Vingegaard starts Giro as favorite for historic victory. Jonas Vingegaard lines up at the Giro d’Italia as the leading contender for the win. His goal is the rare Grand Tour treble. The lack of strong rivals raises both expectations and the risk of failure.
Jonas Vingegaard starts the 2026 Giro d’Italia as the undisputed favorite. The Dane, who has already won the Tour de France in 2022 and 2023, as well as the Vuelta a España in 2025, could become one of the few to win all three Grand Tours. In history, only six riders have achieved this, the last being Chris Froome in 2018. Now Vingegaard has a chance not only to repeat this feat, but also to surpass his main rival — Tadej Pogacar, who has yet to win the Vuelta.
The Giro organizers traditionally emphasize the difficulty of the course, although the race has less elevation gain than the Tour and the Vuelta. This year, the route starts from the Bulgarian city of Nesebar and passes through key Italian regions, including the Dolomites. Despite the romance and marketing appeal, the 2026 Giro lost several strong participants: Joao Almeida, Richard Carapaz and Mikel Landa withdrew due to injuries, and the rainbow jersey holder chose to focus on preparations for the Tour.
No clear rivals
In the absence of the biggest stars, Vingegaard is left with virtually no competition. Among those who might try to challenge him are Adam Yates, Egan Bernal, Jai Hindley, Ben O’Connor, and Enric Mas, but none of them appear capable of matching the Dane’s pace over three weeks. The young Italian Giulio Pelizzari hopes to prove himself in the Alps, though he has yet to reach the podium in a Grand Tour. Other contenders — Gall, Storer, Arensman, Ciccone, Gee — also lack experience fighting for victory at this level.
Pressure and expectations
Vingegaard himself admits that his main motivation is to make history. According to him, Tadej Pogacar is "probably the best rider of all time," and it's only a matter of time before the Slovenian collects all three titles. However, right now it is Vingegaard who could become the new hero of the Giro. The Visma team points out that after his double triumph last season, the Dane's results have only improved. The team management makes no secret: the Giro is just a stage on the way to the main goal of the year, but failure in Italy would be a serious blow to the favorite's reputation.
Preparation and Change
During the off-season, Vingegaard changed his usual training schedule, holding camps in Tenerife together with key teammates. He notes that for the first time in several years he decided to step away from the standard routine in order to peak in the summer. Since 2020, the Dane has never finished below second place in grand tours, which only increases the pressure at the start of the Giro.
Cycling has already surprised with unexpected twists this season. For example, in another major tournament Unicaja faced fierce resistance in the semifinals of the Champions FIBA 2025-26, which was discussed in detail in the article about Unicaja's tough start against AEK. A similar intrigue and risk of an unexpected outcome remain at the Giro, despite Vingegaard's clear dominance.
