UAE does not back Almeida, but he is not acting appropriately either, according to De Cauwer: "He is not behaving like a leader"

First of all, De Cauwer saw a very strong Jonas Vingegaard in the ninth stage, with a team that is constantly there for him. "Visma | Lease a Bike is clearly the most controlling team here, and Vingegaard is also the best rider," said the analyst at Sporza. “Everything is focused on winning in Madrid. How are we going to do that? Stay together, work together.” It resulted in his second stage victory in the ninth stage.

“When you see the UAE Team Emirates... I'm not going to say they're a loose cannon, but they're not there. One rider wins a stage and then lets it go. You can't talk about a collective at UAE for the time being,” said the Belgian. But team leader Almeida is far from blameless. “For me, João Almeida is not behaving like a leader. You always have to be close to Vingegaard. If you can't keep up, that's fine. But if you're not there, well, then you're Almeida.”

As a result, the Portuguese rider is almost 40 seconds behind his Danish rival. Things are not looking good for the UAE team leader, but an overall victory in the Vuelta is not out of the question yet. “He can definitely still win it,” says the former sports director. “It’s only the first rest day. There’s still a long way to go. The only question is what Vingegaard will do there, if he can already pull away so far here.”

On top of that, Visma | Lease a Bike has been way more on point than its big rivals so far. With Sepp Kuss (16th) and Matteo Jorgenson (8th), they still have two guys in the top 20. The American is still in the running for a podium spot. "But I expect him to do even better, immediately after Almeida. In the Tour, too, he was just that little bit short of being able to keep up with Vingegaard."

So far, Schotte thinks the Vuelta has been a mixed bag, with not too many interesting routes. “It’s been a bit of a Tour of Spain that is searching for its identity for its 80th edition. The stages were often unexciting, with a long buildup and then a sudden burst of fireworks at the end. We can say that Vingegaard has set things alight and that the dull opening week has now taken on a different momentum."

De Cauwer counters, however, and sees that it is precisely in the less obvious stages that the danger (or rather the entertainment) lies. “I'm looking forward to a stage where the race takes a surprise turn. An attack you don't see coming, like Vingegaard's. That's not what you expect from him.” On Tuesday, the Vuelta continues with a stage that is almost identical to Sunday's: a relatively flat stage with an uphill finish.