For much of Jonas Vingegaard's legendary Tour de France rivalry with Tadej Pogačar, it's the Dane who has tended to ride more defensively than the Slovenian.
There have been exceptions to the rule, of course: the Col du Granon in 2022, and the stage to Laruns the year after, but in the main it's been Pogačar who has been the more attacking of the duo. Indeed, after last year’s gravel stage around Troyes, Remco Evenepoel accused Vingegaard of lacking the “balls” to race.
But that viewpoint may soon evaporate into thin air and fade into insignificance, such is the start the two-time winner has made to this edition of the Tour.
This is a new Vingegaard. This is a rider seemingly reborn, and one willing to grab the race by the horns and attack at any given opportunity. And more to the point, he told gathered media at the Visma-Lease a Bike bus in Boulogne-sur-Mer that his late attack at five kilometres from the line on stage two had been "for fun".
"I just think he felt good. I mean, he didn't go anywhere, but he did it for fun," the team's lead sports director, Grischa Niermann, said of the attack, right after Vingegaard had shouted out that his move had been for pure entertainment in answer to the initial question put to Niermann by a reporter.
Despite the attack ultimately coming to nothing, both Vingegaard and his Visma teammate Matteo Jorgenson continued to push on in the lead group, rapidly upping the pace to keep both riders firmly in contention as the steep ramp to the finish approached.
Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling) was the first man to jump, before Mathieu van der Poel – the eventual stage winner – followed with both Pogačar and Vingegaard locked onto his wheel, the latter holding on to take third behind the new race leader Van der Poel.
"This was a very explosive stage, and Jonas managed it really well," Niermann added. "We hoped to add a little more explosivity to his shape and that was better today.
"Matteo and Jonas played it really well in the final. Third place was the highest possible result I think, much more than we could expect in this.
"It's not a bunch sprint, but it was still a tough group and it was also a hard sprint. Once again I think in the last kilometres Jonas and Matteo played it really well."
An explosive stage
Vingegaard later explained that the initial plan had been for the team to aim for the stage victory and yellow jersey with Wout van Aert, but after the Belgian informed his teammates that he didn’t have the legs they were then forced to recalibrate out on the road. "He didn't feel super so in the end," the Dane said of Van Aert. "I had to try it for myself."
He continued: "To be honest, I went a bit better today, the result was better than what I expected. I didn't expect to come third on a stage like this. I'm really happy with my legs, and with how it went.
"When we knew Wout didn’t have the legs, we tried to go for it with me, and also tried to do something with Matteo [Jorgenson] as well. So I think in the end it turned out to be a good day."
The start of stage two took place in torrential rain, only adding to the stress and tension in the opening two days of racing. "It's been very hectic here, when you start with stages like this," Vingegaard said as he reflected on the opening weekend.
"Personally, I liked the last two editions [of the Tour] a bit more, where it's hard from the gun, and this is a lot more stress, but it’s just part of the Tour."
