“This isn’t Jonas at his peak” - Matt Stephens sends Tadej Pogacar warning after Vingegaard joins cycling’s greats at Giro d’Italia

Jonas Vingegaard leaves the Giro d’Italia with the maglia rosa, five stage wins and a place in one of cycling’s most exclusive historical groups. Matt Stephens believes the greater warning for Tadej Pogacar may be what still comes next.

Stephens, the former British professional rider and long-time TNT Sports analyst, watched Vingegaard complete overall victory in Rome after three weeks of near-total control from Team Visma | Lease a Bike. The Dane became only the eighth men’s rider in history to win all three Grand Tours, adding the Giro to his Tour de France titles from 2022 and 2023 and his Vuelta a Espana success from 2025.

For Stephens, the scale of the Giro victory was not just in the result sheet. Vingegaard won repeatedly in the mountains, finished 5:22 clear of Felix Gall and appeared to reach Rome with room still left before his July showdown with Pogacar.

“This isn’t Jonas at his peak. Remember that,” Stephens said on TNT Sports. “He’s wiped the floor with the competition here with something left in the tank. So he’s set things up wonderfully for July.”

Vingegaard’s Giro win puts him alongside Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali and Chris Froome as riders to have won the Giro, Tour and Vuelta.

He is also the first rider of his generation to complete the set. Pogacar, despite his four Tour de France wins and dominance across much of the calendar, has not yet won the Vuelta.

That detail adds another edge to the rivalry before the Tour de France begins in Barcelona. Vingegaard has not beaten Pogacar head-to-head in a Grand Tour since the 2023 Tour, and the Slovenian has carried the aura of the sport’s dominant force through the past two seasons. Italy gave Vingegaard a result Pogacar has not yet matched: the full Giro, Tour and Vuelta set.

“Jonas has had accidents and injuries and he’s been overshadowed in the last few editions of the Tour,” Stephens said. “And that’s why I think it was important, off the back of winning the Vuelta, he kept winning. I don’t think we can understate the importance of him sitting in this pantheon of greats now of winning all of the Grand Tours ahead of Tadej.”

Vingegaard’s final day in Rome was largely ceremonial until Jonathan Milan won the sprint, but the wider achievement was already secure. Visma had controlled the Giro through the mountains, Sepp Kuss added the queen stage, and Vingegaard turned almost every major climbing test into another demonstration of superiority.

The Giro also brought Vingegaard back into the centre of the wider legacy conversation. His 2024 crash had left him fighting to return to the highest level, while Pogacar’s subsequent dominance raised questions about whether the balance of their rivalry had shifted for good.

Stephens sees the Giro as a forceful answer. “It might seem like a small detail and it’s only maybe a small flex but Jonas, if he needs reminding, now sits with the greats,” he said. “And the consistent thing about the team is that they’ve got Jonas there and he is a ferocious competitor.”

Vingegaard was visibly emotional after sealing the race, especially with his family present in Rome. The historical weight of the victory sat alongside the personal moment, with the Dane closing three weeks in pink by completing a set very few riders have ever managed. “He got emotional with his kids there,” Stephens said. “He’s just won the Giro d’Italia. He’s just become one of the greatest cyclists of all time. He already is but to add this is a big moment.”

The Tour now becomes the next test of what this Giro has shown. Pogacar will arrive as the reigning Tour champion and the rider Vingegaard still has to measure himself against directly. Vingegaard arrives with the Grand Tour Triple Crown complete, another dominant three-week performance behind him, and Stephens convinced the best version may still be waiting. “He needs to sit, reflect with his family for maybe a week,” Stephens added. “But he’s in a great place. And I cannot wait to see them clash in July.”

The next comparison will come on the road rather than in the studio. Vingegaard has rebuilt momentum through the Giro, but July will bring Pogacar, the Tour de France and the rivalry that still defines the top of the sport.