Jonas Vingegaard will ride into central Rome as the winner of the 2026 Giro d'Italia on Sunday after winning a fifth stage up to Piancavallo and extending his race lead to 5:22.
The Visma-Lease a Bike leader was the big favourite to win the Italian Grand Tour but he and Visma enjoyed a near-perfect race as their rivals struggled, crashed, fell ill and lost time on every mountain finish.
Vingegaard has already ridden into Paris twice as a Tour de France winner and enjoyed an improvised podium ceremony and celebration in Madrid last year when he won the Vuelta a España.
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On Sunday, he will ride into Rome and do laps around the Colosseum and ancient Rome in the maglia rosa.
"It's just something special to ride into a big city. I have experienced it in Paris twice and in Madrid, and it's always something special, even if it was kind of only half a celebration in Madrid," Vingegaard said.
"I don't know what to expect this time. I wouldn't say it'll be a relief; it'll be just pure happiness. It will be special again, also to ride there with my teammates. It's also something special for them. I'm looking forward to it."
Vingegaard again dedicated his stage victory to his family and partner Trine, kissing his wedding ring as he crossed the finish line in Piancavallo. Trine and their daughters will be in Rome, perhaps even late on Saturday evening when the riders fly to Rome from Venice.
"It's been almost four weeks since I left for Bulgaria and it will be special to see them again. I really miss them and I'm really looking forward to seeing them and to hug them," Vingagaard said of his family.
Vingegaard stopped to thank hard-working domestique and teammate Bart Lemmen as he walked from the podium to the post-race press conference. Other teammates celebrated together, knowing the Giro is virtually won, with only Sunday's 131km sprint stage to ride.
Visma tried to help Davide Piganzoli win the best young rider's white jersey on the two climbs of Piancavallo but the Italian was unable to gain time on Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain-Victorious), who fought hard to defend the jersey after his breakthrough Giro d'Italia.
Vingegaard attacked on the final climb of Piancavallo with 10km to go and finished 1:15 ahead of Felix Gall (Decathlon CGM CMA).
He crossed the line with his arms open, much like when Marco Pantani won in 1998. Vingegaard apparently beat Pantani's record for Piancavallo by a few seconds but he was more interested in winning again and remembering the victims of the Friuli earthquake on the 50th anniversary of the natural disaster.
"I just wanted to win the stage and to finish off the great work that my teammates did today. It's also special for me to have been riding in this memorial jersey today," Vingegaard explained of his unique maglia rosa.
"When I crossed the line, there was maybe a bit of disbelief. Of course, I believe in what happened, but it's just a really big moment, a nice moment. I tried to soak it all up."
Vingegaard explained his stage tactics.
"It wasn't the plan to attack so early, to be honest," he revealed.
"We wanted to go later on but Sepp didn't have his best day, and so we had to change the plans a bit, and I had to go a bit earlier. That's how it is. I went earlier, and I had good enough legs to do some damage. I'm just happy that I could hold everyone off.
"We wanted to fight for David. We agreed that he shouldn't do a lead out for me, so we tried to save him so he had the energy to go for it. He had a free role to go for the white jersey but unfortunately, he couldn't take it. It would have been a nice way to finish off, but I think Eulálio deserved to win it."
In Rome, Vingegaard will be crowned as just the eighth rider to have won all three Grand Tours.
He will join Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali and Chris Froome in the exclusive club of Grand Tour treble or trilogy winners.
Current rival Tadej Pogačar has won the Tour four times and the Giro once but has yet to win the Vuelta.
"For sure, they are some of the biggest riders in the history of cycling on that list. To be a part of that group is for me a little unreal. I don't think I really realised it yet," Vingegaard said, saving some emotions for the final podium ceremony in central Rome when he will be crowned the winner of the 2026 Giro d'Italia.
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