Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike) has rejected rumours that he has already committed to ride the 2026 Giro d’Italia, insisting there is no pre-agreement in place with RCS despite growing speculation around his quest for the Grand Tour triple.
Speaking to Danish media, the two-time Tour de France winner responded bluntly to claims from an “Italian legend” that his Giro participation was already “secured”, saying in an interview with Danish streaming platform Viaplay: “Det er ikke sandt” – it is not true. The denial directly rebuts comments reported from Giro circles, which suggested the 2025 Vuelta a España champion had effectively signed up for a Corsa Rosa debut in 2026.
The rumour mill accelerated after an interview earlier in November in which Vingegaard stated he would rather win all three Grand Tours than “just” another Tour, noting that after his Tour (2022, 2023) and Vuelta (2025) victories only the Giro remains. That ambition, coupled with Tadej Pogačar’s (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) Giro–Tour double in 2024, has fuelled the idea that Visma might green-light a Giro–Tour campaign.
For now, both rider and team are holding the line that 2026 planning is unresolved. Vingegaard has repeatedly stressed that any Giro start “does not only depend on me, it also depends on what the team wants,” while Visma sports director Grischa Niermann has said publicly that the Tour de France “remains the big objective” and that no call will be made before the Giro route presentation.
On the same day the denial was reported, teammate Victor Campenaerts (Visma | Lease a Bike) was awarded the Kristallen Zweetdruppel as Belgium’s domestique of the year, recognition for his selfless work during Vingegaard’s 2025 Tour and Vuelta campaigns. In a video message shown at the ceremony and reported by HLN, Vingegaard told Campenaerts: “You are one of the best teammates I have ever had.”
Campenaerts’ transformation into a full-time helper has been one of Visma’s recurring themes in 2025, reinforcing the image of a tightly structured support unit around Vingegaard just as questions grow over whether that machine will be pointed at one or two Grand Tours in 2026.
Vingegaard’s firm rebuttal does not close the door on a Giro debut, but it does park the notion that any deal is already done. Attention now shifts to the 2026 Giro route reveal and Visma’s December training-camp selections, where the first real clues to the Dane’s Grand Tour calendar are likely to emerge.
Cover image by Zac Williams/SWpix.com
