Inside Visma | Lease a Bike after a chaotic day at the Giro — Vingegaard's attack and two riders down
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Follow us on GoogleVisma | Lease a Bike took their share of the blows handed out in stage 2 of the Giro d'Italia — but Jonas Vingegaard came through standing tall. Unlike Tim Rex and Wilco Kelderman, the Danish leader escaped the mass crash and ultimately showed he is in fine form. Sports director Marc Reef gave IDL Pro Cycling a helicopter view before addressing the press in Veliko Tarnovo.
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The yellow-and-black squad had been well-positioned throughout the stage, but being at the front is no guarantee of safety when a crash erupts right there. "I didn't see it exactly, but it was simply unstoppable. They were going fast, the road was wet and it was a quick right-hand bend. They were down in an instant. The riders at the very front got through, but you can't have the whole team on the front row."
"Wilco and Tim were down and we need to see how they are," Reef added. Kelderman crossed the finish line heavily scraped up and still required a medical examination, while Rex was found near the press room — he had lost his way to the team bus after his doping control, but indicated he was physically relatively okay.
Continue reading below the photo.
Wilco Kelderman crossed the line battered.
Reef left with 'a mixed feeling' in Bulgaria
"It gave us a fright too," Reef said, taking us back to the moment 23 kilometres from the finish. "They went down at the front and over the radio we immediately heard that some of our guys were involved — but at the same time the communication came through that Jonas was not. You're relieved, but you're not really. We could see straight away it was alongside the barrier and thankfully Wilco and Tim were able to continue, but they still need to be checked over."
"We need to see how Wilco is doing and we can't say anything about that at this point," Reef acknowledged — though despite everything, he had modest cause for satisfaction. "That gives you a mixed feeling," he said. "But there is the other side of it: Davide Piganzoli is doing excellent work and Jonas Vingegaard is showing that he's been able to flip the switch and is in good shape."
Vingegaard drove the final climb at a ferocious pace, drilling it hard at the front. "From the point where racing resumed, Jonas was able to show that he's in great condition. We had discussed that option before the stage and of course it depends on how the situation unfolds — but Jonas was clearly feeling good. He wanted to go for it."
Continue reading below the photo!
Jonas Vingegaard crossed the line safely.
Reef singles out Piganzoli for praise
"What Davide did looked very good," Reef said, singling out his young Italian rider for special praise. "But in a sense we also knew that the whole team was ready for this Giro. You still have to make sure you actually deliver at the moment it counts, though — especially in the chaos there was today, with that restart."
"We knew that the last bend before the climb was going to be crucial, but we weren't perfectly positioned there and were spread out across the group," Reef admitted. "Still, Davide managed to push his way strongly to the front and Jonas joined him fairly quickly. I don't know what was said between them because the car was still some way back — but Jonas will have made the call to go."
Vingegaard ultimately finished in the same time as the other GC contenders, having taken Giulio Pellizzari and Lennert Van Eetvelt with him. Visma | Lease a Bike are one day closer to their goal for the Bulgarian opening — getting to Italy as safely as possible — but they've picked up a few extra bumps and bruises along the way. First up: a bus transfer of more than three hours from Veliko Tarnovo to Plovdiv, the start town for Sunday's stage 3.
Tom van der Salm (27) comes from the charming town of Zeilberg (Deurne) in the Netherlands and has been working as editor-in-chief & journalist at IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, In de Leiderstrui, since 2019. He travels with the peloton from the Tour de France to the AlUla Tour and from the World Championships in Rwanda or Canada to the Zilvermeercross in Mol. In his spare time he enjoys playing football, mountain biking, running, walking with his Labrador/Stabyhoun, investing, holidays, (specialty) beers, reading, cooking and watching sports & documentaries!
Contact: [email protected]
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Latest Comments
- Eight riders told to go for stages, and nobody gets one—hard to know what the plan was there. It’ll be interesting to see whether they pick a clear leader next time.bikebuffj10-11-2026
- Was Bernal’s 20th place really their best GC result? I thought he might have finished higher. Either way, it sounds like a rough Tour for the whole team.gearguru3310-11-2026
- Five days in breaks with no stage win is a painful stat. The team had chances, but they need to turn those opportunities into results.julien10-11-2026
- The Onley Vuelta example makes sense: a team with someone to rally around often looks much more cohesive. Hopefully INEOS can build on that rather than expecting a quick return to the Sky years.cadencekingm10-11-2026
- Thomas is right about the ambiguity. Eight riders all chasing stages can end up pulling in different directions, even if nobody’s deliberately working against anyone. They need a clearer plan once the GC leaders are out.robert6510-11-2026
- What a mess. The report makes it sound as though nobody properly explained the decision, and that’s hard to defend.jennifer1910-11-2026
- I’m still learning the rules: does moving left in a sprint automatically bring a penalty, or does it depend on whether the other rider is blocked? It sounds like Brand wasn’t impeded here.patriciaw10-11-2026
- A final decision still needs a proper explanation. If the federation’s complaint goes nowhere, I hope the officials at least review how they handled the riders afterwards.michael5410-11-2026
- Fair play to Lucinda for saying Marie had won fair and square. That kind of sportsmanship matters, especially after such a controversial decision.raceready710-11-2026
- Schreiber beat Brand on the road, so the jury needed to explain clearly why that slight deviation warranted relegation. Being cut off before she could give her account sounds appalling.lindae10-11-2026