“I expect Visma to take it calmly, at least I hope so” - Rival teams publicly look for freedom as Jonas Vingegaard threatens Pogacar-style grip on Giro d’Italia

Jonas Vingegaard has already changed the mood of the 2026 Giro d’Italia. After just three stages, the Dane has not taken time on the road, has not claimed the Maglia Rosa, and has not yet reached the high mountains. Yet his attack on Stage 2, combined with Visma | Lease a Bike’s increasingly visible control around him, has already forced rival teams to wonder how much freedom will be left in the race once it reaches Italy.

For teams such as Uno-X Mobility, that question matters. With the Giro now leaving Bulgaria behind after the first rest and travel day, several medium mountain stages could offer room for breakaways.

But that depends heavily on whether Vingegaard and Visma allow the race to breathe, or whether they tighten their grip in the same all-consuming style Tadej Pogacar produced during his dominant Giro victory in 2024.

Speaking to Eurosport.dk after Stage 3, Uno-X sports director Emil Mielke Vinjebo made clear that his team are watching Visma’s approach closely.

“It is no secret that we are aiming to hit some of these breakaway opportunities that come when we reach Italy,” Vinjebo said in conversation with Eurosport.dk. “Stage 4 could already be a breakaway, or at least a reduced sprint. And Stage 5 is definitely a breakaway stage.”

That ambition is shared by many teams in a Giro that has already been reshaped by crashes and withdrawals. UAE Team Emirates-XRG have lost Adam Yates, Jay Vine and Marc Soler, while several other potential stage hunters and GC outsiders have already been forced into recovery mode after the brutal crash-marred opening weekend.

In that context, Visma’s tactical choices now carry even more weight. Vingegaard arrived as the outstanding favourite and, with several pre-race rivals already absent or weakened, his team have little need to chase every opportunity. For the rest of the peloton, the hope is that Visma choose patience over suffocation.

“I expect Visma to take it a little calmly, at least I hope so, and look ahead to Blockhaus,” Vinjebo added. “And then let the rest of us race for some breakaways.”

That line captures one of the big early tactical questions of this Giro. If Visma ride conservatively until the first major mountain test, the race could open up for aggressive teams. If they decide to impose themselves every day, the first week in Italy could become far more controlled.

Vingegaard’s Stage 2 move showed why rival teams are already alert. The Dane attacked on the final categorised climb, drawing Giulio Pellizzari and Lennert Van Eetvelt clear before the trio were brought back in the final kilometre.

Vingegaard later framed the move as a way to reduce risk before the dangerous finale, but Vinjebo suggested there was also a more basic explanation. The Visma leader looked strong, hungry, and willing to race.

“Jonas wanted to have a bit of fun yesterday, and he clearly has the desire to race,” Vinjebo said. “But I also think they will use their heads over the next few days in Italy and look a little further ahead.”

That is the balance Visma must now strike. Vingegaard is already riding like a rider in excellent shape, but the Giro is still in its opening phase. The race will not be won on Stage 4 or Stage 5, and Visma have enough experience to know the final week will demand depth, restraint and fresh legs.

Still, the sight of Vingegaard attacking so early has left an impression. It also raised the possibility of this Giro becoming a one-team race if Visma decide to use every stage as a platform to keep pressure on the rest.

“Jonas says he basically did it to be safer. But he did not have to do it,” Vinjebo said. “He could easily have ridden safely with Piganzoli in a 25 or 30-man group. I think it is because he wants to race and has such good legs.”

There is a compliment buried inside that warning. Vingegaard is already showing the condition and confidence expected of a Grand Tour favourite. The question is whether Visma will turn that into constant control, or save their strongest collective effort for the Giro’s decisive climbs.

The comparison with Pogacar is hard to avoid. When Pogacar rode the Giro in 2024, he did not simply win the race. He dominated the entire structure of it, taking stage wins, controlling the general classification and reducing the room available to rivals. Teams looking for breakaways often had to work around the reality that UAE could decide to chase almost whenever the Slovenian wanted another opportunity.

Vingegaard is not racing in exactly the same way, and Visma are unlikely to treat every stage as a target. But Stage 2 was enough to show why smaller teams would prefer a more selective approach from the yellow and black squad.

Vinjebo does not believe Vingegaard’s move was reckless. He simply hopes it was not a sign of how Visma intend to race every day. “Of course he is safer in a three-man group, but he also rides to win,” he said. “It is cool to see, but he is not going to ride like that every day. They also have to look towards Rome.”

That is where the race now sits. Visma have the strongest favourite, a team built around him, and the option to shape the Giro as they wish. Everyone else is waiting to see how generous they are willing to be.