“I’m a cyclist, I like to win” - Jonas Vingegaard embraces ruthless Giro d’Italia dominance after fifth stage win all but seals pink
Cycling
Jonas Vingegaard offered no apology for chasing another victory at the 2026 Giro d’Italia after his fifth stage win of the race all but sealed overall victory before Sunday’s finale in Rome.
The Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader attacked on the final ascent of Piancavallo on Stage 20, briefly taking Felix Gall with him before dropping his closest GC rival and riding clear alone. The win pushed Vingegaard’s lead over Gall beyond five minutes, leaving the Dane on the verge of adding the Giro d’Italia to his Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana victories.
Vingegaard had already taken control of the race before the final mountain stage, but Visma still chose to chase the stage rather than simply protect pink. After the finish, he made it clear that the decision came from the simplest possible motivation.
“I’m a cyclist, I like to win, I want to win as many races as possible,” Vingegaard said in his flash interview. “We decided to go for it again today - it was the last day in the mountains, so today everything would be decided. We went all in for the stage.”
Visma go all in on final mountain stage
Vingegaard’s Stage 20 victory completed another show of force from Visma. The team controlled the gap to the breakaway, used Tim Rex and Victor Campenaerts to reduce the race on the first ascent of Piancavallo, then kept the stage within reach before the final climb.
When Vingegaard finally accelerated with around 11 kilometres remaining, Gall was the only rider able to follow. That resistance lasted less than a kilometre. Vingegaard then swept past the last survivors of the breakaway and continued alone towards the summit finish.
“The boys did an amazing job again today,” Vingegaard said. “I had an amazing day also today. To have won five stages here now and to have a solid lead going into tomorrow is special for me.”
That fifth stage win gives Vingegaard a final Giro mountain statement before the race reaches Rome. It also leaves Visma with another dominant Grand Tour performance, having already added Sepp Kuss’ queen stage victory to Vingegaard’s run of success.
“We had to improvise a bit”
The final plan was not executed exactly as Visma had expected. Kuss, who won Stage 19 to Alleghe, was unable to play his usual late mountain role on Piancavallo, forcing the team to adjust before Vingegaard made his move.
“We had to improvise a bit because Sepp told me he didn’t have his best day today,” Vingegaard explained. “But Bart Lemmen was amazing. He did such a high pace from the bottom.”
Lemmen’s work helped keep Vingegaard in position after Campenaerts had finished his effort, with Davide Piganzoli also still present for Visma on the final climb. The original plan had been for Vingegaard to wait slightly longer before attacking, but the situation on the road changed the timing. “The plan was to go later on, but we had to change a bit and I had to go a bit earlier,” Vingegaard said.
That earlier move did not weaken the outcome. Vingegaard still distanced Gall, took more than a minute out of the chase group and reached the finish with enough time to raise his fist before the line.
Sunday’s final stage in Rome should be largely ceremonial for the general classification, although Vingegaard was not quite ready to treat it as a procession. “Hopefully tomorrow will be a sprint stage - you never know, the breakaway might go the distance,” he said. “We will also enjoy the evening tonight even though it will be a long night with the flight to Rome.”
One stage remains, but the Giro has effectively been decided. Vingegaard wanted one more mountain win, Visma raced for it, and Piancavallo delivered the clearest final image of the race: pink alone at the front.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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