"The Giro d'Italia is a luxury training camp for Jonas Vingegaard" - Jens Voigt backs Visma leader to become "even stronger" before 2026 Tour de France

Jonas Vingegaard’s 2026 season has already been defined by control and authority, but according to Jens Voigt, the most significant part of his campaign may still lie ahead.

After securing overall victories at Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya, where he took two stages and settled the race with one decisive move in the mountains, the Team Visma | Lease a Bike leader has positioned himself as the standout Grand Tour contender of the early season.

“The Giro d’Italia is a luxury training camp for Jonas,” Voigt said in conversation with Eurosport. “It will make him even stronger.”

The Dane has changed his usual build this season, adding the Giro d’Italia to a campaign that already includes dominant overall victories in Paris-Nice and Catalunya. Rather than waiting for July, Vingegaard has already shown his level in two major week-long stage races.

Catalunya was the clearest example of that level. Vingegaard did not need to chase the race all week. He chose his moment on the key summit finish, rode away from the field and took the leader’s jersey, then followed it up with another stage win a day later to remove any suspense from the general classification.

That came after Paris-Nice, where he had already stamped his authority on the race. Taken together, the two victories have made him the standout Grand Tour rider of the early season. “He is in outstanding form, having convincingly won Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya,” Voigt added.

Vingegaard’s decision to target both the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France marks a notable shift from previous seasons, where his entire year was built around peaking for July.

“I understand why he has changed his plans this year and is lining up at the Italian Grand Tour,” Voigt said. “He wants to stand at the very top at the Tour de France and not be ‘just’ second again.”

For Vingegaard, the Giro now sits within a season that has already been built on control, climbing strength and back-to-back overall wins. The route to the Tour is different this year, but the results so far have only strengthened the sense that he is arriving there from a position of authority.

“He has a demanding programme ahead because he wants to triumph at the Giro d’Italia,” Voigt continued. “He is so consistent that he can finish right at the front at both the Giro and the Tour.”

Paris-Nice and Catalunya have already shown what kind of shape Vingegaard is in. He has not needed to race wildly to dominate. He has simply been stronger when the road turned uphill and more decisive when the race reached its key moments.

With the Giro d’Italia set to provide the next test, the broader objective remains unchanged. Everything in Vingegaard’s 2026 season now points towards July, where the aim is no longer to compete, but to return to the top step of the Tour de France podium.

This is the kind of fix that was needed.