Three different leader’s jerseys in three days, it’s a rare thing to see at the start of Vuelta. Jumbo-Visma is taking advantage of the situation to please everyone.
Victorious in the first stage, the Jumbo-Visma team first decided to hand over the leader’s red jersey to Robert Gesink making it pass the line first. A gift that fell from the sky for the Dutchman who had hard to realize what was happening to him : “I’m really grateful to the guys. This is absolutely one of the highlights of my career. I think it’s a really nice way for them to say thank you for the support over the past few years. Rolling on my land with the red jersey is like a dream come true“.
Saturday, a sprint was expected. On paper, Jumbo-Visma might therefore choose who was going to recover the leader’s tunic since the riders who finished in the peloton’s time would be decided instead. The choice finally fell on Mike Teunissen. The team’s best sprinter, the 29-year-old finished fourth in stage and therefore recovered the famous red jersey.
A start in the Netherlands, a Dutch team, the red jersey for the two Dutch to start the Vuelta, everything seems so logical. While Teunissen might have hoped to do better, his failure to take any bonuses paved the way for yet another sleight of hand within the team to provide a moment of glory for another member. of the team.
Despite the presence of the Dutch Sam Oomen in time, it’s Italian Edoardo Affini who was appointed to retrieve the leader’s tunic. Once once more, the Jumbo gift had its small effect: “It’s great that we can all experience moments like this within the team. It’s a leader’s jersey in a grand tour. It is not given to everyone to live this experience. I have to thank my teammates for giving me this jersey. I’m very happy regarding it and it’s an honor to be the leader of a grand tour.”
After a day of transit on Monday towards Spain, the peloton will be back on Tuesday for a mid-mountain stage up to Laguardia. If the stage should “eliminate” only pure sprinters and the last kilometer is far from insurmountable, the small apothecary calculations of the Dutch formation should stop. The main objective will be to ensure that Primoz Roglic don’t waste time. Seeing the Slovenian champion take the red jersey following the stage even seems to be the most realistic scenario.
Then, the common objective will be to allow him to win a fourth consecutive Vuelta. With a team rebounding and several runners who will want to thank the team for wearing the red tunic, it is a more than credible possibility.
