“He’s been a role model for me... I’ve always looked up to him” - Jonas Vingegaard pays emotional tribute to Michael Valgren after Giro stage win

Jonas Vingegaard has paid a warm tribute to Michael Valgren after his fellow Dane claimed one of the biggest victories of his career on stage 17 of the 2026 Giro d’Italia.

Valgren won in Andalo after a perfectly timed late attack from the breakaway, holding off Andreas Leknessund and Damiano Caruso to take his first Grand Tour stage victory. The win carried extra weight after Valgren’s long road back from serious injury, but for Vingegaard it was also personal.

The two Danes have known each other since their early years in the sport, and Vingegaard revealed after the stage that Valgren had been someone he admired long before he became one of the biggest Grand Tour riders in the world.

“He has been a role model for me for many years,” Vingegaard told Eurosport Denmark. “When I started cycling, he was either an under-17 or junior rider at Thy Cykle Ring, where I started cycling, and I looked up to him a lot there.”

Vingegaard remains firmly in control of the Giro after stage 17, but the maglia rosa was not chasing the stage win himself on the road to Andalo. Instead, he followed the breakaway fight from behind as Valgren battled through a fractured finale.

The EF Education - EasyPost rider had been part of the day’s escape before attacking inside the final kilometre, just as the winning group briefly came back together. It was a decisive move from a rider who had looked under pressure at different points of the finale, but still found the moment to strike.

Vingegaard said he had been asking for updates from the front of the race and was delighted when he heard Valgren had finished it off. “It was really cool,” he said. “I got some updates out there and asked a bit about how things were going at the front of the race. And when I heard that he had won the stage, it also made me really happy. Michael really deserves to win here, and it is really impressive that he wins today.”

Valgren’s victory added another Danish layer to a Giro already dominated by Vingegaard, who has won four stages and holds a commanding lead in the general classification.

For Vingegaard, though, the reaction was not only about national pride. It was about seeing a rider he had followed since childhood return to the top level and finally claim a Grand Tour stage win. “I have actually always looked up to him, so I am also extremely happy on his behalf,” Vingegaard said. “Back then, he was also among the best Danish juniors. Of course, those are the riders you look up to.”

Valgren’s win came after years of rebuilding following the serious crash that threatened to derail his career, and it followed his own post-stage admission that he had “needed” a Grand Tour stage victory.

Vingegaard’s words added another dimension to the result. For one Dane, it was a long-awaited career milestone. For the other, watching from the maglia rosa group behind, it was a victory for someone who had helped shape the road he once hoped to follow.