“It would be nice to win another two stages... but I don’t want to completely kill myself here” - Jonas Vingegaard weighs Giro d’Italia ambition against Tour de France caution

Jonas Vingegaard has admitted he would still like to add more stage wins before the 2026 Giro d’Italia reaches Rome, but the maglia rosa is already balancing that ambition against the bigger picture of his summer.

The Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader remained firmly in control of the general classification after stage 17 to Andalo, where the breakaway fought out the victory and Michael Valgren delivered a superb late attack to win for EF Education - EasyPost.

For Vingegaard, it was a rare day at this Giro where the stage win was allowed to move away from the GC favourites. After his dominant victory in pink on stage 16, the Dane had little need to chase another result, even if he made clear afterwards that the desire to keep winning has not disappeared.

“It would be nice to win another two stages, but I don’t expect it,” Vingegaard said in conversation with Cycling Pro Net after stage 17. “Of course, it is going to be two very hard stages in the mountains and as I also have said before, there is also a race in July I want to do.”

That race, of course, is the Tour de France, and Vingegaard did not hide the fact that he is already managing his effort with the next Grand Tour in mind.

After making a major statement on stage 16, where he extended his overall advantage, the Dane suggested there was little value in spending unnecessary energy if the Giro can be controlled without doing so. “I also went pretty deep yesterday,” he said. “Of course, I would still like to win stages. That’s not the case. But sometimes you need to maybe think about what’s coming up.”

Asked directly whether the Tour de France was already in the back of his mind, Vingegaard answered clearly. “Of course I somewhat think about it,” he said. “I don’t want to completely kill myself here if it is possible not to.”

The comments underline the position Vingegaard now occupies at this Giro. He has already built a commanding lead, he has already won multiple stages, and the final mountain tests still offer opportunities. But with July looming, every extra effort now comes with a wider calculation.

Stage 17 was also notable for a Danish victory away from the GC fight, as Valgren held off Andreas Leknessund and Damiano Caruso after a chaotic breakaway finale in Andalo.

Vingegaard said he had been following the situation at the front over race radio and was pleased to hear his compatriot had finished the job. “It made me really happy,” he said. “I asked a few times about the situation in front and when I heard he had won the stage, it made me really happy.”

The day’s tactics were shaped partly by Caruso’s presence in the breakaway, with Visma, Tudor Pro Cycling Team and Team Jayco AlUla all having reasons to keep the gap under some control. Caruso eventually moved back into the top 10 overall after finishing third on the stage.

“I wouldn’t say there is much communication,” Vingegaard explained when asked how the teams coordinated behind. “It is just that the breakaway goes, Damiano Caruso is there and we start pulling. Obviously we will give them five, six, seven minutes, but then they also want to defend their spots in GC, so it makes sense that they start pulling.”

For Vingegaard, the Giro remains firmly under control. The question now is not only whether he can win more before Rome, but how much he is willing to spend to do it.