Until Tadej Pogačar completed the Giro d'Italia-Tour de France double in 2024 and brought it back as a possibility for the first time since Marco Pantani in 1998, it was fading away as an achievable feat in cycling.
Even when the previous generation's best - Chris Froome in 2018 and Alberto Contador three years prior - came close, winning the Italian Grand Tour ahead of cycling's biggest race, on both occasions come July they weren't able to match the form they'd shown and then lost.
Following the Slovenian's complete domination of the Giro on debut, which preceded his first Tour win in three years, one of his contemporaries – and main rival – Jonas Vingegaard, is following suit in 2026 and taking aim at the prestigious double.
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Rumoured for the best part of two seasons, Vingegaard's participation at the Giro was confirmed on Tuesday at Visma-Lease a Bike's media day in La Nucia. It won't replace the Tour, of course, as he'll once again look to wrest back the yellow jersey from Pogačar's firm grasp as he did in 2022 and 2023. But it does mark an entirely new approach.
Previous years since Vingegaard's rise to the top have seen him follow a quite traditional, Tour-centric calendar. That's the complete opposite of his main rival Pogačar, who opts for racing as many one-day Classics as he wants in the early season, but this time round Visma have allowed Vingegaard to switch things up for the new season.
Come the Giro's Bulgaria Grande Partenza, there will also be a bit of history on the line for the Dane, as he'll be looking to become only the eighth rider in men's cycling history to take victory in all three Grand Tours, following on from his maiden Vuelta a España victory last September. It's a feat which he would achieve before Pogačar if he manages victory, with the Slovenian still lacking a Vuelta title.
But is he right to race both, with the gap between Pogačar and him at the Tour staying just as wide this past July as it did in 2024? There will be questions raised over whether Vingegaard racing the Giro signals an admission that ever winning the Tour against Pogačar again is a stretch, but could a risky approach actually be just what the Dane needs?
Benefits of the double
Vingegaard has raced two Grand Tours in the same season twice in his career so far, both being Tour-Vuelta combinations in 2023 and this past season, and both with success.
Three years ago, after winning the Tour, he was one of the big favourites for completing a double. However, despite some controversies in the high mountains alongside Visma teammate Primož Roglič, they ultimately allowed teammate Sepp Kuss to take a surprising overall victory after the US rider gained a big lead in the opening week.
In 2025, Vingegaard returned to the Vuelta in search of a return to glory. He'd gone two seasons and a half without a Grand Tour victory, and was well beaten again by Pogačar at a gruelling Tour de France where none of his repeated attempts could crack the Slovenian.
It wasn't the smoothest of overall victories in Spain, from protests disrupting the race and João Almeida presenting a serious threat up the Angliru and in the final time trial. Yet none of that could stop Vingegaard ultimately coming good on the Bola del Mundo final summit finish, and confirming his hold on red jersey would be for good.
Even with 40 days of Grand Tour racing in the legs, the strongest he looked was possibly on that penultimate stage of the Vuelta, highlighting his excellence in repeatability, and how two Grand Tours could be his best option. There's no suggestion, as was the case in the 2000s and 2010s, that this should drain his resources – his two Vuelta performances, even with getting sick both times, show that – and with the way Pogačar has dominated the past two Tours, it's the right time to switch things up.
With his confirmed plan, it will be four Grand Tours on the spin for the Dane, from Tour to Vuelta to Giro and back to the Tour, but with a less busy race schedule preceding the two big appointments, it's clear that Visma have had this in mind – Vingegaard will only race the UAE Tour and at Catalunya before May.
He also highlighted how the monotony of altitude camp, then racing the Dauphin,é then altitude camp and racing the Tour – as he's done for four of the past five seasons, only missing one in 2024 due to injury – is something that could do with a refresh. In racing the Giro, he has the chance to reset his approach and try to reach new heights.
A suitable route for the challenge
When the Giro route was unveiled, it wouldn't have taken Vingegaard and Visma long to decide that it was the right time to attempt the double, with a less climbing-heavy course than the previous year and compared to the gruelling tests of previous generations.
With 49,150 metres of altitude gain, it's not quite the low total of 44,500 that Pogačar faced on his Giro debut, although given the way it's been laid out with a backended parcours that will conclude with the hardest climbs, Vingegaard will be aiming for that perfectly-timed peak of form.
He'll know not to underestimate the risky start of the Giro, as is the case with every Grand Tour, but with a relatively flat Bulgarian start and the first real climbing test not arriving until Blockhaus on stage 7, Vingegaard will have time to build into his shape as the second and third weeks approach.
From then on, after the 40km Viareggio time trial – which could cause some headaches given his main opposition will once again be Almeida – the high mountains don't rear their head fully again until stage 14 to Pila, prior to a brutal double test on stages 19 and 20.
It's this final weekend where the Giro will be won in 2026 and where Vingegaard will be hoping he can find his best just as he did atop the Bola del Munda, but this time up the Passo Giau and Passo Falzarego en route to Alleghe, and then on the double ascent to Piancavallo.
He probably will be the heavy favourite for the Giro, and that will come with the usual pressure. The added risks that wet, sometimes icy Italian roads can present in May, especially approaching the Dolomites, as will happen in the 2026 race can't be underestimated. But all that said, Vingegaard is adamant he can be just as good, if not even better, at the Tour with the Giro already in his legs.
