Vingegaard and Visma | Lease a Bike deliberately save energy, but still narrowly avoid crash at the back of the peloton
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Follow us on GoogleJonas Vingegaard came through the shortened fourth stage of the Volta a Catalunya unharmed on Thursday, which meant Visma | Lease a Bike achieved exactly what it set out to do. Bart Lemmen was involved in a small incident in the finale, but he too made it to the finish without any real problems.
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The summit finish at Vallter 2000 had been removed from the route, turning the day into one for the sprinters instead. Ethan Vernon of NSN Cycling Team eventually took the stage win, and Vingegaard was perfectly happy to accept the change, knowing the strong wind gusts had made a mountain finish impossible.
“I probably saved a lot of energy. Of course, we had hoped for a different finale, but that’s just the way it is,” the Visma | Lease a Bike leader said afterwards to Danish outlet TV2.
In a finale packed with roundabouts, Visma | Lease a Bike deliberately chose to stay near the back of the peloton. “We decided that last night when the route was changed. These are wide roads. There isn’t much risk involved,” said the Dane.
“If there’s a crash, you can ride around it and get back. It’s different in a very technical finale, but today we saw no reason to stay near the front all day. So it’s better to save the stress — and the energy that would cost us.”
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Vingegaard sees Gee go down
Vingegaard still almost got caught up in trouble, however, when Derek Gee crashed and Bart Lemmen was briefly delayed as a result. “I thought: oh, I hope Gee is okay. I think maybe he wasn’t fully focused in that moment. That’s the danger. You have to keep concentration at all times,” Vingegaard said, speaking from experience.
On Friday, Vingegaard will get another opportunity to make his move in the general classification, with a stage featuring around 4,500 metres of climbing and a summit finish at La Molina. “Two very beautiful stages are coming up. We are in a good position, we have seven fit riders, and with that group we will fight over the next two days for the highest possible place in the general classification,” sports director Marc Reef said.
“It was the right decision to shorten the stage. Safety always comes first. Because of the change, we had to adapt our plans. It was clear this was now going to end in a bunch sprint. For us, the important thing was to save energy and guide Jonas safely through the stage. We did that very well.”
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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]
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- Five days in breaks with no stage win is a painful stat. The team had chances, but they need to turn those opportunities into results.julien10-11-2026
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- Thomas is right about the ambiguity. Eight riders all chasing stages can end up pulling in different directions, even if nobody’s deliberately working against anyone. They need a clearer plan once the GC leaders are out.robert6510-11-2026
- What a mess. The report makes it sound as though nobody properly explained the decision, and that’s hard to defend.jennifer1910-11-2026
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