"The race is far from over" - Jonas Vingegaard takes on his first ever day in pink at the Giro d'Italia

Jonas Vingegaard lined up for stage 15 of the Giro in the maglia rosa after his exhibition on the Valle d'Aosta, on the eve of which he spoke to CyclingPro.net and shared several thoughts on the state of the race and what awaits in the third week.

The Dane acknowledged the special meaning of leading the general classification, which he leads for the first time in his career after yesterday's stage win. “It’s a special feeling, obviously. It’s very nice to be fully in pink today,” he said before the stage. He also explained he would try to enjoy the moment, helped by good weather and a day that, at that point, looked relatively calmer.

However, Vingegaard insisted the race is far from settled. The leader stressed that the Giro enters its decisive phase after the rest day and that the hardest terrain is still to come. “The third week is by far the toughest here, so the race is far from over,” he stated.

The Dane also noted that even the rest day won’t allow for complete relaxation, with a demanding mountain stage already scheduled for Tuesday. From there, he anticipated a sequence of back-to-back high-mountain days, especially in the Dolomites, which he considers decisive for the outcome of the race.

Asked which stages worry him most, Vingegaard avoided pointing to a single day and underlined the overall severity of the final block. “Tuesday is a very hard stage, the day after is also tricky, and at the end of the week we have Friday and Saturday, which will be very demanding mountain stages,” he explained.

After his exhibition and victory in Pila, his third at the Giro d’Italia, Vingegaard finally took the lead from Afonso Eulálio and now tops the race by 2:26 over the Portuguese, 2:50 over Felix Gall, and 3:03 over Thymen Arensman. Further back are the Red Bull riders Jai Hindley and Giulio Pellizzari. Gall, his biggest rival in the high mountains, already said after the stage yesterday that he is focusing on the podium fight, taking it for granted that the win in Rome next Sunday will go to the Dane if nothing unusual happens.