"Really calm and ready to take it on" - Matteo Jorgenson on Jonas Vingegaard and Visma tactics at La Vuelta

Team Visma | Lease a Bike are racing a very conservative Vuelta a Espana thus far, in complete contrast to what had been the case at the Tour de France. Here, they have the main favourite in Jonas Vingegaard, and they are trying to keep their powder dry until the stages that really suit him.

"I guess in the Tour we were some of the actors of chaos, but I think we've approached this first week in a really calm manner and allowed the bike racing to happen," Jorgenson told Cyclingnews. "I think in the second and third week, we'll have a bit of a different strategy."

Vingegaard heads into stage 9 of the race in the ideal position, only behind Torstein Traeen in the overall classification due to a breakaway Visma allowed to gain several minutes. Hence, they are not having to do extra work, neither is Vingegaard having the responsibility of the ceremony and media responsibilities after the stages. It is expected that until stage 13, finishing atop the Alto de l'Angliru, the demeanor remains similar.

"I don't know, I haven't looked that far ahead, but I think the team can be confident that if we save our energy in this first week and get through to the real big mountain days, then we'll have a better chance. It's just a safer play for us," Jorgenson explains

So far Vingegaard has been tested by Giulio Ciccone and João Almeida, so rival teams can certainly derail Visma's plans, but at the same time the first eight days of racing were much calmer than the Tour, with several very slow-paced stages, and also with a pressure-relieving stage win on the second day of racing to Limone. So far so good for the Dutch team who also have Jorgenson himself and Sepp Kuss available for tactical moves in the overall classification.

The American adressed Vingegaard, sharing positive feedback: "He's doing really well. For everyone, if you do the Tour de France, it's a huge build-up and the year is structured around it, so you have a lot of extras, let's say, with media and training camps, and all this stuff creates a huge build-up in your brain and body".

"Then, when you get to that race itself, you have a lot of nerves and anxiety. There's just a lot of pressure, especially on Jonas he's won it twice. So when you come to the Vuelta after having done that, you feel that inner confidence that if you've done well at the Tour, you're going to pretty much do well anywhere," he assures.

So far Vingegaard has shown nothing but good signs, and as the race edges closer to its decisive stages, there is pressure on his rivals to try and make the difference on the more explosive days. "It just feels a lot more natural, and he seems really calm and ready to take it on."