'I can only get better' — Vingegaard already thinking about Tour de France glory

Jonas Vingegaard enters the Giro d'Italia's final week in the pink jersey, and the Visma | Lease a Bike leader will be more than happy about that. So far we have seen the Dane win three stages, while also riding more defensively on several occasions. On the final rest day, Vingegaard explained his tactics — and his wider plan for the rest of the season.

The third week will bring a series of tough mountain stages. On that terrain, Visma | Lease a Bike have struck each time so far. Is that still the plan? "The third week is by far the hardest here in this Giro, but of course there are also many opportunities in the third week, and I have already said that we will certainly pick our days," WielerFlits noted him saying .

Those in fantasy cycling leagues may have been hoping otherwise, but Vingegaard is not giving away which stages those will be. "But we won't always ride completely defensively — that's for sure." That defensive approach has already been visible over several days, with the Dane looking highly calculated on a number of occasions.

When asked about that, the Visma leader has a ready explanation: he is already thinking about the approaching Tour de France. "Of course. That is also the reason why I don't want to go for every single stage. In that case it could be harder than is really necessary."

"We are clearly also thinking about the Tour de France in the long term," the two-time Tour winner emphasised. But: "I'm also here, I want to honour this race and I now have the pink jersey. I also want to try to win a stage in the pink jersey," he added, sounding hopeful about the opportunities still to come in the third week.

But the Tour is already at the back of his mind. "I think it can help me in the sense that I can lift myself to a higher level," Vingegaard reflected on the Giro-Tour double. "In recent years I've seen that once I've done one grand tour, my level in the second grand tour is actually higher than in the first. That is also what we are hoping for at the Tour."

And his form right now already looks in excellent shape. "To be honest, I think I'm actually in extremely good form. But as I've said before, we still think I can improve towards the Tour. But I would say I'm not in bad form, and I wouldn't start this race unprepared or in bad form. I'm almost at my peak form already, I would say."