"I specifically asked for him to be here with me" - Jonas Vingegaard on his key right-hand man for the 2026 Giro d'Italia at Visma
Cycling
Jonas Vingegaard is about to tackle the 2026 Giro d’Italia. It will be the Visma - Lease a Bike superstar’s debut at the Corsa Rosa, where he is the leading favourite for the overall. A win would place him in cycling’s pantheon as one of the few riders to conquer all three Grand Tours. To do so, he will rely on Victor Campenaerts, whom he considers high right-hand man.
“I’m very happy to be here, to start the Giro. It’s a dream come true,” the Dane told Cycling Pro Net, making clear his debut at the Corsa Rosa goes far beyond the competitive side. The Visma leader recalled childhood years watching the race on TV and his special bond with Italy, a country that has always drawn him in.
Even so, the emotional pull does not mask his ambition: Vingegaard now has the chance to complete his Grand Tour set and join a rare historical club, after also having won La Vuelta the previous summer.
“I really wanted to race it, but also to now have the chance to win all three Grand Tours,” he said, hinting that the end goal is obvious, even if he prefers not to state it bluntly.
Sign up here and create your Fantasy Giro d’Italia Budget
2026 Team — $9,385 / €8,000 / £7,000 in Prizes!
With comfortable overall wins at Paris-Nice and Volta a Catalunya, it's hard to argue that Vingegaard could've had a better spring. He now arrives at the Giro as the man to beat; the outright favourite to win the pink jersey.
After his outing at the Volta a Catalunya, the Dane insists he has done everything to arrive in top condition: “I’ve had a pretty good build-up,” he explained. Still, he knows the Giro poses unique challenges even for a proven three-week contender.
Vingegaard is the favourite… but cautious
“There are many hard stages and you have to stay focused every day,” he noted, underlining the constant demands of a race that offers no respite. Beyond the big mountain days, Vingegaard zeros in on consistency and day-to-day sharpness as keys to targeting victory in Rome.
In a war of attrition like the Giro, the team’s role will be decisive, and here Vingegaard is notably pleased. He stressed the importance of his teammates, especially Victor Campenaerts, whom he sees as central to his set-up: “He’s very important to me. I specifically asked for him to be here with me,” he revealed.
Beyond his racing engine, the Dane praised Campenaerts’ analytical edge: “He’s a very smart guy, he thinks about everything much more deeply than other riders,” he explained. He even admitted it can be hard to keep up with his mental pace at times, but sees it as a plus: “It’s good to have someone like that, he pushes the team to new limits.”
Although much of the peloton and punditry cast him as the top pick, Vingegaard shrugs off that label with ease: “I don’t think I’m the only favourite. There are many other strong riders here,” he concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 3visitors 3
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment