Matteo Jorgenson dropped 2.30 minutes to Jonas Vingegaard at the Tour de France; here's why
CyclingSaturday, 04 July 2026 at 22:53
Follow IDL Pro Cycling on Google
Stay up to date with the best cycling news by making us a preferred source on Google.
Follow us on GoogleThe 2026 Tour de France is off to a flying start. Visma | Lease a Bike immediately dealt the competition its first blow in Barcelona with Jonas Vingegaard. Notably, Matteo Jorgenson—who was the Dutch team’s second rider just last year—lost two and a half minutes. Marc Reef, the future Head of Racing, explained to IDL Pro Cycling why that happened at the team bus.
ADVERTISEMENT
It was already noticeable during the reconnaissance: the last three riders to race past the Olympic Stadium were Sepp Kuss, Davide Piganzoli, and, of course, Vingegaard. While teams like Lidl-Trek—“we’re going for Mads Pedersen,” who ultimately lost 4 minutes—were pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes, that wasn’t the case with the Dutch team.
Marc Reef responds nonverbally to our open-ended question—“To what extent is Jorgenson’s time loss a setback?”—by shaking his head. Verbally: “No, definitely not. The most important thing for us was that we would win this stage,” said the team leader of the winning squad, Visma | Lease a Bike.
Read more below the photo!
Matteo Jorgenson lost 2.5 minutes and is not competing for a place in the general classification.
Jorgenson had to do all his work on the first few meters of the incline
Jorgenson’s role—who could just as easily have been the shadow team leader—came earlier in the race. “Above all, we wanted our big guys with plenty of power to make the difference on the flat sections. As soon as the road went uphill, it was time for other riders, like Matteo, to take over. That worked out very well,” Reef concludes.
After Jorgenson—who had fallen two and a half minutes behind—it was up to the climbers Kuss and Piganzoli on the steeper sections, who finished 1.58 minutes and 28 seconds behind Vingegaard, respectively. “We believed this strategy would bring us closest to victory, and we felt it would allow us to conserve Jonas’s energy more effectively. It worked out well.”
Read also
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]
IDL-productions
2026 Tour de France stage 2 favourites | Pogačar out for revenge on this punchy stage to Barcelona
Bizarrely, Egan Bernal is wearing the first green jersey of the 2206 Tour de France. Here's why
How well do you know the history of the Tour de France? Test yourself before the 2026 Grand Départ
Are you a secret Tour de France winning DS? Enter the IDL Pro Cycling Fantasy league and find out!
'Better team mates' and 'better tyres': Next to Iniesta, Girmay criticizes former team at NSN presentation
Latest Cycling News
2026 Tour de France Standings | Immediate changes in the General Classification after the Team Time Trial
2026 Tour de France stage 2 favourites | Pogačar out for revenge on this punchy stage to Barcelona
Bizarrely, Egan Bernal is wearing the first green jersey of the 2206 Tour de France. Here's why
Polka-dot Pogačar can fall back on 3-second 'gain' over Vingegaard after Tour de France setback
'Remco 1 - Lipo 0'; Evenepoel vs Lipowitz gathers pace at the Tour de France: 'Nothing to complain about'
Popular Cycling News
Vingegaard and Visma | Lease a Bike deal Pogacar first blow with victory in Tour de France team time trial
2026 Tour de France stage 1 team time trial favourites | Cycling's very own World Cup kicks off in Barcelona
4 kilos lighter but just as sharp-tongued: Remco Evenepoel kicks off the Tour de France with a bang
There's another way to watch the Tour de France for free on UK TV, thanks to Welsh broadcasters
Fantasy cycling players listen up! Here are our 10 fantasy tips for the 2026 Tour de France
Latest Comments
- - Remco’s radio comment about trying to keep Florian with him was class. Shows he’s bought into the co‑leader plan, even if the legs said otherwise at the end. Vamos, more of this!bikebuffj04-07-2026
- - Honestly thought Red Bull‑BORA‑hansgrohe would be closer than 19 seconds to Vingegaard’s lot. If you’re eyeing the podium, you can’t spot Visma time like that on a TTT. Good, not great.julien04-07-2026
- - “Remco 1 – Lipo 0” is a bit cheeky but fair. Lipowitz was dangling before the kicker, you could see he was at his limit. Early doors though—GC won’t be decided on a 900m climb in Stagepatriciaw04-07-2026
- - Question: if it’s a team time trial, how can one rider finish solo and still count? Does his time apply to the whole team or just him at that point?raceready704-07-2026
- - Remco looked mega sharp today. That last 900m ramp in Barca was tailor‑made for him to squeeze out a gap, and 16s on Lipo this early says a lot. Fifth on the stage vs Visma isn’t a disaster either.lindae04-07-2026
- - ¿Alguien sabe si la caída de ritmo fue solo por la rueda de Skjelmose o también por el viento cruzado al final? Pareció cambiar.cyclechamp4504-07-2026
- - Pog only 11s back after a TTT that suited Visma more? That’s ominous for the mountains. Ayuso sitting fourth is perfect—out of the spotlight but right there.sprocketspiny04-07-2026
- - “We would have preferred yellow” — love the ambition. But did Lidl–Trek actually have the raw speed to beat Visma without the flat? I’m not fully convinced.patriciaw04-07-2026
- - Visma, INEOS, UAE all looked drilled, but Lidl–Trek’s pacing on the overpasses was textbook. They bled less time than expected once down to five. Could be huge later in the first week.cadencekingm04-07-2026
- - Sorry, what does the white jersey actually represent here? And does a team time trial time count the same for all riders in that team?gearguru3304-07-2026
Loading
