Pavel Sivakov on Jonas Vingegaard and Visma: "They really bluffed by saying he wasn't ready"

Team Visma | Lease a Bike had months in preparation to the Tour de France where only they knew how Jonas Vingegaard's form was. Much was said ahead of the race and it seemed as if the Dane still had to build up his form quite a lot before the start, but that was not the case. UAE Team Emirates knew this could be the case, and Pavel Sivakov points out the obvious bluff from the Dutch team.

"They really bluffed by saying he wasn't ready, but we didn't really believe it either, we knew that if he lined up on the Tour, it was to play for the win the stage and take the yellow jersey," Sivakov told Cyclism'Actu. This sentiment is shared by Tadej Pogacar who said after yesterday's stage that "Jonas Vingegaard was really quickly on my wheel. I’m not surprised by his level".

It is the end of the 'underdog' debate, as both UAE Team Emirates and Team Visma | Lease a Bike entered the race playing down the chances of their leaders. One has raced the whole Giro d'Italia and the other returns to racing almost three months after his past race; but both were head and shoulders above the competition in a climb of only two kilometers on the second day of the race. It seems as if 2024 will see another battle between the two for the yellow jersey, and Pogacar is already carrying it in stage 3.

Sivakov, who has already put in significant work on stage 1, argues that the jersey being on the shoulders of the Slovenian will not be changing the team's tactics. "In the end it doesn't change much, Monday is a stage for the sprinters and in any case, all the teams are looking at us to ride. It doesn't change anything in the team's strategy, in my opinion," he concludes.