Bruyneel sees “pure dominance” from Vingegaard, but wonders what it means in the bigger picture

Of course, some key rivals are missing, such as João Almeida, who did not start, and Juan Ayuso, who crashed out. Even so, Vingegaard won stage 4 by accelerating away from Daniel Felipe Martínez in the final kilometre, only to cross the line the next day with a lead of two full minutes over the first chaser. The result is clear: with two stages remaining, he holds a 3:22 advantage over his nearest rival.

For context, it would be only the third edition of Paris–Nice this century to be won by a margin of one minute or more, provided nothing changes in the final two stages. It would also be the biggest winning gap since 1956. In the last 25 years alone, there have been nine editions decided by fewer than 10 seconds. Johan Bruyneel therefore believes Vingegaard is doing something highly unusual.

“Paris–Nice is usually a race won by small margins,” he said on THEMOVE. “This is pure dominance. He looks strong, he is showing that he is ready. He is also showing that he was ready to start the season strongly at the UAE Tour, where he had to pull out because of the training crash. They added Paris–Nice because they knew he was ready.”

It is not only Vingegaard who seems to be operating on another planet, as Victor Campenaerts has also shown his best side. The Belgian has emerged as a superb lieutenant for his leader. “He is on an unbelievable level. Yesterday, the work he did there and the pace he set... 50 percent of the climbers had already been dropped by the time he pulled off. He was also the last man for Jonas in the team time trial.”

Is the Visma | Lease a Bike leader at the best level of his career? It may well be, but when it comes to general classification riders, Bruyneel still sees one clear king. “Tadej Pogacar is the best, in pretty much everything. For me personally, the guys leading Paris–Nice and Tirreno–Adriatico are numbers two and three. That is the top three. In the Tour, Del Toro will probably have to work for Tadej, so he likely will not finish third. But he has the quality.”

There is one small asterisk next to Vingegaard’s performances: Ayuso, who had been in the leader’s jersey, was forced to abandon the race. Could the Spaniard have threatened him? “We will never know, but with the level Jonas Vingegaard is showing right now, there is nobody apart from Pogacar who can match that. Ayuso, Pellizzari, Roglic, Del Toro... Jonas is still one step above those guys.”

For the Dane, Paris–Nice is part of the build-up to the Giro d’Italia, the race he hopes will complete his Grand Tour hat-trick. “It is a huge goal for him. Pogacar has not done it yet.” Vingegaard also sees the Giro as ideal preparation for the Tour, having suggested that he is better in his second Grand Tour of the year than in his first. Bruyneel is not entirely convinced. “I do not know about that, but he did win the Vuelta last year. Even so, he really was not better there than he was in the Tour de France.”