Part one of the mission is complete. Now the countdown truly begins to the part two of the mission. In truth, only illness or injury was ever going to get in the way of Jonas Vingegaard winning the 2026 Giro d’Italia. His qualities, even when operating at a presumed 90 or 95% of his capacity, have been far, far superior to the rest of the Giro’s peloton – like we knew they would be.
The Tour de France, where Vingegaard can become the ninth man in history to complete the Giro-Tour double in the same year, will be a far, far tougher challenge. Tadej Pogačar, his eternal rival and the last man to complete the Giro-Tour mission, allied to the unknown prospect of Paul Seixas, represents an entirely different proposition to facing and convincingly defeating the likes of Felix Gall and Jai Hindley.
On stage 20 of this year’s Giro, the final day in the Dolomites and in essence the final day of racing given that stage 21 is a processional affair that will only break into actual competitive action in the final 10km ahead of the expected bunch sprint, Vingegaard took his tally to stage victories to five. Total domination. Head and shoulders above everyone else. Had he had not been the ultimate gentleman and permitted Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Sepp Kuss to win stage 19’s queen stage, it would have been six. The number of stages Pogačar walked away with in 2024.
Vingegaard hasn’t matched his adversary on that count, but he is about to do something that Pogačar has not (yet): win all three Grand Tours. Only eight other riders in the history of the sport have ever done so. Vingegaard is in very exclusive company.
This Grand Tour win has been his most convincing. A victory margin of 7:29 to Pogačar in the 2023 Tour, when he successfully defended the yellow jersey, was greater than the 5:22 cushion he has to Gall that he will take into Rome, but the circumstances were different: Vingegaard was still required to be at his absolute best in the 2023 Tour, whereas in the 2026 Giro he’s never come under any serious pressure in the three weeks of racing. The outcome almost certainly would have been the same had João Almeida been here, but he probably would have at least had a genuine rival, like he did at last year’s Vuelta a España when he beat Almeida by 1:16. Instead, it’s been plain-sailing.
This is not to take away from the Dane’s achievements: anecdotally – by his account and from those inside Visma – as well as visually, Vingegaard appears to be climbing better than ever. He said it’d take him two full years to properly recover from his injuries sustained at the 2024 Itzulia Basque Country, and he seems to have been right. The real test will come at the Tour when Pogačar, who has barely raced this year and has instead been fine-tuning his perfection with a series of altitude camps, goes for his fifth yellow jersey. In attempting to bring the head-to-head count between the pair to 3-4, Vingegaard will need to raise his game even more. Visma are promising he will.
For now, though, 29-year-old Vingegaard wants to celebrate his Giro success that will be confirmed on Sunday evening in the shadow of the Colosseum. "I'm a cyclist, I like to win, I want to win as many races as possible, and we decided to go for it again today,” he said after his win on Piancavallo where he smashed the climb’s previous record time.
Image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com
"Today was the last day, in the mountains at least, so today everything would be decided. We decided to go all in for the stage, and the boys did amazing again today. had an amazing day also, and to now win five stages here and to have a solid lead going into tomorrow is special for me.”
Celebration in Rome isn’t just reserved for Vingegaard and Visma, though. Gall will finish on the podium in a richly-deserved second-place, a position he has seemed assured of ever since stage 7’s visit to Blockhaus, the first summit finish. The Austrian hasn’t threatened Vingegaard’s dominance, but he has consistently been the best of the rest. No other statistic best sums that up than the fact he has finished runner-up to Vingegaard in each of the latter’s five stage wins. A first ever Grand Tour podium is a fine reward the Decathlon CMA CGM rider.
Joining Gall on the podium is the man who always goes under the radar: Jai Hindley. Winner of the race in 2022, two years after he finished second to Tao Geoghegan Hart, the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe was presumed to be the back-up leader to Giulio Pellizzari, but once again the Australian has surpassed external expectations and completes a Giro podium hat-trick.
Afonso Eulálio will also be smiling in Rome. The Portuguese, riding just his second Grand Tour only 18 months after stepping up to the WorldTour with Bahrain-Victorious from his home country’s Continental scene, has been the breakthrough star of the race. A clever and canny tactical move on stage five meant that he jumped into the maglia rosa and changed his career with it. A placeholder he was until Vingegaard inevitably took pink off him, but leading the Corsa Rosa inspired the 24-year-old who performed better than even he knew he was capable of. In the end he’ll finish sixth overall and take the white jersey awarded to the best young rider.
Champagne will be uncorked and smiles will stretch around the historic streets of Rome on Sunday. But as soon as the ticker tape has fallen, attention will then turn to the Tour de France: the next date with destiny for Jonas Vingegaard. He’s completed the first task – now the second one awaits him. Does further history beckon?
