![\"Jonas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/jonas-vingegaard-remco-evenepoel-tom-pidcock-mattias-skjelmose-69c17db71f65a.jpg@webp.webp\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
That tension had already been building earlier in the race. Evenepoel felt the opening stage could have reshaped the general classification had Vingegaard committed to the move. \u201cOn day one, I immediately showed I was ready in that crosswind stage. If Jonas had just worked with us there, the race could already have been decided.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead, Vingegaard kept the race under control until the terrain fully suited him. When the key mountain stage arrived, he made the decisive move, took over the race lead and then added another stage win the following day to settle the overall classification beyond doubt.<\/p>\n
Catalunya result backed up the method<\/p>\n
Evenepoel\u2019s frustration centred on moments earlier in the race, where cooperation could have changed the shape of the general classification. But Vingegaard never took that risk. \u201cHe could have worked with him to the finish on the first stage, but there was no reason to. He has to look after himself.\u201d<\/p>\n
That approach has been consistent across his 2026 season. Paris-Nice followed a similar pattern, with Vingegaard controlling the race before asserting himself on terrain that suited him best.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, Tom Pidcock and Mattias Skjelmose climb together at the Volta a Catalunya 2026<\/p>\n
Paris-Nice criticism also dismissed<\/p>\n
Despite winning Paris-Nice comfortably, Vingegaard still faced scrutiny after he was unable to drop Lenny Martinez on the final stage. \u201cI was close to losing it when there was criticism of him on that final stage,\u201d Sorenson said. \u201cBecause he couldn\u2019t drop Lenny Martinez, there was this outcry that it actually wasn\u2019t very good. I simply don\u2019t understand that. It\u2019s completely irrelevant whether he drops him or not. He rode to win the stage and then gets beaten right on the line.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Sorenson, the key difference is not just the results, but how they are being delivered. \u201cIt\u2019s a sharper version of himself, where he almost does whatever he wants,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Across both Paris-Nice and Catalunya, Vingegaard has shown a level of control that leaves little margin for others to dictate the race. He has not needed to respond to every move, only the ones that matter. \u201cThis is a very strong version of Vingegaard that we are seeing this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is that ability to decide when the race is won, rather than simply reacting to it, that continues to define his season.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" That tension had already been building earlier in the race. Evenepoel felt the opening stage could have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":586335,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,6495,8396,85,225022],"class_list":{"0":"post-586334","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-cycling","11":"tag-jonas-vingegaard","12":"tag-remco-evenepoel","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-volta-a-catalunya"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=586334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586334\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/586335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=586334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=586334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=586334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}