Vingegaard begins bid for Giro-Tour double

He is the clear favourite for the Giro

MILAN:

Jonas Vingegaard will make his Giro d'Italia debut on Friday when he begins his bid to win both the Italian Grand Tour and the Tour De France in the same year, thus emulating his great rival Tadej Pogacar.

Already a two-time Tour winner, Vingegaard is the clear favourite for the Giro, with Pogacar sitting out this year's edition, and the Dane has been in great form this season.

The 29-year-old, who rides for Visma-Lease a Bike, has won two prestigious stage races in Paris-Nice and the Tour of Catalonia this year and his powerful climbing abilities are ideally suited to a typically tough route over three weeks.

Vingegaard is also gunning to become just the eighth man to complete the triple crown of the Giro, Tour and Vuelta a Espana, one of the few feats that Pogacar is yet to accomplish.

Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx, Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali and Chris Froome are the seven riders to have won all three Grand Tours.

When asked by the Gazzetta dello Sport whether winning all three Grand Tours before Pogacar was a source of motivation, mellow Vingegaard simply said "no".

"Completing the treble is a goal for me and that's it, because it would mean making a little bit of history," said Vingegaard in an interview published on Wednesday.

"He'll do it eventually, it's just a matter of time. Tadej might be the best ever, but I've beaten him before and I'm confident I can do it again." Vingegaard is the top name in a strong field which, however, will be missing the entire podium from last year's thrilling edition won by Simon Yates, who retired in January.

Pogacar's UAE teammate Isaac del Toro, who conceded what would have been a first Grand Tour win to Yates in the penultimate stage, is sitting out the Giro this year in order to make his Tour debut.

'Unpredictable' Giro

Richard Carapaz, meanwhile, is still recovering from surgery to remove a perineal cyst and will not take part in a race in which the first three stages will be held in Bulgaria, with the finish in Rome on May 31 after 3,468km of racing.

Joao Alemeida is also out of action with a viral infection, meaning that Adam Yates and Jay Vine will lead UAE's bid in Del Toro and Pogacar's absence.