“I’m extremely happy with this victory. Taking the red jersey on top of that makes it even more special”, Vingegaard says afterwards. Despite a crash just before the climb to Limone Piemonte, the Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader felt strong. “The team rode brilliantly. It’s truly fantastic to win like this.”

During the second stage in northeastern Italy, the peloton was shaken by a crash on the right side of the wet road. Five riders from Team Visma | Lease a Bike - including Vingegaard - were involved, but all were able to continue. At the foot of the final climb to Limone Piemonte, the yellow-and-black team once again took control at the front of the peloton, setting Vingegaard up perfectly. The Dane outsprinted Giulio Ciccone to take the stage win.

“Before the last corner, I thought I couldn’t pass Ciccone. Luckily, the finish was further away than I expected. You should never pass up a chance to win in a Grand Tour. That’s why I went all-in today”, Vingegaard says, adding that he came through the crash relatively unscathed. “I fell quite hard, but at first glance, it seems fine. Of course, I have a few scrapes.”

Teammate Matteo Jorgensen crossed the line in ninth place. “Jonas’ victory is impressive. It looked very explosive. It was really cool to see him do it this way.” Vingegaard’s stage victory brings Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s total for the season to 31 wins, after Matthew Brennan claimed his second triumph of the week in the Deutschland Tour as well today.