Contador and Nibali explain what makes Vingegaard so difficult to beat

Nibali and Alberto Contador feature prominently in Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s new documentary about Vingegaard’s Giro victory.

Both former Grand Tour champions, who, like Vingegaard, have won all three of cycling’s major tours, offer a revealing picture of a rider whose success is built not only on climbing ability, but also on discipline, patience and an almost obsessive attention to detail.

For Contador, Vingegaard’s greatest quality is his need to understand and control every aspect of his performance.

“What impresses me most is that he tries to have everything under control,” the Spaniard says 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.”

Contador believes very little in Vingegaard’s racing happens by accident. Every attack, every tactical decision and every detail of his preparation appears to have a clear purpose.

“He knows when he has to act and understands all the small things that need attention every day,” Contador says. “That is something I admire enormously.”

According to the Spaniard, that precision explains why Vingegaard is so difficult to beat. His strength is not limited to a decisive mountain acceleration. It is found in the accumulated effect of hundreds of carefully managed decisions.

“That professionalism and that mentality, always looking at the details, are why he wins so many of the races he enters,” Contador says.

Nibali’s assessment carries an additional layer because his admiration was not unconditional throughout the race.

Halfway through the Giro, the Italian argued that Vingegaard had yet to produce the kind of performance expected from the overwhelming favourite. The Dane had won summit finishes at Blockhaus and Corno alle Scale, but had not succeeded in putting a decisive amount of time into Felix Gall.

“Vingegaard remains the favourite and will most likely win,” Nibali said at the time. “But the Giro is not completely closed. I expect much more from him.”

He wanted one sustained attack that would transform the race rather than a series of smaller gains.

“I would like him to produce a Vingegaard style exploit before the end of the Giro,” he said. “One big, long show.”

Having watched Vingegaard complete the job and secure a place in Grand Tour history, the Italian now describes him as the most resilient rider he encountered during his career.

“He is the most resistant rider I have ever seen,” Nibali says. “He has always spoken very little, but he has always done great things.”

Nibali’s fascination with Vingegaard began long before the Dane became a multiple Grand Tour winner.

The first moment that caught his attention came at the UAE Tour in February 2021. Nibali was riding for Trek Segafredo, alongside the young Danish rider Mattias Skjelmose, when Vingegaard won the mountain stage to Jebel Jais.

Vingegaard attacked on the final climb and immediately stood out to Nibali, not only because of the result, but because of the way he rode.

“The first time I saw Vingegaard, I was really impressed,” Nibali recalls. “He had launched a fantastic attack and was riding incredibly strongly uphill.”

Later that evening, Nibali asked Skjelmose about the relatively unknown Visma rider who had won the stage. He was sufficiently intrigued to write Vingegaard’s name down.

“He had an incredible pedal stroke,” Nibali says. “Everything suggested what he might be capable of achieving.”

Only a few months later, Vingegaard finished second at the Tour de France. He returned the following year to win the race, successfully defended his title in 2023 and later added victories at the Vuelta a España and Giro d’Italia.

His Giro triumph made him only the eighth rider in history to win all three Grand Tours, joining Contador and Nibali, as well as Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Felice Gimondi, Bernard Hinault and Chris Froome.