"Why he wins so many of the races he enters..." - Alberto Contador on Jonas Vingegaard's key to success

Alberto Contador has praised Jonas Vingegaard. As a former winner of all three-week races, 'El Pistolero' was joined by the leader of Team Visma | Lease a Bike this year, the newest addition to a very exclusive club, one of riders who have stood out even from the best of their generation.

In the 'Woven Into History' documentary that the Dutch team has released over this weekend, it features insight into the Dane's Giro d'Italia triumph, in which he made history by conquering all three Grand Tours - and doing it before Tadej Pogacar, notably.

Vingegaard had won the Tour de France back in 2022 and 2023, and the Vuelta a España in 2025. His pursuit of beating Pogacar was made more difficult over recent years, but the Dane decided to also shift his focus onto the other Grand Tours, and took a comfortable win at this year's Giro.

It is a product of, aside from the required genetics for the job, extreme professionalism and focus on the task at hand. “What impresses me most is that he tries to have everything under control,” Contador shared in the documentary.

“He does that almost perfectly, and that is necessary if you want to maintain his level of consistency across all three Grand Tours.” The Dane's consistency is one of his greatest abilities, and what he has used to take both of his wins at the Tour.

“He knows when he has to act and understands all the small things that need attention every day. That is something I admire enormously.” That applies not only to his preparation but also his recovery, as was the case in 2024 when in April he suffered plenty severe injuries in a fall at Itzulia Basque Country - and then three months after was riding at his best-ever level at the Tour.

It is a mindset that works perfectly for a sport that requires a lot, physically and mentally, of its athletes. “That professionalism and that mentality, always looking at the details, are why he wins so many of the races he enters,” Contador argued.