Well behind Visma | LaB, other GC contenders lose valuable seconds: "Tough day," says Arensman

Visma | Lease a Bike slapped the competition in the face on Tuesday afternoon in the Paris-Nice team time trial. The Dutch team took the win, and their leaders, Jonas Vingegaard and Matteo Jorgenson, gained a few seconds over their competitors. These GC competitors shared their stories after the race.

Ben O'Connor: +15 seconds

Jayco AlUla had been leading the race for a long time, but the strong Visma | Lease a Bike team eventually pushed them into second place. However, team leader Ben O'Connor was quite satisfied. "I don't think we could have gone any faster," the Australian told CyclingProNet immediately after his effort. "I've heard it's a good time. We'll see once everyone's finished, but we can be satisfied." In the end, Jayco AlUla was the second best, with O'Connor and Michael Matthews losing fifteen seconds to Vingegaard and Jorgenson.

The withdrawal of teammate Luke Durbridge a day earlier played a major role, according to O'Connor. "It sucks that we lost Luke yesterday. He has a big engine, and there were parts today that I thought an extra man would have helped with. That's just the way it is. I think we rode well today," the Australian concluded positively.

Alexander Vlasov: +25 seconds

Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe took third place in the day's results. The German-Austrian formation ensured that team leaders Aleksandr Vlasov and Florian Lipowitz did not lose much time to the competition and even gained some time on other competitors. Afterward, the Russian team leader briefly looked back on his X account. "We had a great day on the road today and secured a solid third place," said the 28-year-old Vlasov.

Mattias Skjelmose: +30 seconds

"We'll see how the other teams perform, but I think we did well," Mattias Skjelmose said after the Lidl-Trek time trial. He finished thirty seconds behind Jorgenson and Vingegaard. "That's a big gap. Unfortunately, we lost three guys quite quickly, just before the downhill section. They could have helped there. Still, it was a good performance, and I am very happy with our effort," the Dane said satisfactorily.

Skjelmose was especially pleased with how his teammates performed. "Daan (Hoole, ed.), Mads (Pedersen, ed.), and Julien (Bernard, ed.) were impressive. Personally, I didn't feel great, but that's normal in a team time trial when the whole team goes full throttle. You have to dig deep and suffer."

Thymen Arensman: +34 seconds

The first Dutch rider in the GC is in thirteenth place. That is where we find Thymen Arensman after his INEOS Grenadiers team finished fifth in the time trial. "A nice day of suffering with the boys," Arensman posted on his Instagram account afterward. "Everyone went all out/in, and we can be proud of the execution."

Neilson Powless: +34 seconds

"I feel excellent," Neilson Powless told CyclingProNet after the race. The American lost the same amount of time as Arensman to the winners but saw an improvement. "I feel even better than in the Volta ao Algarve. I hope I find the right form at the right time. We had a really good team today. It was unbelievable. We had guys who completely sacrificed themselves with five kilometers to go. Harry (Sweeny, ed.) guided us through the last three kilometers well so that Georg (Steinhauser, ed.) and I could go full gas in the last kilometer. I am very proud of the team and also quite happy with my current form."

Does Powless see himself as a dangerous outsider now that he is in good shape? "I think so, yes. I came here to do well in the GC. Of course, there are bigger favorites than me, but I feel so much better than a few years ago," the American refers to his participation in Paris-Nice in 2023. "I finished sixth then. Hopefully, I can finish on the podium if I have good climbing legs, but we'll see each other tomorrow."

Lenny Martinez: +1.02 minute

Bahrain Victorious brought two dangerous outsiders to the start of Paris-Nice in the form of Santiago Buitrago and Lenny Martinez. However, both men lost just over a minute to Jorgenson and Vingegaard on Tuesday. "It went well," Martinez said with satisfaction in conversation with CyclingProNet. "I survived the flat. The last hill was tough, but that worked to my advantage. We gave it our all. Yesterday I hoped that I would wake up with good legs today, because if you don't feel good on a day like today... It becomes very complicated. I felt good, so I am very happy. Every day, I feel a little better, too."

The first battle between the GC riders may be seen tomorrow, although Martinez knows little about that. "I don't know how well tomorrow's climb will be so that we will study it tonight. I'm not sure what to expect tomorrow."

Julian Alaphilippe: +1.06 minute

'It's still a special discipline, of course,' the French rider began his analysis in conversation with CyclingProNet. "I like it. We did what we could for the first time with the team. It was a nice course, and I felt good. The goal they had set with Tudor in advance was certainly achieved. "That was with as many people as possible still present at the end." Teammate Michael Storer recorded the same time as Loulou.

"The course was really perfect for a team time trial," Alaphilippe praised the organization. "It was a good start, and we immediately found a good rhythm. I don't know the result, but we can't have any regrets." Alaphilippe, Storer, and Tudor ended up in fourteenth place in the daily results, one minute and six seconds behind Vingegaard and Jorgenson.

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