Team Jumbo-Visma train rushes to resounding win in team time trial Paris-Nice
Team Jumbo-Visma has won the team time trial of Paris-Nice. After a lightning-fast race against the clock, the Dutch team had the fastest time at the finish line. Team Jumbo-Visma won the race with an average speed of almost 57 kilometres per hour, earning them their eighth victory of the season.
The team time trial was right up the yellow-and-black team's alley. Team Jumbo-Visma, which consists of time trial experts Rohan Dennis, Edoardo Affini, and Tobias Foss, already had the best time at the intermediate point and could hold onto the first position. Despite being small, the one-second advantage over EF-Education-EasyPost was sufficient to win the stage.
Leader Jonas Vingegaard was happy with his team's performance. "It feels great to have so many strong riders alongside me in this race. You can see that it can be really beneficial in stages like this. We tried to stick together with as many riders as possible for as long as we could."
"While we don't get to practice the team time trial as frequently as we would like, you can tell we have mastered this discipline."
Vingegaard claimed that Team Jumbo-Visma affirmed its status as one of the best in the world in this discipline. "While we don't get to practice the team time trial as frequently as we would like, you can tell we have mastered this discipline. The time trial went very well, and at the end, we sprinted for every second. We naturally would have preferred to take a little more time, but we gave it our all to secure a solid position in the general classification. The coming mountain stages are going to be decisive. Tomorrow, the first uphill arrival is already a nice test."
Nathan Van Hooydonck missed out on tomorrow's yellow leader's jersey by one second. The Belgian is second overall. After stage three, Vingegaard, Foss, and Jan Tratnik are still among the top ten. Van Hooydonck: "We went full speed towards the finish to ensure that Jonas, in particular, finished strongly. In the last kilometre, Jonas, Jan, Tobias, and I were left, and we gave it our all."
Despite the victory, sports director Marc Reef experienced exciting moments in the [following car]. "The intermediate times were close together. Every time, we were counting. We knew it would be close. They gave it their all, and in the end, we won. That's what counts, and it boosts the entire team's performance. Nathan could have won the yellow jersey, but another goal for today was that we gained ground on our competitors for the general classification."