'The perfect moment' – Jonas Vingegaard will race the Giro d'Italia in 2026 before targeting Tour de France
Visma-Lease a Bike rider aiming to complete the Grand Tour set
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Jonas Vingegaard will ride the 2026 Giro d'Italia, it was confirmed on Tuesday afternoon.
The Visma-Lease a Bike rider will be aiming to complete the Grand Tour set, having won the Tour de France in 2022 and 2023 and the Vuelta a España last year. He would be the first rider to do so since Chris Froome in 2018.
Vingegaard will target pink at the Giro in May before switching his attention to the Tour in July; there has only been rider to complete the double in the 21st century, Tadej Pogačar.
"I have been thinking about riding the Giro for a while now. It’s one of the biggest races on the calendar, and it’s also one I have never done before. I really want to experience it, and now feels like the perfect moment," Vingegaard said at the team's press day.
"Winning the Vuelta last fall only gives me more motivation to go all-in for victory in Italy as well. I would love to add the pink jersey to my collection."
"Apart from the fact that he has always wanted to do the Giro, we are convinced that racing the Giro will benefit his level in the Tour," Visma's Head of Racing, Grischa Niermann, added. "Of course, we are aiming to win the Giro, but the Tour remains our main objective."
The decision had long been rumoured, with Vingegaard previously saying that "if I could win only one more race, I'd choose the Giro".
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The 29-year-old has been beaten comprehensively by Pogačar of UAE Team Emirates-XRG at the past two Tours, and therefore a different approach will be taken this season. The Giro's organisers have not been quiet about their desire to attract big names to their race this year, and the route appears set up for a GC rider targeting both their event and then the Tour.
Vingegaard will come up against João Almeida of UAE at the Italian Grand Tour, although there are question marks over the rest of the start list. However, there will be no Pogačar, and no Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe), either. The Giro begins in Bulgaria on 8 July. Vingegaard will start his season at the UAE Tour next month, before heading to the Volta a Catalunya starting in March pre-Giro.
Adam is Cycling Weekly’s news editor – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling, he's happy. Before joining CW in 2021 he spent two years writing for Procycling. He's usually out and about on the roads of Bristol and its surrounds.
Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to riding bikes.
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