"I would have preferred to skip that trip": Jonas Vingegaard slams long Bulgaria-Italy transfer on rest day
Cycling
Monday is the first rest day of the 2026 Giro d'Italia, but for the riders and staff, it will probably just feel like a long day of travel. The entire race is packing up and moving from Bulgaria all the way down to Catanzaro in southern Italy. While the team buses face a massive drive, most of the riders, including top contender Jonas Vingegaard, are catching a flight on Sunday evening to get a head start.
Just like in 2022 (when they started in Hungary) and 2025 (Albania), the Giro is having its first rest day after only three stages. This early break is built into the schedule simply so the race can move from its foreign start back to Italy for Stage 4.
This move creates a huge problem for the team staff. Getting the main team bus and all the bikes and gear to the start line on Tuesday is no easy task. It takes at least 19 hours to drive from Sofia to southern Italy, and not every squad has a second bus waiting for them when they arrive.
Paul Magnier won stage 3 of the 2026 Giro d'Italia
Jonas Vingegaard not happy with the long transfer
Luckily for the riders, their trip is a bit easier. Most of the peloton is taking a plane from Sofia to Italy on Sunday night. However, with the physical toll the race takes on the body, not everyone is thrilled about spending time in a crowded airport and airplane.
"I would have preferred to skip that trip, and I have brought my mask and hand sanitizer," Jonas Vingegaard told the media before heading to the airport.
This big trip from Bulgaria to Italy won't be the last time the riders have to pack their bags for a long haul this month. Even though the rest of the race stays inside Italy's borders, there is another huge transfer right at the very end.
After Stage 20 finishes up in the northern mountains of Piancavallo, the peloton has to get all the way down to Rome for the final sprint stage. That is about a six-hour drive by car, which means many riders will likely be hopping on another plane before the race is officially over.
Félix SernaCycling Journalist
Félix Serna is a writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2025. He covers professional cycling across both the men’s and women’s calendars, with a focus on UCI rankings, race developments, and rider performance. His work includes interview-based reports, liveblogs, and tournament coverage designed to provide clear, accurate context throughout the season.
In his reporting, Félix regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical reference. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Studies.
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- lol yeahmij08-11-2026
- I know, their headlines can be so misleading. Pidcock had a great season with 5 wins. and some solid 2nds. no reason to take away from that with a fake headline.mij08-11-2026
- You can clearly see the the posture change from slightly sitting to again out of the saddle while changing of gears in the video of the sprintabstractengineer08-11-2026
- He has already beaten Pogi twice in the TDF. the achievement is over. He cannot beat Pogi now and he only has a few years left at the top. Win Giro and compete in the TDF, maximise palmares.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just looked again at the photo. Yeah I stand by that. If MS had fallen over in Brands direction I don’t even think she would have hit her. You must be a UCI race commissioner. I’ll be sure to check my sock height should I ever see you on a ride. Looks like everyone else on here sees what I see.mij08-11-2026
- I said looking at the photo it doesn’t appear she deviated. Chill out, not stating my word is the final judgement. Just commenting that based on the photo I don’t see it. And BTW the Dutch coach even said she didn’t impede her.mij08-11-2026
- Blah Blah Blah !frieders308-11-2026
- MS said she was changing gears so that caused her slight deviation. Nothing was intentional.frieders308-11-2026
- How can you use a photo post incident to judge the incident itself (which is not hard to find if you’re prepared to invest the same amount of time in searching as writing that comment? It’s harsh but technically right even though this or worse is not always sanctioned in every race. The two things that went against MS (who unfortunately for her would still have won without making her mistake) are that it was not a bunch sprint where there could have been an overlooked incident or mitigating circumstances explaining a deviation. Everything was focused on just those 2, Schreiber was riding beautifully balanced which made her sudden deviation look unnatural stroke as if it could have been in some part intentional whilst she was slowly drifting ever closer towards the barrier to a point that would have reached obstruction level. In her defence, it might have been the realisation she was heading towards that that made her react suddenly and caused the deviation involuntarily. In any case, congratulations to her for the ride of her life, in people’s minds she will be credited for it.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Good boy Obviously doesn’t need that much help dealing with pressure, as some have suggested. Wiser (and humbler) than many far further along their careers. About offering him the moon, recently someone came up with an explanation of the downfall of a football great (either referring to Maradona or Portuguese Ronaldo) saying it was kind of normal after coming back from the moon, except that others, including some who actually did go to the moon like Armstrong (Neil in case anyone is too switched off to realise) didn’t go through any of the same motions after coming back. A lot of how you deal with situations has less to do with the situation than with your character.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
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