Jonas Vingegaard will reportedly consider riding the Giro d’Italia in 2025, perhaps targeting a Giro-Tour de France double as Tadej Pogačar did this season, to return to peak form after his 2024 season was disrupted by the terrible Itzulia Basque Country crash.
The Visma-Lease a Bike team were quick to play down reports of any decision but La Gazzetta dello Sport and Het Laatste Nieuws reported the news on Tuesday morning.
According to Gazzetta, which is owned by RCS Sport which organises the Giro d’Italia, "Vingegaard would like to make his Giro debut and the team are seriously considering the idea."
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According to Het Laatste Nieuws, Vingegaard has "reportedly indicated internally that he would like to ride the Giro."
There was no reaction from RCS Sport.
Visma-Lease a Bike denied having made any plans for the 2025 season.
"I really don't know where it comes from. It certainly does not come from our team," communications manager Sander Kleikers told Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet.
"We haven't even started the evaluation of this season. I don't know where it comes from. It is very surprising."
Teams usually plan their season goals during the winter, during management and team meetings in October and November. However, it is possible that Vingegaard is already thinking about his plans and racing plans for 2025.
Riding the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France in 2025 makes sense for Vingegaard.
The Dane has recently ended his 2024 season after winning the Tour de Pologne to stay with his family as his partner Trine ahead of the birth of their second child.
Vingegaard raced for 44 days in 2024 but his season was disrupted due to his crash at the Itzulia Basque Country race in early April that left him with a broken collarbone, broken ribs, and a pneumothorax.
He managed to recover in time to ride the Tour de France but finished six minutes down on Pogačar and admitted he was physically and mentally tired.
Vingegaard faces six months without racing during the winter after ending his season early. Riding the Giro-Tour double would include some risks but would also help Vinegaard return to his best for the 2025 Tour de France.
Any decision would depend on the severity of the 2025 Giro d'Italia and the 2025 Tour de France. RCS Sport reduced the total amount of climbing in the 2024 Giro d'Italia by 20% in an apparent move to help Pogačar and could do the same to tempt Vingegaard to race in Italy and then France.
Nobody had won the Giro-Tour double since Marco Pantani in 1998 but Pogačar proved it is possible in modern cycling with the right training and racing schedule. Pogačar won six stages in the Giro and the Tour on the way to overall victory.
RCS Sport also struck a deal with Pogačar and his UAE Team Emirates squad, paying a significant fee, reportedly over 500,000 euros, to ensure the Slovenian raced the Giro and other RCS Sport races.
A similar offer to Vingegaard and Visma-Lease a Bike could be enough to ensure that they decide to target the Giro d'Italia before challenging Pogačar yet again at the Tour de France.
