Visma | LaB more than satisfied with time trial: time loss Vingegaard limited, Jorgenson has regained good feeling

"It has been quite difficult for Jonas to resume his original time trial position. After all, he came to this Tour with a deficit. To get him to the start, we first had to look for the ideal setup. As a result, he obviously missed some time trial training. I do think Jonas is ready. I’m sure of it." These were the words of team leader Frans Maassen, the day before the 25-kilometer chrono between Nuits-Saint-Georges and Gevrey-Chambertin. And in principle, the Dutch coach's prediction was spot on, as we can now conclude.

Although Vingegaard did lose some time to winner Remco Evenepoel and those finishing behind him, Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic, his fourth place certainly did not equal a poor time trial. "We are definitely satisfied," said team manager Merijn Zeeman, who gave his analysis to the assembled press after the race. "We suffered less time loss than we expected. Jonas rode very strongly. Especially on the climb, he was very good."

These are praiseworthy and also hopeful words from Zeeman, who also pointed out that the competition was fierce. "He rode against two fantastic riders, Evenepoel and Pogacar. Remco showed that he is the best time trialist in the world. Congratulations to him," said the man who will soon become the director of the Dutch football club AZ Alkmaar.

Back to Vingegaard, who performed very strongly during the stage that was but a stone's throw from Dijon. "The flat and rolling sections of this course were certainly not in his favor. We had to factor in losses there. The sections where he could compete went very well. This is a good day." Whether or not more good days will follow, that remains to be seen. After seven stages – exactly one week into the Tour – the Danish title defender is just over a minute behind his Slovenian rival/opponent.

"We obviously have to make up that time if we want to win the Tour. That will be a hell of a task," Zeeman concluded realistically about the chances of overall victory and thus a potential third consecutive triumph. "But as far as this stage is concerned, we can be satisfied. Whether we are also taking into account Evenepoel for the overall classification? I hope so, it would be great."

Then there was also ‘shadow leader’ Jorgenson, who completed a decent time trial and ultimately finished seventh in the day's results. "I went all-in with the idea that that short climb was the finish line. That’s also how I approached the time trial last year in Romandie (where he finished second, ed.), and I think that was my best time trial to date. That went well. I was then able to recover well on the descent, and after that, it was a matter of giving everything I had until the finish," the American explained his chrono plan.

"I came to the Tour in great shape, but the crash really got to me in the last three or four days," Jorgenson concluded. "I had body aches and some sort of immune reaction, I think. The crash had a bigger impact than I expected. Due to adrenaline, I initially felt little pain, but a few days later, especially on the Galibier, I felt very bad. It has been getting much better in recent days, and today in the time trial, I felt quite good on the bike." That’s promising!