Netcompany-Ineos director of racing Geraint Thomas questioned the condition of Giro d'Italia favourite Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), following the Dane's slightly disappointing performance in the stage 10 time trial.
Speaking on his Watts Occurring podcast after the stage, he said: "Jonas, I expected more from him. Maybe he's been a bit sick or something."
On a stage where he was counted among the favourites, Vingegaard finished 13th, 2:59 behind winner Filippo Ganna (Netcompany-Ineos), and losing time to GC rivals Thymen Arensman (Netcompany-Ineos), Derek Gee-West (Lidl-Trek) and Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla).
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Thomas added: "Even on the mountains – don't get me wrong, he smashed everyone he won two stages – but the standards he's set, along with Pog [Tadej Pogačar]... if he was at his best, the gap to [GC rival Felix] Gall would be bigger. It just feels like that gap between Jonas and the rest is a lot closer [than you'd expect] on those mountain stages and today. He's not pinging.
"But, saying that," said the Welsh former Tour de France winner, "he's still leading out of the GC guys, still in a really strong position. Part of me thinks he's not been 100%."
Conversely, the stage was a superb one for Thomas's team, who fielded both the stage winner and the runner-up in Ganna and Arensman – the latter boosting his hopes for the GC, now lying in third place.
"Obviously Pippo absolutely smashed it, almost two minutes to second place who was Thymen. Which was good for us as he gained time on all the GC boys," Thomas said.
Assessing the rides of GC players, he praised the fifth-place ride Gee-West, and also the battling performance by maglia rosa Alfonso Eulálio (Bahrain Victorious).
"Just off the top of my head I think Derek Gee, he did a good ride," Thomas said. "If you're thinking expectations, above or below, I think he was solid.
"Fair play to Eulálio," he added. "They [Bahrain Victorious] should keep it for three days or so now really."
Missing out on claiming the jersey on the stage would have bothered Vingegaard less than his below-par performance and time lost to other GC players, judged Thomas: "I think he'll be like, ah it's fine, Bahrain can control for another three days."
While Thomas drove a Netcompany-Ineos team car behind Magnus Sheffield during the stage, Thomas had a very good idea of what the US rider was going through, he said, because he'd suffered through a recon ride with the team's big guns himself that morning.
Riding with Ganna, Arensman and others, who were all in aero finery, Thomas was on a road bike. He'd been promised a steady ride, he said, but it didn't quite turn out that way.
"Mate, it was the longest 42km of my life," he told Watts Occurring co-host Luke Rowe. "I was swinging the whole way round. Just riding to the start I felt like an imposter, like a big fan boy you know?"
Next time, perhaps Thomas will take the advice of fellow Netcompany-Ineos staffer Elia Viviani, who warned him that it would be hard going.
