Vingegaard continues to dominate in the Tirreno-Adriatico 2024

More ambitious than ever, the Danish Jonas Vingegaard has started the season by dominating in his debut at O Gran Camiño and repeated the script in a race as prestigious as the 2024 Tirreno-Adriatico, this time against a select peloton that he controlled effortlessly. Vingegaard, from Visma-Lease a Bike, also wins the first psychological battle towards his true goal, winning his third Tour de France.

Jonas Vingegaard's Monologue at the 2024 Tirreno-Adriatico

Unbeatable is the feeling that Jonas Vingegaard's rivals must have had after the 2024 Tirreno-Adriatico. Unlike last year, where he was defeated in Paris-Nice by the always formidable Tadej Pogacar, this year their schedules do not overlap and, after switching the French race for the race of the two seas, we have seen a tremendously ambitious Jonas Vingegaard.

However, the week did not start that way, as in the individual time trial that kicked off the competition. Despite the help provided by the new helmets worn by Visma-Lease a Bike, Vingegaard conceded 22 seconds to an incredible Juan Ayuso who made Spanish fans dream of victory and took the stage by just one second ahead of time trial specialist Filippo Ganna.

Following this time trial were three fairly calm stages, marked by changing weather conditions and, as expected, ending in sprints among the fast men. The second stage was won by Jasper Philipsen, in the third stage Phil Bauhaus was the fastest, and in the fourth stage Jonathan Milan not only took the stage victory but, thanks to his good time trial on the first day and the accumulated bonuses, managed to snatch the blue jersey that identifies the leader in the Tirreno-Adriatico from Juan Ayuso.

This led to the two most mountainous stages of the race. The fifth stage was marked by the ascent to the San Giacomo pass, with the summit located 25 kilometers from the finish. There, Jonas Vingegaard did not hold back, attacking where and when he wanted without any of his rivals being able to even attempt to follow him. It was clear that the only battle we would see would be to determine who would accompany the Danish rider on the podium of the 2024 Tirreno-Adriatico.

In this battle, Juan Ayuso initially fell behind, but found strong support in the legs of the latest great discovery from UAE Team Emirates, the Mexican neo-professional Isaac del Toro, and even managed to climb back to second place in the stage just ahead of Jai Hindley, who is starting to resemble the rider who won the Giro d'Italia two years ago. Also notable was the performance of Ben O'Connor, who has started the season in great form.

On the following day, the cyclists faced a tough mountain finish with the ascent to Monte Petrano and the script was similar once again, except that the first attack on this climb came from Jai Hindley. Vingegaard responded effortlessly, with Ayuso on his wheel, but a few hundred meters later, the Danish rider attacked again. Ayuso tried to follow, but the illusion lasted only a few seconds. The Spaniard had to sit down, unable to keep up with the pace of Jonas Vingegaard, and opted to ride with Jai Hindley, whom he once again beat at the finish line, securing a well-deserved second place on the podium ahead of the Australian from Bora-Hansgrohe.

On the final day, there was only a short stage left, with a hilly start but a completely flat finish towards the Adriatic coast with the traditional sprint finish in San Benedetto del Tronto, which was decided, as expected, in a sprint, where Jonathan Milan closed a great week by securing his second victory in a tight sprint.

Overall Classification Tirreno-Adriatico 2024

1. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) 26h22'23''
2. Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) +26''
3. Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) +26''
4. Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates) +36''
5. Thomas Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers) +42''
6. Ben O'Connor (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) +42''
7. Lennard Kamna (Bora-Hansgrohe) +46''
8. Thymen Arensman (INEOS Grenadiers) +46''
9. Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma-Lease a Bike) +48''
10. Wout Poels (Bahrain-Victorious) +1'14''