Jonas Vingegaard Targets First Giro d'Italia With Tour de France Dream
Jonas Vingegaard Targets First Giro d'Italia With Tour de France Dream
Jonas Vingegaard will debut at the Giro d'Italia in 2026 but says winning the Tour de France remains the ultimate measure of his season.
Jonas Vingegaard said on Tuesday he plans to “mix it up a bit” in 2026 by racing the Giro d'Italia for the first time, but admitted that ultimately his season will again be judged on the Tour de France.
The Dane was speaking in a video interview released by his Visma-Lease a Bike team to coincide with their season launch in La Nucia, Spain.
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Vingegaard finished second to Tadej Pogacar at the 2025 Tour de France, missing out on a third yellow jersey, but went on to win the Vuelta a España later in the season.
“Now I've won the Tour de France and the Vuelta, I only need the Giro d'Italia to complete winning all three of them. That's a big goal,” Vingegaard said.
“I'm more motivated than ever, like I haven't been for years,” he added at the team press conference.
Only seven riders in history — Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali and Chris Froome — have won all three Grand Tours.
Giro Debut And A New Approach
The Giro d'Italia will run from May 8–31, and Vingegaard said this year’s route made the double attempt more appealing.
“Perhaps not as demanding as in recent years, which makes combining the Giro and the Tour a favourable option for us,” said the 29-year-old.
Vingegaard explained that racing the Giro would help break a routine he had followed for several seasons, and said his success riding the Tour and Vuelta back-to-back in 2025 gave him confidence.
“Over the past five years, my build-up to the Tour has been largely the same. This time we have chosen something new, to mix it up a bit,” he said.
“We analysed my power output when I rode the Tour and Vuelta back-to-back last year and discovered that I wasn't performing worse, but rather better. I think I can be even better at the Tour de France by racing the Giro.”
Tour Still The Ultimate Measure
The Tour de France runs from July 4–26, and Vingegaard said the 2026 route appears to begin more gently than recent editions.
“It seems like it's harder toward the end, so maybe more excitement in the last week,” he said.
Despite his expanded ambitions, Vingegaard was clear about how he will judge his season.
“In order to say it was a really good season, I need to win the Tour de France,” he said.
Simon Yates Exit Leaves Gap
Visma-Lease a Bike will support Vingegaard with several new signings, but the team was shaken by the sudden retirement of Simon Yates, last year’s Giro winner, who stepped away from the sport aged 33 earlier this month.
“He called us during the holidays to tell us he was stopping,” said sporting director Grischa Niermann.
“It caught us off-guard because all the programmes were ready. He was supposed to be the leader at Paris-Nice and have an important role in the Tour de France.
“He's irreplaceable, and we would have preferred to know sooner, that's for sure. But we have to accept it.”
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