"It's a shame the chasers got so close" - Jonas Vingegaard delighted by back-to-back Itzulia Basque Country stage wins

A stage win, bonus seconds and increasing his overall lead in the general classification, Jonas Vingegaard had another great day at the Itzulia Basque Country on stage four. Ever the perfectionist however, the Dane revealed he had hoped to win by more.

“I felt good on the final climb. There were some attacks on the last climb, and then I thought, Why not go myself? Landa came to me, after which we worked well together. They came close, but luckily I was able to win the sprint. I am very happy with that,” says Vingegaard in a post-stage interview. “Today I felt very strong. It's a shame the chasers got so close, because I would have liked to have had the 30 second lead we had at one point."

Nevertheless, despite not getting the 30 second lead he had craved, things still look rosy for Vingegaard in terms of the general classification. The 26-year-old now has a 12 second lead to second placed Mikel Landa and over half a minute to third placed David Gaudu.

“I had to be careful with Mikel Landa , because he is very strong. I was afraid I would be surprised by him, but luckily we were able to work well together,” says the Jumbo-Visma leader. “Tomorrow is a tricky stage. That's where the look is now. Then everyone will try to attack me again. This is about seconds. It is therefore nice that I grabbed three bonus seconds on the way. That can be very valuable.”