"This is not the feisty Vingegaard" - Dane's form questioned as Tour de France looms despite two Giro d'Italia stage wins

Jonas Vingegaard came to the Giro d'Italia with a lot of spinning plates. Doubling up with the Tour de France, the Dane is aiming to pick up a general classification victory, solidify his position as the second favourite for the Tour behind Tadej Pogacar and do all of this perhaps early in the race to allow the best chance at preparing for that said goal in July.

Many speculated that Team Visma | Lease a Bike's strategy was to control the race in the first and second weeks to ensure that Vingegaard doesn't find himself in a GC dogfight in a Giro back-loaded with mountain stages. For the most part, Vingegaard has done just that as he took home two stage wins while sports director Marc Reef has dismissed criticism of the team leader's performances.

Afonso Eulálio boasts a lead of over two minutes ahead of him, but more worryingly for Vingegaard, Felix Gall lies just 35 seconds behind him and showed a climbing level close to the three-time major winner in two mountain-top finishes thus far, finishing just seconds short of him on both occasions.

With Tuesday's tenth stage looming, Vingegaard's current shape has been questioned as he hasn't put as major time gaps into his nearest contenders as speculated, particularly considering his usual high-level condition at the beginning of previous grand tours.

"Will there be so much confidence at Team Visma | Lease a Bike that they have dotted the i's and crossed the t's only ninety percent? I actually hope so," former professional cyclist and commentator Thomas Dekker said on the Live Slow, Ride Fast podcast.

He quipped: "If he rides like he is now, it certainly won't be an exciting Tour de France."

With Vingegaard changing coach earlier this season and the move to race the Giro representing a major shift in his Tour preparations, Vingegaard hasn't shown his 'feisty' side in opening week. Although maintaining his form is 'solid', Dekker insisted that Vingegaard needs to improve if he is to be in the running at the Tour de France.

"So that they scaled back in terms of blocks and said: 'This is what you have to work with for this Giro d'Italia.' And the rest of the work will come later. Let's hope so, because I remember the Vingegaard from the past two Tours and how well he shot out of the starting blocks back then.

"This is not the feisty Vingegaard from the first week of the Tours of the past two years. It is mainly solid. The acceleration is there, but he needs to settle in quickly. It is of course very impressive to ride up Blockhaus in 38 minutes, but it is mainly very businesslike."