Vingegaard sees work to do before Barcelona after Visma | Lease a Bike fall short in Paris–Nice TTT

Alongside that trio, Visma also lined up with Axel Zingle, Victor Campenaerts, Wilco Kelderman and Davide Piganzoli. In the end, Piganzoli and Armirail crossed the line in the same time as Vingegaard, with the team finishing 15 seconds down on the victorious INEOS Grenadiers and 13 seconds behind Juan Ayuso.

“Of course we had hoped for more, but this is what it is,” team leader Vingegaard said afterwards through the team’s official channels. “It may not have been our best day as a team, but nevertheless we rode a strong time. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for the win.”

For Visma | Lease a Bike, it leaves clear work still to be done ahead of the Tour de France, which will also begin in Barcelona with a team time trial.

Instead of taking the time they had hoped to gain, the Dane now finds himself looking at a small deficit to some of his main rivals in the general classification.

“We would rather have had an advantage, but the gaps are not huge,” Vingegaard said. “We have a strong team and we’ll do everything we can in the coming days to take some time back. I feel good, so I’m looking forward to racing.”

Visma will get an immediate chance to respond on Wednesday, when Paris–Nice serves up its first mountain stage. The day is also expected to be shaped by difficult weather, with rain throughout much of the stage and enough wind to keep the peloton on edge before the uphill finish.