“Terrible,” Jonas Vingegaard summarizes after Giro time trial finish in 13th

Whether Jonas Vingegaard expected to take the pink jersey from Afonso Eulálio on Tuesday is doubtful. But the Danish rider from Visma | Lease a Bike certainly would not have hoped to lose so much time to rivals like Thymen Arensman. The Dutchman took 1:06 from Vingegaard, who described his performance as a “terrible” chrono.

On Tuesday, the Visma | Lease a Bike team leader naturally had to start the time trial in the blue jersey, which we’ve already covered. A disadvantage? Jamie Lowden, the Dutch team’s aerodynamics specialist, told Eurosport that it wasn’t. “The kits were handed to us two days ago. We did a fitting with Castelli yesterday.”

Lowden continued: “We made sure it fit Jonas well. We made a few small adjustments to ensure it was really comfortable. It should be a good kit. It’s the same kit as Quick-Step, so I’m not too worried. I think Jonas can still put in a good performance.”

Ultimately, Vingegaard finished 13th in the time trial, losing three full minutes to an unstoppable Filippo Ganna. Second place on the day, Arensman, finished 1:54 ahead. Vingegaard also lost some time to riders like Derek Gee-West and Ben O’Connor, while only six seconds ahead of Michael Storer.

“Terrible,” the Dane summed up with a smile on his face during an interview with CyclingPro. “It was terrible. It was a long, flat time trial, which isn’t my specialty. I’ve never been very good at flat efforts. To be honest, I think I got through it reasonably well.”

Vingegaard knew beforehand that this type of course wouldn’t favor him. “I think a completely flat time trial like this suits the slightly bigger riders. The more power you have, the better.”

Still, the Visma leader remained positive. “I think I’m in a good position. I’m close to the pink jersey, and it would have been nice to have it already. Every day in a leader’s jersey is a pleasure and something to be happy about. I’m also pleased with the blue jersey, of course. That’s not a problem. I think I’m in a good spot.”