Jonas Vingegaard, freed from formalities, draws conclusions after Juan Ayuso's time loss in the Vuelta

Vingegaard rode away with Giulio Ciccone in the final, but ultimately finished in the same time as most of his competitors. “I think it's not too bad. It was somewhat challenging to outdo the competition. We tried,” he said dryly.

Visma | Lease a Bike maintained control throughout the day with a specific goal in mind, which ultimately proved to be the case. “We didn't ride to keep the leader's jersey, so it's fine with us,” said the team leader, who felt great. “I actually think I rode well. We always said that I would improve during the Vuelta. My legs felt good, and we can look forward to the last 15 stages.”

Before the Vuelta, there was a lot of talk about a duel between Vingegaard and the men from UAE Emirates-XRG: Joao Almeida and Juan Ayuso. However, the latter has already lost a lot of time and is no longer in the classification. “Before today, UAE had two leaders, and now one has lost eight minutes, I believe. So that was good for us,” said Vingegaard.

Friday will see the next mountain stage, followed by relatively easy stages on Saturday and Sunday. For Vingegaard, it may not be necessary to reclaim the red jersey from Traeen before the weekend, to be spared the formalities that come with it.