"Much better suited to him than the Tour de France" - Jonas Vingegaard handed compelling reason to defend Giro title in 2027
Cycling
Jonas Vingegaard could be tempted to defend his Giro d'Italia title in 2027 after the unveiling of a mountainous route that Eurosport commentator Jeroen Vanbelleghem believes suits the Dane considerably better than the Tour de France. With eight uphill finishes, including a climbing time trial, and a final week featuring the Mortirolo, Gavia and Monte Zoncolan, the Corsa Rosa offers plenty to attract the reigning champion.
Vingegaard dominated his Giro debut in 2026, winning five stages and finishing more than five minutes clear of Felix Gall to complete his collection of Grand Tour victories. His programme for next season remains undecided, with another attempt to defeat Tadej Pogacar at the Tour also firmly in contention.
"The climbers will be delighted with eight uphill finishes if you include the uphill time trial. There are only three at the Tour, so this is a fantastic race for climbers," Vanbelleghem told Eurosport following Tuesday's route presentation in Rome.
The Belgian commentator named Gall and Richard Carapaz among those likely to relish the course, but reserved particular praise for Vingegaard. "This is a fantastic Grand Tour for him, much better suited to him than the Tour de France in terms of the route," he said.
Mortirolo, Gavia and Zoncolan await as Tour favours time triallists
The 2027 Tour features 71 kilometres of individual time trialling across two relatively flat stages, alongside six mountain stages and three summit finishes. The Giro has 56.9 kilometres against the clock, including a 19.6-kilometre uphill test to Campo di Giove, and seven summit finishes on road stages.
The Giro's toughest climbing comes in the final week. Stage 16, from Sondrio to Aprica, features two ascents of the Mortirolo with the Passo di Gavia between them, packing 5,700 metres of elevation gain into 192 kilometres. Madonna di Campiglio follows two days later, before the penultimate stage finishes on Monte Zoncolan via the notoriously steep Ovaro ascent.
Vanbelleghem does have reservations about the double Mortirolo, fearing the difficulty could discourage attacks until the closing kilometres. "That stage would already have been difficult enough with just one ascent of the Mortirolo. The second one wasn't necessary," he argued. "It's too much of a good thing, and the riders will save their energy until the finale."
Following the Tour route presentation in October, Team Visma | Lease a Bike head of racing Marc Reef acknowledged that he would have preferred more summit finishes, although he also pointed to mountain stages that could suit Vingegaard and highlighted the team's time-trial preparation.
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Another Giro-Tour double on the cards?
Vingegaard attempted the Giro-Tour double for the first time in 2026, having already won the Tour in 2022 and 2023 and the Vuelta a Espana in 2025. His Giro victory made him the first Danish rider to win all three Grand Tours, but his subsequent Tour campaign ended with a fractured collarbone after a crash on stage 15.
Visma team manager Richard Plugge has since acknowledged that the crash prevented the team from fully assessing whether the Giro-Tour double had worked. Vingegaard never reached the decisive final week in France, leaving unanswered questions about his recovery from the Giro.
Plugge has not ruled out another attempt in 2027, with Vingegaard's programme still to be decided. The Giro concludes in Rome on 30 May, while the Tour begins in Edinburgh on 2 July, leaving just 33 days between the two races.
A successful title defence would make Vingegaard the first rider since Miguel Indurain in 1993 to win consecutive editions of the Giro. But with Pogacar waiting at the Tour, Visma must decide whether another three weeks in Italy is the best preparation for reclaiming yellow in France.
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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- That sucks for him. I've always wondered what guys like him do after retiring from cycling - go back to uni? He's still a very young manCrashjames03-11-2026
- Good Point, I wonder if he's been testedmhfrvz03-11-2026
- A busy boy!Lozza03-11-2026
- I hope 2027 is his year.mij03-11-2026
- why does he have to? many GT riders from Froome to Contador to Indurain didn't do them.mij03-11-2026
- I think Jonas would have lost the TDF by 4+ minutes (at the least) and might not have even been in the top 3. Too much talent in the younger riders to say anyone not named Pogačar would have been top 3md197503-11-2026
- this is just stupid. you already have 23%, gravel is over the topabstractengineer03-11-2026
- There was once a time when Lance was supremely popular and he used his artificial "It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life" persona to lead his mob in going after Greg. There was no one Lance did not abuse in protecting his phony hero image. Lance promoted himself as a divine megastar and he let down millions of cancer victims and gullible devotees who clung far too long to the charade. Lance is the epitome of a corrupt person and because of his power, many around him, including business enterprises, succumbed to the evil. All who got in Armstrong's way were mercilessly attacked by him and his minions. This remarkably continues today with a new generation. LeMond was a number one enemy and paid a huge price. Who do you think slandered who?Yepperoni03-11-2026
- You despise him because he calls out the truth....OK clown !frieders303-11-2026
- JV is really slighting himself with not doing the 1 dayers.. 🤷
leedorney02-11-2026
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