During the last two Tours de France, you’d find corners of cycling social media calling Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) boring. Yes, I know if you look hard enough you’ll come across people with all sorts of obscure views on the internet. But this theory is more than just a niche one – it has taken hold by more than just a handful of people. For some, it has almost become part of the modern cycling’s narratives: Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) attacks, Vingegaard doesn’t.
I find the criticism of Vingegaard untrue. The Visma rider may not target the Classics like Pogačar, but with two stage races and two overall wins (Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya) going into this Giro, it would be incorrect to say the Dane is race-shy. He won those races through aggressive, attack-minded riding. He has shown on a number of occasions – the Col du Granon stage of his first Tour triumph in 2022 being an obvious one – that he is willing to instigate racing. Stage two of the 2026 Giro d’Italia was just another example of this attacking intent.
Vingegaard’s launch up the Lyaskovets Monastery ascent was quite something. Powerful? Clearly. Aggressive? Obviously. Ominous for his rivals? Definitely. Only Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto Intermarché) could just about follow the two-time Tour winner making his Giro debut. He didn’t win the stage as Guillermo Thomas Silva came back to with the chasing bunch to claim victory in Veliko Tarnovo / Велико Търново. But he showed he isn’t holding back during the Giro, doing the minimum to win before targeting a third Tour title up against Pogačar. This isn’t good news for his maglia rosa rivals. The Dane’s sports director, Marc Reef was candid with the TV cameras at the finish – Visma-Lease a Bike are here to take the initiative.
“We spoke about the opportunity this morning. And of course, you always need to see what the situation is. But he felt good, and it was the moment to go for it,” said Reef.
The move certainly didn’t seem like the actions of a supposedly cautious contender, especially as it was premeditated. Despite the lack of time gap or pink jersey for his efforts, Vingegaard’s attack certainly threatened to detonate the general classification before the race had even settled into the rhythm of a three-week race.
So, what does it mean for the rest of the race? It showed that Vingegaard – as predicted – is the man to beat, and that he won’t be waiting for the Dolomites to stamp his authority on the race. The Blockhaus is on stage seven. He is almost certainly going to try and distance his rivals again. They’ll know it’s coming, but it’s another thing being able to hang on. On Saturday, we learned that Pellizzari really is worth the hype. He is the favourite for the white jersey competition and with his co-leader Jai Hindley (a former Giro winner, mind) looking sharp, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe are shaping up well after two days.
However, it wasn’t all good news for the general classification teams. The stage was devastated by a major crash with just over 20km to the finish. It took out Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) who was forced to abandon and his teammate and another pink jersey contender, Adam Yates, lost 13:46, suffered a concussion and will not take to the startline on Sunday.
The Giro, more than the other Grand Tours, has days like this. Poor weather, chaotic finales, a lot of head-scratching to figure out what actually happened. If Friday’s thrilling bunch sprint wasn’t enough of a sign, stage two’s crash and Vingegaard’s attack certainly were: the racing is on at the Giro d’Italia. There is no easing in.
