, waiting for the decisive climbs, while Visma are expending visible energy early. For Martin, this role reversal is puzzling. "So it's very strange to see this flips now. Yeah. I don't quite know what to make of it. Still, I'm not worried about UAE not having the top results right now", he concluded.