Giro d'Italia 2026: "No one beyond Jonas Vingegaard is a real candidate for pink" - Visma domination anticipated for Corsa Rosa

Jonas Vingegaard commands all attention on the eve of the 2026 Giro d’Italia. The Dane arrives as the overwhelming favourite for the maglia rosa after crashes sidelined rivals such as João Almeida and Richard Carapaz, and his superiority, on paper, looks clear.

In Spain, however, much of the debate centres on Enric Mas. The Movistar Team leader faces a race clouded by doubts over his form, but also by the feeling that the Giro organisers have not given him the recognition he deserves among the podium contenders.

In a pre-race analysis, our colleagues at CiclismoAlDia Juan Larra and Javier Rampe reviewed the roster of favourites for the Italian race and offered clear thoughts on both Jonas Vingegaard’s expected dominance and Mas’ real chances.

For Juan Larra, Jonas Vingegaard’s presence completely shapes any general classification forecast. The Ciclismoaldia editor-in-chief believes the Dane is “a class apart” from the rest of the field and that only a huge surprise would prevent his final victory.

“Anything other than Vingegaard winning, with minutes to spare, would honestly be a massive shock,” he said, while hinting that the Dane’s team might manage the maglia rosa cautiously to avoid arriving overcooked at the Tour de France: “The smart move could be to take pink midway through the second week so the whole team isn’t tied down from day one.”

Javier Rampe shares that view of absolute superiority from the Danish leader and believes the rest of the favourites are almost racing a different event. The Ciclismoaldia editor stressed that the absence of Almeida and Carapaz clears Vingegaard’s path even further: “No one beyond Jonas Vingegaard is a real candidate for pink.” He added that even rising riders like Giulio Pellizzari are still far from challenging the Dane for the win: “Talking about Giulio Pellizzari as a serious pink contender seems difficult to me.”

Alongside the Visma rider’s favouritism, the big debate turns around Enric Mas and his omission from the main names highlighted by the Giro organisers. Juan Larra believes the Spaniard does deserve to be among the genuine podium contenders and recalled a statistic that, in his view, sums up the case: “Enric Mas has four Vuelta a España podiums in his career.” In his point of view, Mas' and consistency in Grand Tours should earn him greater recognition: “I would have put him on this list as one of the podium candidates behind Jonas Vingegaard.”

Rampe agrees that Enric Mas has enough arguments to fight for the top spots in the general classification, though he flags a very specific threat: the long time trial in the first half of the Giro. “Enric Mas’ podium will be decided there,” he said, noting that the Movistar Team rider tends to suffer more than most in this type of effort.

Even so, he believes that if Mas gets through that day without losing too much time, he can become one of the strongest riders in the mountains: “If Enric comes out of that without shipping big minutes to his direct rivals, I think a very big opportunity opens up for him to reach Rome with the podium sealed.”

Juan Larra also defended the Mallorcan’s abilities in high mountains and called for greater appreciation of his Grand Tour consistency in recent years: “Questioning Enric’s climbing credentials is unfair to him and fails to recognise his merit.” The journalist believes the Movistar leader can still make differences in the third week if he arrives in good condition: “He has delivered strong final weeks in Grand Tours.”

For his part, Javier Rampe recalled that the Spaniard’s build-up has been very different from other favourites and that he arrives with few race days in his legs, although that should not necessarily be read negatively. “He’s one of those with the fewest race days in 2026,” he said, before noting that modern training can reach intensity levels similar to racing.

The Giro d’Italia thus starts with near-unanimous favouritism around Jonas Vingegaard, but also with the question of how far Enric Mas can go. At Ciclismoaldia they are clear: the Dane looks untouchable, although the Spaniard deserves much more respect in the predictions than some are granting him before the start.