"We made a plan this morning and executed it to perfection" - Matteo Jorgenson leads Visma | Lease a Bike counter attack after loss of Jonas Vingegaard

Nobody would be surprised if Team Visma | Lease a Bike was really down coming into stage 6 as the team's leader Jonas Vingegaard abandoned as a consequence of his crash a day earlier. However the Dutch team still has a motivation to fight at Paris-Nice with Vingegaard's back-up Matteo Jorgenson now in the provisional lead.

And that resolve to leave their best out there was more than evident today when the entire yellow train hit the front of the peloton after categorized ascent Côte des Baux-de-Provence with 65 kilometers to go. Joined by INEOS Grenadiers, the two strong formations flied in the last hour and half of the rainy stage to distance favourites such as Joao Almeida by nearly two minutes and Lenny Martinez by almost nine.

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"I am so proud of my teammates," Jorgenson reflects on a special day on the team website. "We made a plan this morning and executed it to perfection."

"We looked at the course on the bus and knew that it could get quite windy on the descent of the Côte des Baux-de-Provence. That happened and when we looked back we saw gaps forming. That was the moment we rode as hard as we could towards the finish. We are here in France with a group of strong riders. Especially in these weather conditions we did a great job."

The efforts of his teammates now mean there are only three serious contenders left for Jorgenson in the general classification. And with tomorrow's stage reduced to just a climb to Auron, the 40-second advantage over Florian Lipowitz seems more than comfortable.

Team leader Grischa Niermann was also full of praise for the performance of the yellow-black brigade afterwards. "It was a very nice race. I am incredibly proud of my team. This is a great example of resilience, especially after the news of Jonas's retirement this morning. With a plan and a good dose of motivation you can go far, as was proven again today."

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