Tour of Spain | Cycling: The Vuelta a España starts with problems in Italy

The start of the Vuelta didn't always go according to plan for the big favorite , Jonas Vingegaard . First, he crashed on Sunday during the second stage of the Tour of Spain in Italy, but then he defeated local hero Giulio Ciccone in a mountain sprint and claimed the red jersey. He was still delighted at the time: "It's been a while since my last win. So I'm very happy with how I felt, how the team worked, and that I now have the red jersey," said the Dane.

Police investigate

The following morning, his Visma racing team was in shock. The equipment truck had been broken into, and 18 bikes worth approximately €250,000 were missing. "Our mechanics are working hard to ensure the team is well prepared for the third stage. The police have begun an investigation," the team announced.

What's sad about the start of the tour in Italy is that this is already the third incident of this kind. A manager from equipment supplier Shimano had his car broken into outside a team hotel at the start in Turin, and along with his wallet and documents, his Pinarello bike was stolen. What happened to Vingegaard's teammate Alex Zingle was even worse. The Frenchman crashed during the 2nd stage, dislocating his shoulder and then putting it back in place himself, as is customary for the tough guys on the lightweight carbon frames . But while Zingle was being examined in the emergency room after the stage, his bike was stolen. Well, he didn't need it anymore because his team doctors had decided to withdraw him from the race after completing their examination.

New explosiveness

Italy hosts the Tour of Spain until Tuesday. The fourth stage then takes the riders across the border into France on a hilly course. However, Vingegaard will have to wait until Thursday for the next mountain finish, when he heads to Pal in Andorra. The Dane could shine again on this approximately ten-kilometer climb. He already amazed at the Tour de France with his newly trained explosiveness on shorter climbs. "At first I didn't think I would be able to get past Ciccone. But then the climb was a bit longer than I thought, and I gave it a try," he said after his first individual victory in more than six months. He won the time trial at the Tour of the Algarve in Portugal, and his last victory in a mass start stage was more than a year ago.

In the absence of his long-time rival Tadej Pogačar , the three-time Tour de France runner-up is back on winning track at the Vuelta. This should also give him a mental boost. He was the clear favorite from the start in the 80th edition of the Tour of Spain. "I'm coming here to win," he declared before the start. He will be opposed primarily by the support team from Pogačar's Emirates racing team, led by the two-man team of Spaniard Juan Ayuso and Portuguese Joao Almeida. The Red Bull team, with former Giro winner Jai Hindley, is aiming for at least a podium finish in Madrid. The line-up of tour specialists is rounded out by Austrian Felix Gall, Australian Ben O'Connor, and Mikel Landa from Spain.

Many setbacks

With his victory in the second leg of the day, Vingegaard made it very clear that he was keen to dominate the race and take home the win. The crux of the matter for him is that anything less than an overall victory would be another disappointment in a season so far plagued by setbacks.

At least he didn't suffer any major injuries from the crash. "I landed pretty hard, but only suffered a few scrapes," he said, blaming the aquaplaning in the persistent rain for his mild outcome. "Because the road was so wet, I was more likely to slide," he explained. Now we can only hope that the spare tires fit properly and that Vingegaard can concentrate on his racing.