Visma DS Maarten Wynants put it plainly: «…he's close to 2022, and also he has now had consecutive months of building up, and that was also a little bit what he missed before.» 2022 is the reference point for a reason — 480 points in the Tour de France green jersey, 194 clear of Jasper Philipsen, still his career benchmark. Four years and one bad Vuelta crash later, he's arriving at that level again through a stage win in Loja and a commanding green jersey lead at the Vuelta itself. The difference this time is that the climb-heavy Worlds course rewards exactly the leaning-out a Grand Tour produces.