Vingegaard wears Giro favourite label well and shows confidence ahead of the Tour: 'This will be our year'

Jonas Vingegaard is targeting the Giro-Tour double for the first time in his career in 2026. The Dane has never raced the Giro d'Italia before, but that changes next month. The Visma | Lease a Bike leader has just returned from an altitude camp and spoke to Danish broadcaster TV2 about his expectations for the months ahead.

Vingegaard has been flawless so far in 2026. He contested two stage races — Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya — winning both convincingly. In Catalunya he finished with a commanding lead of 1 minute 22 seconds over closest challenger Lenny Martinez; at Paris-Nice he beat Daniel Felipe Martínez by more than four minutes.

The next stage race on the Dane's calendar is the Giro d'Italia, where he will line up against João Almeida, Felix Gall, Thymen Arensman and home favourite Giulio Pellizzari, among others. Vingegaard will logically start in Bulgaria as the outright favourite for overall victory — a label the Dane seems very comfortable wearing.

"I've come back in even better shape and I'm getting closer and closer to the form I want for the Giro," he said after his altitude camp. "I'm going into the race expecting to fight for the win. The goal is to win the Giro," the two-time Tour de France winner made clear.

After the Giro, Vingegaard will also line up at the Tour, where he will renew his rivalry with Tadej Pogačar — and potentially Paul Seixas. "It's a great duel, because it's not always the same person winning. We've taken turns." The Tour victory has, however, gone to the Slovenian in each of the past two editions.

"Now it's my turn to win again. I genuinely believe that's going to happen," he said confidently. "I have a good feeling about both the race and my own performances. I think this will be our year." First, though, he has his Giro debut to prepare for — the race starts on 8 May.