Vingegaard amazed by his teammates in team time trial: "This was almost perfection"

The American took a deep breath after the finish. "It's a lot of relief. Days like these are very stressful from the moment we wake up. When you finish on schedule, it's nice to put it behind you," said the defending Paris-Nice champion in his first reaction on Eurosport.

"Before the race, we already knew that this would be the most stressful day of the week, so it's good to have it done," said Jorgenson, who last year had to concede time in a similar assignment in Paris-Nice." I'm proud of the men; everything went very well. Everyone was dedicated, and we should not take that for granted: six men who are so committed."

Axel Zingle, Edoardo Affini, and Per Strand Hagenes (the 'motorbikes' according to Jorgenson) did the necessary work on the flat, after which Victor Campenaerts and Bart Lemmen ('I am very proud of them') did an excellent job towards the final kilometer. Then, it was up to the leaders themselves. "It went according to plan. We already trained for this in January, with this selection of bikes and helmets, Jorgenson revealed on behalf of Visma | Lease a Bike. 'Who was the strongest between Jonas and me? The public can decide that, haha. But we are on the same team', the American laughed. 'We gave it our all in the final kilometer."

Vingegaard was also very pleased. "To be honest, this was almost perfection," the Dane said, praising his men. "We rode an incredibly good team time trial without making any mistakes and with a powerful team. All my teammates performed wonderfully. We were eager for victory. That is thanks to the riders and the staff we have here."

"I felt good. This is a very tough discipline, and to feel good is fantastic and important," he says. "I feel excellent. Better and better, so let's see what that brings in the mountains. Matteo was strong, but so was I. We were evenly matched. We are now first and second, so hopefully, we can keep it that way."

All in all, a very successful day for the men of Visma | Lease a Bike. Sports director Niermann was very pleased with his team's performance afterward. "We've had a very successful day," can be read on the website of the Dutch team. "We gained a lot of seconds on some key rivals, which gives us some breathing room for the days ahead."

On Wednesday, in all likelihood, a battle will erupt between the leaders for the first time at the Loge des Gardes. Niermann is certainly looking forward to it. "We're looking forward to fighting with Matteo and Jonas for another overall victory in Nice."