Vingegaard completes Grand Tour slam with dominant Giro win, sets stage for Pogacar showdown at Tour de France

A historic milestone in Rome

Jonas Vingegaard rolled across the finish line in Rome arm-in-arm with his Visma-Lease a Bike teammates on Sunday, sealing overall victory at the 109th Giro d'Italia and completing cycling's prestigious Grand Tour grand slam. The 29-year-old Dane had already won the Tour de France in 2022 and 2023, and the Vuelta a España in 2025. His Giro triumph elevates him into an elite club of just eight riders who have won all three Grand Tours, joining legends Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali, and Chris Froome.

It is a special day for me. It's way more than I could ever dream of when I was a kid.

The final general classification showed Vingegaard with a commanding lead of 5 minutes and 22 seconds over Austrian Felix Gall, with Australia's Jai Hindley a further 1:03 back in third. The final stage victory went to Italian sprinter Jonathan Milan, who claimed his first win of this Giro on home soil in Rome.

Dominance from start to finish

Vingegaard's grip on the maglia rosa was never seriously threatened throughout the three-week race. He claimed five stage victories, all on summit finishes, underlining his superiority in the mountains. On the penultimate stage to Piancavallo, he removed any lingering doubt about the outcome with another commanding climbing performance. His team manager Richard Plugge praised the collective effort, noting that the team had also won Paris-Roubaix with Wout van Aert earlier in the season.

What we have accomplished is really fantastic. We won Paris-Roubaix with Wout and now the Giro with Jonas. He will also be among the contenders at the Tour again.

The manner of victory was notable for its controlled efficiency. Vingegaard never appeared exhausted, finishing the race with reserves intact — a deliberate strategy with the Tour de France looming. As he himself noted, not emerging from a Grand Tour completely drained leaves something to build upon.

The long road back from injury

Vingegaard's achievement carries extra weight given his near-fatal crash in the Basque Country in 2024, where he suffered broken ribs, a fractured sternum and collarbone, and a punctured lung. He later admitted he believed he was going to die. The two-year journey back to his best form has been grueling, but his performances this season — including dominant wins at Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya — confirmed he is once again at the peak of his powers.

I feel like I've spent the last two years fighting my way back.

The Pogacar shadow and the Tour ahead

Despite his historic accomplishment, Vingegaard could not escape the spectre of Tadej Pogacar. The Slovenian, who skipped the Giro this year, remains the benchmark against which all performances are measured. Pogacar won the 2024 Giro by nearly ten minutes with six stage wins — a level of dominance Vingegaard did not quite match. Yet the Dane's controlled, efficient riding style has sparked debate about whether this represents the strongest version of Vingegaard ever seen, and whether he can genuinely challenge Pogacar at the Tour de France starting 4 July in Barcelona.

Pogacar will race the Tour de Suisse from 17 to 21 June as his final preparation, while Vingegaard has a month to recover and build towards the Grand Départ. The 2026 Tour also promises the return of Remco Evenepoel and emerging talents Florian Lipowitz and Paul Seixas, setting up what could be the most closely contested edition in years.

A different kind of champion

Italian media noted the contrast between Vingegaard's reserved public persona and the effusive adoration Pogacar inspires. Where Pogacar once charmed Italy by handing a bottle to a child at the roadside, Vingegaard's request for an early time check on a Milan stage to protect rider safety drew criticism. Yet his climbing performances spoke volumes — on the ascent to Cari he shattered Adam Yates's 2024 record by nearly a minute, and on Piancavallo he bettered Marco Pantani's 1998 time. The numbers suggest a rider at the absolute peak of his career, even if the hearts of the tifosi remain harder to win.