Pidcock and Vine leave Bruyneel and De Cauwer stunned in Vuelta: "He dropped Almeida!"

According to Bruyneel in the podcast The Move, Vine's work on the penultimate day of the Vuelta should not be underestimated. "Jay Vine was impressive. He took over 7 kilometers from the finish and picked up the pace on the less steep gradients, where you really have an advantage on the wheel. How he then powered up the first 200 or 300 meters... He dropped Almeida!"

Vine eventually dropped back before Almeida failed to crack Vingegaard. Those who then saw the exhausted bodies coming in at the top were surprised when Vine's polka dot jersey rolled in seemingly easily 47 seconds after Vingegaard to finish seventh in the stage.

It wasn't the first time Vine had impressed in a Grand Tour, particularly the Vuelta. In 2022, he won two stages for Alpecin-Deceuninck, but crashed and failed to take the mountain jersey. Last year, he still won the mountain classification, something he repeated in this Tour of Spain, including two stage wins from the breakaway.

What's next for the 29-year-old Australian? “There is room for many riders in a team, and Vine has the quality for a week-long stage race. That should be his goal, because riders like him often lack the necessary qualities when they are forced into a leadership role. There are many riders like that, and that's what makes the real champions so great,” said Bruyneel.

De Cauwer dares to tip Vine at Sporza for a role as an outsider at the World Championships in Rwanda. There he will start in both the time trial and the road race. “Vine could well play an important role in Kigali. He is definitely a contender for the podium in the time trial. Filippo Ganna had been saving himself for days for that time trial, and then the king of the mountains finishes within a second. That's really impressive.”

Another surprise in the Vuelta was Pidcock. The 26-year-old Brit from Q36.5 was aiming for the top ten, but in Madrid, he will join Vingegaard and Almeida on the final podium. “If Pidcock had said before the Vuelta that he was going for the podium, we would all have said: no chance. Maybe the top ten, but the fact that he pulled this off and fought so hard is a real achievement,” said Bruyneel.

The Belgian has often criticized Pidcock and his former employer INEOS Grenadiers in recent years. “It wasn't a happy marriage,” he said. “He was better prepared this time, but it's not like he spent months preparing for a Grand Tour. Are we now going to see a Pidcock who does that? He was impressive. Sometimes it's hard to follow his goals, but the fact that he immediately made it onto the podium in his first attempt at the general classification is a statement.”