Matteo Jorgenson reveals why Visma let the Red Jersey go at La Vuelta 2025: "We have it under control"
Cycling
Matteo Jorgenson may no longer be shepherding Jonas Vingegaard in the red jersey, but there was no sense of panic — or regret — inside the Team Visma | Lease a Bike camp after Stage 6 of the 2025 Vuelta a Espana. In fact, if anything, the tone was calculated calm.
“We were really happy to give the jersey away,” Jorgenson admitted in comments collected by Cycling News at the finish atop the Alto de Pal in Andorra, where the breakaway succeeded and Torstein Traeen rode into the overall lead.
The decision to cede red was no last-minute call. On the first summit finish of this year’s Vuelta, Visma executed a clear strategy: keep dangerous GC threats out of the breakaway, let the time gap grow within a controlled margin, and conserve energy for the harder battles to come.
“I think it was good, we managed the start well to not let any too dangerous guys get in the break,” said Jorgenson. “We wanted to keep it to around five minutes. I have a lot of respect for Torstein and Bruno Armirail, but I think we have it under control as far as the GC. It will be for sure difficult to take back that time, but this whole race will be difficult.”
"Some hard moments for Sepp and me"
The day was not without its tests. UAE Team Emirates - XRG’s Juan Ayuso cracked badly on the final climb, shedding nearly 12 minutes, while Lidl-Trek tried to inject pace in the closing kilometres — an opportunistic move that briefly unsettled the status quo.
“On the final climb, it was tricky with Trek coming up to pace when Ayuso was dropping, and from there it was just about keeping it under control for Jonas and so that none of the GC guys could attack,” Jorgenson explained. “It was some hard moments for Sepp and me, but all that ends well is well, that’s the saying,” he added with a grin.
With Ayuso effectively out of the GC picture, and João Almeida left as UAE’s lone viable contender, the day turned out to be a net gain for Visma. The team’s control, even in surrender, allowed them to shed the burdens of leadership while sharpening their focus on the decisive high-mountain stages still to come.
Jorgenson leading from the front on the final climb
Jorgenson’s comments reinforced that line: Visma is in no rush to take back red, as long as the overall situation remains manageable. The American’s growing role as road captain and mountain lieutenant to Vingegaard continues to mature — and his post-stage composure suggests a team confident in its process, even if the day’s results might raise eyebrows on paper.
“We have it under control,” Jorgenson repeated. That’s the message — and the warning — to Visma’s rivals as La Vuelta enters its second phase.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment