Vingegaard might get the nod, but definding champ Yates sees a Giro 'perfectly suited to my strengths as a rider'

Simon Yates achieved the impossible in 2025 when he won the Giro d’Italia. His audacious attack over the Colle delle Finestre will live long in the memory, but now that the new Giro d’Italia route has been revealed, the question is clear: who will Visma | Lease a Bike send to Bulgaria? Jonas Vingegaard has already expressed interest in riding the race.

For Yates, the Giro will always hold something special. “I can’t fully explain it,” he says in an interview with Marca. “For me it’s history, but above all it’s the reaction from the fans, the passion with which they experience the race. They’re in love with the Giro just like I am. If you speak to any rider, they’ll feel the same. It’s a race that’s different from so many others on the calendar.”

Yates’ love story with the Giro began long before last year’s triumph. Seven years ago, he came agonisingly close to overall victory. “The feelings that overwhelmed me at the end of this Giro were incredible, and I really hope to experience them again one day. In 2018 I put in a great performance, but the ending was cruel because of that collapse on the final stage.”

It was on the Finestre that his pink dream famously crumbled. It took years before he could make amends. But he did so in spectacular fashion. “After that I came back a few more times with the firm idea of settling my score, although it never quite came together. Still, I always kept the desire to try again. This year it finally worked out.”

For the twin brother of UAE Team Emirates-rider Adam Yates, last year’s triumph felt like a confirmation, a career-defining moment. But could he ever repeat it? Even he isn’t sure. “Nobody expected me to win the Giro at the start of the season,” he notes pointedly. “It would of course be very difficult, but you never know.”

At least the 2025 route plays to his strengths. “The upcoming course is incredibly hard. Blockhaus is a monster that I already had to face in 2022, and it could blow the race apart. And the stage to Aosta looks decisive: it’s brutal, but perfectly suited to my strengths as a rider.”

But whether Yates will even be on the start line remains uncertain. Vingegaard has also expressed interest in riding the Giro. Will the Brit have to make way for the Dane? “I don’t know. I saw him last week, and I think the schedules aren’t completely finalised yet. Most riders already know where they’ll race, but the details are still being worked out. In my case, I still need to finalise things too.”