"We have written history once again": Richard Plugge celebrates Jonas Vingegaard's Grand Slam ahead of Rome finale
Cycling
The peloton will navigate the historic streets of Rome on Sunday for the final stage of the Giro d'Italia, where barring any major surprises, Jonas Vingegaard will officially secure the overall victory. The Danish rider confirmed his dominance during the final mountain stage, riding away to his fifth victory of the race on the slopes of Piancavallo.
In a post-race interview, team CEO Richard Plugge expressed his admiration for how the race concluded. At a point in the Grand Tour where deep fatigue usually levels the playing field, the maglia rosa looked completely untouched by the three weeks of effort.
"Incredible how the team rode around again today. Everyone pays the price today after three weeks of racing, but Jonas is still the strongest. That is great to see."
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Completing the Grand Tour collection
By wrapping up the general classification in Italy, Vingegaard joins an incredibly exclusive group of riders. In the history of professional cycling, only seven other competitors (Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Felice Gimondi, Bernard Hinault, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali, and Chris Froome) have managed to win all three Grand Tours.
Following his Tour de France victories in 2022 and 2023, alongside his Vuelta a España title last year, his collection of three-week race victories is now complete. "We have written history once again by winning all three Grand Tours with the first rider in this era."
Jonas Vingegaard and Victor Campenaerts at the 2026 Giro d'Italia
Eyes turn toward the French summer
The victory cements an already unforgettable season for the Dutch squad. While the team plans to enjoy the upcoming celebrations, Plugge is also mindful of the biggest objective of the summer, where Vingegaard will have to challenge Tadej Pogacar at the Tour de France.
"We won Paris-Roubaix with Wout and now the Giro with Jonas and he will also be the challenger again in the Tour de France, but let's let this sink in first. I am very proud of the team."
Félix SernaCycling Journalist
Félix Serna is a writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2025. He covers professional cycling across both the men’s and women’s calendars, with a focus on UCI rankings, race developments, and rider performance. His work includes interview-based reports, liveblogs, and tournament coverage designed to provide clear, accurate context throughout the season.
In his reporting, Félix regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical reference. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Studies.
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- Welcome to the off-season.
santiagobenites02-11-2026 - guillaume martin is wuite a surprise as a gc rider.Ketterechts02-11-2026
- Who cares what Bruyneel thinks. He and his best mate Lance, the biggest fraud in the history of sport, have no place commenting on anything but how to lie and cheat!whit2pet02-11-2026
- Eeesh!Lozza02-11-2026
- bravo! a rider likes jonas needs motivation and he needs to believe in being able to reach goals. he - like anybody else in the world - doesn't believe that he can win the tdf with pogi present. and what's it worth for when pogi is not there? second class victory only. he has checked all three grand tours, so what is left if not retire? the classics! go for it, jonas!Ketterechts02-11-2026
- i am sure that under the pretext of medical examination a lot worse has happened when they were under.abstractengineer02-11-2026
- dude, Lemond never even was in the same race as Armstrong. He throws all these aspersions on other American riders who might usurp his throne as the greatest ever American racer. He doesn't say a single thing about (foreign) dopers who he actually raced against. Biggest douchebag move ever. I used to revere that guy, now I despise him. His actions are so weird.fatsupermodel02-11-2026
- This is just stupid, You do what you are good at not what you are weak at. He has no results to speak of when he participated. Even Froome, Conatdor had very little. With Pogi there he wont win none of the classics. he is already 30+ with a few years left at the top. It takes years to get good at classics. Is that really worth the effort???abstractengineer02-11-2026
- Sure, little fella.awp02-11-2026
- You'll be the ongoing joke of 2027 with anything you post here!frieders302-11-2026
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