"It would be fantastic to get the pink jersey" - Jonas Vingegaard warms up for decisive day at the Giro d'Italia

Jonas Vingegaard is the headliner of this year's Giro d'Italia, and so stage 13 was in a way an important day to have some much needed relaxation. On a day where the breakaway took over all the attention, the Dane could enjoy an easier day ahead of the return to the mountains.

After building an early lead in the first half of the Giro and overcoming a bout of illness that hampered him in the long 42-kilometer long time trial, Vingegaard could enjoy three days where the GC riders were tasked with saving themselves as much as possible.

Stages 11, 12 and 13 all had some form of climbing, but from the GC men, the highlight was Afonso Eulálio's sprint on stage 12 to grab 6 bonus seconds. Otherwise, only fights for positioning. Vingegaard spoke to CyclingPro.net following stage 13.

"That was a good day. We came through it in a good way. It was very warm. But yeah, I think a lot of GC guys were thinking about tomorrow already. So not a lot of action there, but that's how it is," he said. “I mean, we didn't want to attack today. We choose our days, and today we didn't want to go for it".

So, when do Visma want to go for it? Stage 14, a massive day on the Valle d'Aosta which features five categorized climbs and a 16-kilometer long summit finish, may just be it.

“Well, I mean it depends on how the legs are, obviously, but of course, if I feel good, it would be nice to go for it,” the Dane said, without giving away too much of the Dutch team's intentions for the sole mountain stage of the second week of the race.

With a 33-second deficit over Afonso Eulálio, Vingegaard perhaps has the highest chances of finishing the day with the pink jersey. "It would be fantastic to get the pink jersey, and the goal is to have it in Rome. I've always said that every day you wear a leader's jersey is an honour," he concluded.