Jonas Vingegaard, as seen in official Giro organizational photos.
Beyond the Dolomites (where the Giro’s landscapes often outshine the Tour), past the legends of a race elevated by Italian icons such as Costante Girardengo, Alfredo Binda, Gino Bartali, Fausto Coppi, Felice Gimondi, and more recently Vincenzo Nibali, the Italian Grand Tour kicks off this Friday in Bulgaria. This is no mistake—nor a new transalpine region. The 2026 edition presents itself as an asphalt garden for the only rider with the credentials to win in Rome (May 8–31): Jonas Vingegaard.
If the Danish star succeeds, he will finally achieve a feat that even Tadej Pogacar has not yet accomplished: winning all three Grand Tours. Vingegaard already has two Tour de France titles and one Vuelta a España under his belt. The Slovenian phenomenon still needs the Spanish round, which he last raced in 2019, finishing third. He has not returned since, and a 2027 appearance is the current expectation. The rest of the contenders resemble boxing “sparring partners” — athletes trained to take punches and, at best, aim for the lower two podium steps in Rome.
The route of the 2026 Giro d’Italia.
That’s where the new homegrown talent, Giulio Pellizzari, enters the picture, along with two former Giro winners (Australia’s Jai Hindley and Colombia’s Egan Bernal), the dangerous Adam Yates (if he wins, after his twin Simon won in 2025, it would mark the first time two brothers have triumphed in a Grand Tour), and Mallorca’s Enric Mas.
These are the survivors of an Italian tour that has been plagued by absences due to illness (João Almeida), surgery (Richard Carapaz), and crashes (Mikel Landa) — a string of misfortunes that has dimmed the race’s luster before the first pedal stroke in Bulgaria. The race will feature three stages in the country before a rest day on Monday, when all riders fly to Italy. In stage 16, the peloton will traverse Swiss peaks.
Enric Mas deserves a separate mention as a rival to Vingegaard. At 31, he remains Spain’s top GC contender for three-week races, while waiting for Juan Ayuso to shine in the Tour. The rider from Artà is the face of Movistar. He arrives at the Giro with minimal racing under his belt: just 10 total days, including the Challenge Mallorca, the Terres de l’Ebre Classic, and the Volta a Catalunya, where he finished a modest 24th. In fact, Mas had not raced since abandoning the 2025 Tour de France on stage 18, due to a previous crash that caused a vascular leg injury requiring surgery.
**Vingegaard’s Sole Focus**
Vingegaard will stick to what he does best: winning everything when Pogacar is not in the field. This year, he has raced and won the only two events he entered: Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya. He approaches the Giro as a stepping stone toward the Tour, where he knows Pogacar will be an unreachable cliff. Barring misfortune, Vingegaard should dominate most mountain stages — starting with the famous Blockhaus (May 15) and ending with the climb to Piani di Pezzè, the big day in the Dolomites (May 29).
He aims to triumph in a Giro that is somewhat softer than in previous years, with the absence of legendary climbs (no Stelvio, no Mortirolo). The Passo Giau, on the antepenultimate stage, is the main highlight among the race’s ascents. In fact, the route’s moderated difficulty was designed to entice Vingegaard — just in case he needed to save some energy before heading to Barcelona for the Tour de France.
