Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard cruised to a dominant win in the Volta a Catalunya on Sunday, sending a warning to rivals in what could be a prelude to an all-out battle in the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France.
The Dane suffered a nightmare start to his season this year after he had to back out of the UAE Tour due to a crash and subsequent illness, considering his ambition to claim a double Giro-Tour title.
He went on to compete in Paris-Nice instead and took an empathic win there.
But his performance in one of the most challenging one-week races in the cycling calendar in Catalunya further dispelled any doubts he was back to his best – and will seek to challenge fellow riders for the crown.
Vingegaard in control
Vingegaard was up against some of the sport’s best riders, including UAE Team Emirates – XRG’s João Almeida, Pinarello-Q36.5’s Thomas Pidcock, and Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe’s tandem of Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz.
The rider from Team Visma – Lease a Bike played it coolly in the first few stages, finishing safely among the peloton’s top 15.
But tensions flared on stage three after Evenepoel attacked and Vingegaard quickly responded, attaching to his wheel and refusing to work with the Belgian in their two-man breakaway to ride defensively instead.
It was no secret Evenepoel was frustrated with Vingegaard’s lack of co-operation, until the situation took a turn when Evenepoel crashed metres away from the finish line.
Vingegaard sat up from the bike and refused to try for the stage win the moment it was clear Evenepoel could not immediately go back to the race.
It was on stage five where he proved he was in control, going solo in the final six kilometres of the La Molina/Coll de Pal summit in Berga to take his first stage win in Catalunya.
By then, Vingegaard had already climbed to the top spot of the GC rankings.
He continued in such dominant form up the penultimate stage six at the summit of Queralt in Berguedà, winning the stage yet again with the help of his teammate, domestique genius Sepp Kuss, and widening the gap from his main competitors.
That win echoed the victory of his long-time rival Tadej Pogačar, who won on the same summit also wearing the leader’s jersey back in 2024.
The Dane then finished safely in the peloton on stage seven, which was won by Brady Gilmore of the NSN Cycling Team, to officially put the Volta a Catalunya under his palmares.
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Overcoming Red Bull pressure
“It’s been a really great week. We came here with the ambition to win stages and the general classification, and we’ve succeeded. I’m absolutely delighted with that,” Vingegaard said in a press release.
He also cited the amount of pressure from Red Bull, and how they managed to isolate him in the final stretch.
“The Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe riders really put the team and me under pressure today. Their high pace left me isolated in the final stretch, and I had to defend myself as best I could.”
Bahrain – Victorious’ Lenny Martinez, who quipped Vingegaard for the last stage win in Paris-Nice just two weeks ago, finished second in the overall standings, while Lipowitz rode his way up to third.
With Vingegaard’s stellar form, his rivals will now be looking to have an answer to his dominance by the time the first Grand Tour of the year comes rolling in, the Giro d’Italia starting from May 8.
Vingegaard said his season starter gave him a boost both in confidence and motivation.
“My next race is the Giro, and I certainly hope to be in an even better shape there.”
Evenepoel fights on
Despite the crash, Evenepoel did not leave Catalunya empty-handed.
While he ended up in a support role for co-leader Lipowitz during the latter stages of the race, Evenepoel eventually bounced back, launching attacks on the fast, technical finishing circuits in the final stage.
Other factors worked against him, however, such as headwinds, something that Evenepoel had said did not suit him as an attacker.
He also cited Vingegaard’s defensive approach throughout the week.
“On day one I immediately showed I was ready in that crosswind stage. If Jonas had just worked with us there, the race could already have been decided,” he told Sporza, as cited by Cycling Up To Date.
Evenepoel has still taken some positives from the race, including finishing fifth overall even after the crash, which he said “took away a lot” of his chances.
“I don’t think I’ve had a bad Volta a Catalunya. Nowadays, everything has to be 100% right if you want to win a race like this.
“Luckily, I was able to finish the race and together with Lipo, we still achieved a good result.”
Evenepoel will now set his sights to the Classics, the closest of which will be the Amstel Gold Race on April 19.
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