After already twice heading the overall classification in this year's Vuelta a España, on stage 10's summit finish at Larra Belagua, Jonas Vingegaard has once again returned to the lead spot in the GC standings. But this time round, he says, he's hoping it'll be for keeps.
Previous race leader Torsten Træen (Bahrain Victorious) did his utmost to hang onto la roja on the punishing slopes of Larra Belagua, and the Norwegian's time loss of 1:03 on Vingegaard at the finish line was hardly a massive defeat.
But when Træen dropped back halfway up the 9.4-kilometre climb as UAE Team Emirates-XRG piled on the pressure - presumably both to test Vingegaard but also to ensure Visma will now have to have the energy-sapping responsibility for the lead once more - assuming Vingegaard did not crack in his turn, the Dane's taking the red back again was all but a formality.
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Already the leader on stages 2 and 3 and again on stage 5, Vingegaard now holds a 26-second advantage on Træen, whilst Joāo Almeida, his main rival, remains at 38 seconds. Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) is a more distant challenger, 58 seconds down.
Vingegaard was visibly delighted to have five-time Tour de France winner and local resident Miguel Indurain on the winner's podium at Larra Belagua to help him don the red jersey. But from now on, regardless of which former cycling great is present after each Vuelta stage, the Dane wants to be up there wearing la roja just the same.
"I'm super happy being back in red, it's incredible, and to be on the podium with Miguel Indurain - I've only got good words about him," Vingegaard said. "To be there with him was a really nice experience for me.
"And I'm always happy to be in the leader's jersey, I won't complain at all. It's one of the most beautiful in cycling, and I want to keep it now all the way to Madrid."
Vingegaard said that rather than keeping an eye open for how Træen was doing when he looked back on the climb, he simply wanted to be certain of how much damage UAE and then Visma's steady, but not supersonic, pace was inflicting on the main favourites' group.
The fact that Juan Ayuso was no longer a challenger, he added, was definitely to his advantage, but he did point out that a certain Q36.5 racer, currently having the best ride ever in a GC Grand Tour, could be a major threat in the days to come.
"Just having to watch Almeida is good: for sure, it makes it easier only having to follow one guy," he explained.
"But Pidcock doesn't surprise me, either. He's a super good rider, and the way he's been racing here shows just how good he is. I think he is one of the big rivals for the GC."
While much of the focus in the GC battle was on Træen giving way to Vingegaard after three days in the lead, the ascent to Larra Belagua saw yet more barely noticed changes in favour of Vingegaard, too.
Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) stayed in fourth overall but shed 26 seconds to go to 2:03 down on the Dane, while 2019 Tour de France winner Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) also had a minor off-day and lost 37 seconds to slide to 2:55, but retained his 11th place on GC.
Vingegaard warned, too, that stage 12's non-stop rollercoaster of minor classified climbs around Bilbao could be an even more important day for GC.
"It's a hard stage and it could be very brutal," he predicted. "It could go both ways, either it could be a break, or it could be a GC day.
"There are lots of small but steep climbs, so it's a very typical Basque stage. But in any case, my mindset here in the Vuelta is not to underestimate any stage at all."
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