Jonas Vingegaard celebrated victory at Tirreno-Adriatico and lifted the winner's trident trophy an hour or so after teammate Matteo Jorgenson won Paris-Nice, the two victories very much entwined in their origins, their execution and the indications they give for this year’s Tour de France.
Vingegaard can be reassured that he and Visma-Lease a Bike are on track for another successful season in 2024.
“It’s a great day for the team with Matteo winning Paris-Nice and me winning here. It couldn't be any better for us,” Vingegaard said with pride wearing the Tirreno-Adriatico blue winner’s jersey.
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It’s the first time that the same team has won both March stage races and indicates the current dominance of Visma-Lease a Bike.
Vingegaard won the two mountain stages to beat Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) by 1:24, while Jorgenson beat Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quickstep) by 30 seconds after they broke away together on the final stage to crack Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates). Sprinter Olav Kooij also won two stages in France and Visma-Lease a Bike has claimed 15 victories in 2024.
Visma-Lease a Bike’s overall victories at Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico were built on the foundation of a winter spent training together and a recent altitude camp on Mount Teide, where Vingegaard and Jorgenson shared a room for three weeks.
The Dutch team has the depth in their roster to target Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico at the same moment, before uniting them to create the best overall squad for the Tour de France. Incredibly, Wout Van Aert, Christophe Laporte, Tiesj Benoot, Sepp Kuss, and Jan Tratnink did not race this week as they prepared for the Classics and the Volta a Catalunya.
“We laid the base for this success in the winter and we both came down from an altitude to race,” Vingegaard said of Jorgenson.
“I saw how hard Matteo worked there and I was sure that he had a super high level and that he could do something really good there.”
“He’s a great guy, an easy guy to spend time with. He’s calm and very professional and I think he fits very well into our team when it comes to training and nutrition. I feel like he took a big step up this winter and I think everyone can see that now.”
Vingegaard has also clearly stepped up in 2024. He appears to be near his best in March, which boosts his confidence for the Tour de France. Last year some personal issues disrupted his spring and he was only third at Paris-Nice. This year he is producing some of his best-ever performance according to data analysts.
“Getting results yourself gives you confidence but also when your teammates do super well, you also get a lot of confidence,” he said, indicating the importance of early-season success.
“Seeing my teammates race so well here and in Paris-Nice also gives me the confidence that we can ride for the win again at the Tour.”
Vingegaard is reserved and shy but is a determined and talented bike rider. He and Visma-Lease a Bike rode a careful race on the flat stages of Tirreno-Adriatico and then used their stage racing talents to close down the breakaways and set up Vingegaard’s attacks on the climbs.
There were no gifts to riders in the breakaways or close to Vingegaard in the general classification. Ayuso and Jai Hindley (Bora-hansgrohe) had to be happy with places on the podium and as the ‘first humans’ behind Vingegaard, who appeared from another planet whenever he attacked on the climbs.
The last time Vingegaard rode Tirreno-Adriatico in 2022, he wasn’t sure of the colour of the race leader’s jersey. Now he has the iconic trident trophy to take home.
“The overall victory in Tirreno-Adriatico belongs in the list of my most beautiful career victories,” he said.
“It’s one of the most special trophies is cycling and maybe being a fishing man in the past, means it's the perfect trophy for me. I look forward to giving it a special place in my house soon.”
Some riders would be tempted to race on after winning Tirreno-Adriatico, using their great form for other races.
Not Vingegaard nor Visma-Lease a Bike. They will stick to their plan, with the Dane staying in Italy for a few days to recon the opening stages of the Tour de France, stage 1 to Rimini, the San Luca climb above Bologna in stage 2 and the third stage to Turin.
Vingegaard does not have the wider talents or aspirations like Tadej Pogačar to target Milan-San Remo and will not ride against the Slovenian at the Volta a Catalunya.
Instead, he will spend time at his home in Lugano, Switzerland and then ride Itzulia Basque Country, the next step on the road to the 2024 Tour de France.
