Jonas Vingegaard (29) wants to be like Tadej Pogacar. The Danish rider is the centerpiece of a Giro d’Italia that kicks off Friday in Bulgaria, forming the first half of a challenge that will conclude with his bid to win the Tour de France for a third time in July—a double that the Slovenian star achieved in 2024.
Already a two-time Tour winner, Vingegaard enters the Giro as the clear favorite, especially with Pogacar absent from this year’s edition.
In outstanding form this season, the Visma-Lease a Bike rider has claimed two prestigious stage races—Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya—and his formidable climbing prowess aligns perfectly with a demanding three-week route.
Vingegaard also aims to become the eighth man to complete the triple crown of the Giro, Tour, and Vuelta a España, an achievement Pogacar has yet to accomplish.
**The Triple Crown Club**
Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali, and Chris Froome are the seven riders who have won all three Grand Tours.
When asked by La Gazzetta dello Sport whether beating Pogacar to the triple crown motivated him, the reserved Vingegaard simply replied, “No.”
“Completing the triple is a goal for me and nothing more, because it would mean making a little history,” Vingegaard said in an interview published Wednesday.
“He will achieve it sooner or later—it’s only a matter of time. Tadej may be the best of all time, but I’ve beaten him before and I trust I can do it again,” he added.
Vingegaard is the standout name in a strong peloton that, however, will miss all three podium finishers from last year’s thrilling edition, won by Simon Yates, who retired in January.
Pogacar’s UAE teammate Isaac del Toro, who ceded what would have been his first Grand Tour victory to Yates during the penultimate stage, will skip the Giro this year to make his Tour debut.
**A Wave of Absences**
Meanwhile, Richard Carapaz is still recovering from surgery to remove a perineal cyst and will not take part in a race that opens with three stages in Bulgaria and finishes in Rome on May 31 after 3,468 km of competition.
Joao Almeida is also sidelined due to a viral infection, meaning Adam Yates and Jay Vine will lead UAE’s challenge in the absence of Del Toro and Pogacar.
The peloton faces a grueling route across Italy that includes seven summit finishes and an intriguing individual time trial on stage 10—a 40.2 km flat course along the Tuscan coast that could prove decisive.
“I think the Giro is more unpredictable. You have to be ready every day because, more than in other races, surprises can come from anywhere,” Vingegaard told La Gazzetta.
**Pellizzari: The Home Hope**
A potential surprise for Vingegaard could come from Giulio Pellizzari (22), who will lead Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe on home soil, giving Italian fans hope of seeing one of their own win a Grand Tour for the first time since Vincenzo Nibali’s Giro victory in 2016.
Pellizzari finished sixth in both the Giro and the Vuelta last season. He is one of the most promising young climbers in the peloton and appears to have taken another step forward this year.
The rider prepared for the Giro with his first stage-race win at the Tour of the Alps, and this year placed third in both Tirreno-Adriatico and the Vuelta a la Comunidad Valenciana.
“From June 1 last year, when the Giro ended, I started thinking about the next one because I already wanted to come back for more,” Pellizzari said recently.
The Italian, whose team includes 2022 winner Jai Hindley, still carries the nation’s hopes.
