"His performance creates uncertainty" - Jonas Vingegaard's time trial raises questions for Alberto Contador

The Giro d’Italia time trial offered an unexpected read on Jonas Vingegaard. Although the Dane remains the clear favourite to win the race, his performance in stage 10 opened a small window for doubt. That was Alberto Contador’s take on Eurosport’s La Montonera.

The former Madrid rider was blunt when assessing the Visma man’s display. “I don’t think he was at the level you’d expect from Jonas, even when he’s not at his best,” he said.

Vingegaard did not ship an alarming amount of time—in fact, he put time into almost all his rivals—but he looked less dominant than usual, putting a small amount of time into riders such as Jai Hindley, Giulio Pellizzari and Felix Gall; whilst losing over a minute to Thymen Arensman who closed the gap considerably.

Contador dismissed the idea this was a conservative strategy with the Tour de France in mind. During the analysis, when the possibility was raised that the Dane was keeping something back for his big July target, he was categorical: “No. In a time trial like this he had to try to put it to bed.”

Even so, the ex-rider added an important nuance by opening the door to a possible, unconfirmed physical issue. On air, it was mentioned that several teams were dealing with viral illnesses in the bunch and, although there was no official word from Visma, Contador did not completely rule it out.

“If Jonas was ill, I don’t think they would say it publicly,” he hinted, suggesting there might be a hidden factor behind that less dominant ride.

Without claiming that was the reason, he did consider it evident the rider was not at one hundred percent. In fact, one of the most striking lines of his segment pointed directly to the Dane’s competitive level:

“What’s clear is we weren’t seeing a Vingegaard at his peak form.” A telling reflection from someone who knows exactly what it means to tackle the Giro–Tour double and the difficulty of managing effort across two Grand Tours.

Contador recalled his own experience attempting the same feat and explained how accumulated fatigue can upend any prior plan. “You try to optimise everything and build a strategy for how the race will unfold, but there are things you can’t control,” he explained.

The Madrilenian remembered how, in his case, the huge effort at the Giro ended up shaping his subsequent form. “I wasn’t able to recover for the Tour,” he admitted.

That precedent led him to read Vingegaard’s current situation with caution. From the Dane’s camp came the suggestion he was not yet at full capacity and that his condition should build as the stages pass. Contador mentioned that theory too, though with some reservations.

“They were saying he’s at 80% and aiming to improve. I’ve never liked those percentages because it’s hard to gauge them accurately,” he noted.

The commentator especially highlighted the rise of riders like Thymen Arensman, who is showing notable consistency and starting to consolidate as a real podium threat. “It’s good to see new riders mixing it up, because otherwise, for the viewer, everything feels too decided,” he said. The post-time trial takeaway is clear: Vingegaard still leads, but a small crack in the armour has opened the door to a touch of uncertainty.

As Alberto Contador summed up, that display “opens up some options for the Giro d’Italia to have a bit more uncertainty.”