Visma super-domestique Piganzoli surprises everyone: 'Suffering like a pig'

It had seemed almost written in the stars — but first it had to actually happen. Jonas Vingegaard justified his status as the top favourite in stage fourteen of the Giro d'Italia with a considerable show of strength, making good on every expectation. It proved a tactically well-executed plan from Visma | Lease a Bike.

On the long, grinding final climb to Pila (16.5 kilometres at an average of 7.1 per cent), the remaining breakaway leaders were reeled in one by one, before the GC men took over. It was almost entirely Visma | Lease a Bike who led the peloton, systematically splitting the group of favourites.

In the end, completing the solo mission was straightforward enough for Vingegaard, who arrived at the summit with a sizeable lead — around 50 seconds over Felix Gall. In doing so, the 29-year-old Dane achieved a notable landmark: he has now worn the leader's jersey in all three Grand Tours at least once.

"That is of course very special," Vingegaard said afterwards, generous in his praise for his teammates at the yellow-and-black WorldTour squad. "I have again been able to finish off the hard work of my teammates. I am enormously grateful to them for that. They all delivered a fantastic performance. We don't need to attack anymore."

One of those teammates who once again performed outstandingly was Davide Piganzoli. The young Italian pulled enormous turns at the front and then remarkably crossed the finish line in fourth place himself. "We had a plan and we followed it," the domestique told Eurosport. "It worked 100 per cent. I want to thank the team and especially Jonas. He really is a machine."

Despite how effortless it may have appeared, even Piganzoli was pushed to his limit. "After two hours of racing I was suffering like a pig," he said bluntly. "We have a truly super-strong team, so we pushed through with the plan. With that, we showed that we are the best team in the race." A GC challenge of his own appears to be the last thing on the 23-year-old from Morbegno's mind. "I'm not thinking about that. We are focused purely and solely on the pink jersey."

Similar praise came from sports director Marc Reef, who reacted to the stage on the team website. "The goal was to win the stage. The boys did a fantastic job. We showed as a team how strong we are. Winning the stage and taking the race lead at the same time is wonderful. We are in a good position, but nothing has been decided yet. We stay focused every day."