Although he looked relatively comfortable on a pacey and hot opening stage of the 2024 Tour de France, the fact remains the Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader Jonas Vingegaard is almost completely untested heading into this Grand Tour after injury. As such, rival teams have no interest in allowing the Dane to ride into the race.
“Everyone is looking to put pressure on Jonas, and no one wants Jonas to grow stronger throughout the race,” Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe's sport director, Enrico Gasparotto reveals of his team's tactics in conversation with Velo, following stage 1, won by Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL's Romain Bardet. "We can see a little bit already today with UAE Team Emirates taking control and pushing the pace.”
For their part, UAE Team Emirates boss Mauro Gianetti played down his team's tactics, insisting it was more about positioning than testing the legs of their main rival. “The tactic was to stay at the front and stay out of trouble. It was hot as well, and it was a complicated stage. The goal was to not lose time and the most important thing was to not lose energy,” Gianetti told Velo.
“It was something for Jonas to feel good in the bunch, and for any rider after being a few months out of the bunch there are always doubts. Today we saw Jonas feeling comfortable, and that is a good sign,” added Team Visma | Lease a Bike's sports director, Merijn Zeeman from the team bus following stage 1's conclusion. “Tomorrow is a hard day with the San Luca climb, and it’s going to be a big fight.”
“I saw Jonas riding really well today, he was super strong. He didn’t show any signs of impacts of the crash, and it was good seeing him descend like he knows how to do,” Vingegaard's teammate Matteo Jorgenson said of his team leader in conversation with Velo. “I felt really good. The team is working for Jonas. He’s won the Tour twice.”
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