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Grand Tours

Vingegaard Enters Final Giro Preparation Block: Dane Targets Grand Tour Trilogy in Bulgaria

CYCLING LOOKOUT • 7 APRIL 2026

While the cobbled Classics reach their thunderous conclusion in Belgium and northern France, Jonas Vingegaard is working quietly at altitude — putting the finishing touches on what could become the most audacious Grand Tour campaign of his career. The two-time Tour de France champion has begun his final high-altitude training block ahead of the Giro d'Italia, which starts on May 9 with a Grande Partenza in Bulgaria, and his form coming out of the Volta a Catalunya has given Visma-Lease a Bike every reason to believe their man is ready to make history.

Victory in Catalunya at the end of March — Vingegaard's second consecutive stage race win after Paris-Nice — was the kind of statement that reverberates through the peloton. The Dane dominated the mountain stages with an ease that suggested his preparation is running ahead of schedule, and his own assessment was characteristically understated: "I'm very satisfied with how I'm feeling on the bike right now. Compared to the same period last season, I'm in a better place."

The significance of the Giro for Vingegaard cannot be overstated. Victory in Italy would make him only the eighth rider in history to win all three Grand Tours — joining an exclusive club that includes Tadej Pogacar, who completed the set at the 2024 Giro, and legends like Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Alberto Contador. More immediately, it would position Vingegaard for a Giro-Tour double — the most gruelling challenge in professional cycling, and one that only the very greatest have attempted in the modern era.

Visma-Lease a Bike's sporting director Merijn Zeeman confirmed the team's confidence in the approach: "Racing the Giro will benefit his level in the Tour. We are convinced of that. Jonas has shown all spring that he is building towards something special, and the altitude work he is doing now will sharpen the final edge." The team have surrounded Vingegaard with a strong Giro squad that includes Sepp Kuss, Attila Valter and Wilco Kelderman — riders capable of protecting their leader through three weeks of Italian roads.

The Giro route, which was designed in part to attract star names like Vingegaard, features a healthy dose of time trialling alongside several summit finishes that should suit the Dane's pure climbing ability. The Bulgarian Grande Partenza — with a 13-kilometre opening time trial in Sofia — gives Vingegaard an immediate opportunity to stamp his authority on the race, while mountain stages in the Dolomites and across the Stelvio in the final week will determine whether he can sustain his form across 21 stages.

His chief rivals are formidable. Joao Almeida arrives fresh from his decision to skip the Tour de France in favour of a Giro-Vuelta double with UAE Team Emirates-XRG, and the Portuguese rider's consistency in three-week racing makes him a dangerous opponent. Giulio Pellizzari carries the weight of Italian hopes on young shoulders, while Richard Carapaz — a former Giro winner — and Tao Geoghegan Hart, making his own comeback after injury, add further depth to a GC field that promises genuine competition.

For Vingegaard, the next month is about precision. Every training session at altitude is calibrated to deliver peak form for the opening time trial on May 9, while preserving enough freshness to fight through the brutal final week and then pivot immediately to Tour de France preparations. It is a needle that few have threaded successfully, but if there is a rider in the current peloton capable of doing it, the evidence from this spring suggests it is the quiet Dane from Hillerslev.

The countdown to the Giro is on. And Jonas Vingegaard, methodical as ever, is ticking off the days at altitude with the quiet confidence of a man who knows exactly where he is going.

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