'A really exciting challenge' - Will Vingegaard return to defend his Giro title?

For Visma, the announcement comes after a historic 2026 edition in which Vingegaard claimed the overall victory, completing his collection of all three Grand Tours. The Dutch team also celebrated six stage victories.

Head of Racing Marc Reef was full of praise for next year's parcours, highlighting the variety of challenges awaiting the riders.

"It is a beautiful route, offering opportunities for all types of riders," Reef said on the team's official website. "To win this Giro d’Italia, you need to have a wide range of qualities. That makes it a really exciting challenge."

His enthusiasm is notable given his somewhat more reserved assessment of the 2027 Tour de France route, which was presented in Paris on 22 October.

While Reef described the Tour parcours as balanced and acknowledged that it offered opportunities for several Visma riders, he also pointed to the relatively limited number of summit finishes.

"Compared to last year, I count fewer summit finishes, and in my opinion, there could have been more," he said at the time.

The Tour features just three summit finishes alongside 71km of individual time trialling. On paper, that combination could make it more difficult for Vingegaard to exploit his climbing strengths against rivals such as Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel, although Visma have also emphasised their confidence in their time trial capabilities.

The Giro, meanwhile, presents a different challenge, with a mountain time trial, several demanding summit finishes and a mountainous final week.

It is especially the final week of the Giro that has caught Reef's attention. Immediately after the second rest day, the peloton will face the toughest stage, featuring no fewer than 5,700m of climbing. The route includes two ascents of the Mortirolo as well as the Passo di Gavia.

The penultimate stage will then take the riders to Monte Zoncolan, setting up a potentially decisive final mountain battle before the race concludes in Rome.

"The queen stage featuring the Mortirolo and the Gavia is, of course, a fantastic stage with a great deal of history," Reef said. "To then head to the Monte Zoncolan in the final weekend as well is really special. It makes for a spectacular conclusion to the Giro."

The Giro begins in Trieste on May 8, with a hilly opening weekend followed by the first uphill finish on stage 5. Two days later, the riders face a mountain time trial of almost 20km, a rare feature in modern Grand Tours.

"The mountain time trial is the stage I am particularly looking forward to," Reef said. "It is a discipline we do not get to see very often, but it always provides plenty of excitement."

The second week features a mountain finish in Tuscany, a demanding stage with 4,900m of climbing and a 37.3km time trial finishing in Milan.

"The great thing about this route is the mix of different types of stages. It adds another dimension to the race," Reef added.

Despite Visma's enthusiasm for the Italian Grand Tour, Vingegaard's programme for 2027 has yet to be confirmed.

The Dane attempted the Giro-Tour double in 2026, winning the Giro before heading to France in pursuit of another yellow jersey. However, his Tour ended prematurely following a crash on stage 15, leaving the team without a complete picture of how his body responded to racing both Grand Tours.

Speaking after the Tour route presentation in October, team boss Richard Plugge admitted that the interrupted campaign had made it difficult to draw firm conclusions about the experiment.

"To do a proper analysis, it's more or less difficult because we missed, let's say, from stage 15 onwards, we missed some data," Plugge explained.

Plugge also stressed that the Tour de France remained a major priority for the team, with discussions still ongoing over the best possible programme for Vingegaard.

The contrasting routes could play a role in that decision. While the Tour's lengthy time trials and limited summit finishes present a different challenge, the Giro's demanding mountain stages appear well suited to the Dane's climbing strengths.

For now, Visma are keeping their options open.

"The Giro d’Italia always has an element of surprise, and this year the organisers have once again put together a great route," Reef said. "We will study the route carefully before putting together the best possible plan."