After shedding time on stage 1 of the 2023 Tour de France, reigning champion Jonas Vingegaard downplayed the significance of his losses in Bilbao.
The Dane lies 22 seconds down on stage winner Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) and four behind his great rival, Yates' teammate Tadej Pogačar, after the Slovenian sprinted to the time bonus for third place at the end of the 182km opener.
Vingegaard is now ninth overall, though everything is obviously still to play for in the Tour with 20 days left to run. The time gaps are minor, even if he is on the back foot.
"I guess he took four seconds," Vingegaard said outside Jumbo-Visma's team hotel past the finish line in Bilbao. "The Tour de France will probably not be decided on four seconds."
Jumbo-Visma had put on a show of strength in the final of the hilly Basque Country stage, leading into the base of the day's final climb, the Côte de Pike 10km from the finish. The Dutch squad were in control of the peloton with half their team before Yates teed up Pogačar’s acceleration, though Vingegaard was able to match the Slovenian on the climb.
In the end, it was the Yates twins, Adam and Simon, who made the winning move over the top and into Bilbao, but despite missing out on the stage glory, Vingegaard was still pleased with how he and his team performed on a tricky opener.
"I think I can be very happy with my own team," he said. "They kept me safe all day, so I guess I have to give them a big thanks for that. They were all super strong and we are of course happy to be safe and not crash because there was a big crash.
"Of course, we wanted to win today but you can't win every day."
Vingegaard’s teammate Wout van Aert was among the favourites for the win and with it the first yellow jersey of the Tour, but the Belgian would have to settle for finishing in the chase group alongside Vingegaard and a cluster of GC contenders.
"Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough to sprint for the victory," Van Aert said later, assessing his team's efforts on the day. "I would have rather been myself. I was here to try and win the stage but no regrets because me and the team gave everything. The Yates brothers were stronger than us, so chapeau."
Team directeur sportif Merijn Zeeman also concluded that Jumbo-Visma had done everything they could to open the Tour with a victory – it would have been their 43rd of 2023 – but he noted that the events of the stage marked what would be only the first blow in what will be a long battle for the maillot jaune.
"I think we did everything possible," Zeeman said. "It was a strong winner with Adam Yates together with his brother. A deserved win for UAE and for him.
"But I think for us, for the fight for yellow, we did really well. We were there with four, super strong for Wout being there. I think this outcome is OK for us. There will be three weeks of battle."
