"Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard are still our most protected riders" - Marc Reef lays out Jumbo-Visma plan for remainder of the Vuelta a Espana

The first week of the 2023 Vuelta a Espana could hardly have gone better for Jumbo-Visma. As they reach the first rest day with Sepp Kuss in the overall lead, with Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic close behind, sports director Marc Reef has detailed their plans over the reminder of the race.

“How did the first week go? Very successful, but also very eventful," Reef recaps in a rest day conversation with NOS Langs de Lijn. "Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard are still our most protected riders. However, a third has now been added. And that only makes it better for us. We are more unpredictable to the competition.”

Although things may look rosy for Jumbo-Visma right now, Grand Tours can change direction in an instant. As such, Reef isn't getting too ahead of himself just yet. But who does the Jumbo-Visma man see as being the biggest potential threats to his team's quest for an incredible Grand Tour hattrick in 2023.

“Next week we will go into the high mountains and see how the ratios compare to the competition," he says. “Our biggest competitors? Remco Evenepoel. He also showed on Saturday that he is really strong. That was the case again on Sunday. You also have the UAE Emirates block. They are still strong in the rankings with three men.”