'I really don't like this' — déjà vu for Vingegaard after Giro crash near miss

Jonas Vingegaard came through the terrible crash in Saturday's stage 2 of the Giro d'Italia unscathed — but it was a very close call. Thoroughly shaken, the Visma | Lease a Bike Dane pushed on regardless and spoke to IDL Pro Cycling at the team bus after the stage, opening up about how he felt on a day in which he also launched an attack in the finale.

Vingegaard and Visma | Lease a Bike had been saying it since they arrived in Bulgaria on Tuesday and Wednesday: survive the first three stages safely, because the Giro is the most unpredictable race of all. On the treacherously slippery roads towards Veliko Tarnovo — roads on which we had already seen several car accidents in the winding Bulgarian hills — the reason for that caution became all too clear.

Twenty-three kilometres from the finish, a major crash erupted on the left side of the peloton — exactly where Vingegaard and his Visma | Lease a Bike teammates were riding. "I was just behind it, so it was very close," the Dane said, revealing that he had watched teammates Wilco Kelderman and Tim Rex go down right in front of him. Both made it to the finish, though Kelderman was the more badly hit of the two.

Afterwards, Vingegaard was asked whether the crash had brought back memories of the Itzulia Basque Country 2024, where he himself crashed heavily on a descent and suffered life-threatening injuries. "I had a slight sense of déjà vu," he admitted. "But it was also different. It was a very nasty crash and I genuinely hope that everyone is okay. I really don't like this — and I really am concerned about how my fellow riders are doing."

But the race had to go on, as it always does in cycling. "The plan was already to attack, and given how the race was playing out, it was honestly the safest option in the finale too. The smaller the group was, the safer it would be if we attacked. We saw that clearly after that earlier crash on the descent — the roads were incredibly slippery there as well."

Vingegaard eventually broke clear with Giulio Pellizzari and Lennert Van Eetvelt, only to be caught again in the final kilometre. "We tried to play the game. They did — and so did I. I don't hold it against anyone because we're all playing the same game. That's why we got caught in the end, and that's just how it goes. For me — and I think for everyone — it was the safest way to get through to the finish."

In that respect, Vingegaard succeeded where others did not — among them Jay Vine, Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious). Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) also lost significant time.