Jonas Vingegaard enters elite company after claiming Giro's pink jersey
Jonas Vingegaard has added another major milestone to his Grand Tour career by claiming victory in Pila and taking the pink jersey at the Giro d’Italia. With that result, the Danish rider has now worn the leader’s jersey in all three of cycling’s biggest races: the Tour de France, the Vuelta a España and the Giro.
It is a distinction reserved for only a small group of riders. Vingegaard becomes the 26th cyclist in history to lead each of the three Grand Tours at least once, placing his name alongside some of the sport’s most celebrated figures.
The achievement comes only a week after Vingegaard completed another Grand Tour set. Having already won stages at the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España, his victory in the Giro meant he joined the group of riders to have taken stage wins in all three Grand Tours, a milestone he now shares with 114 others.
Vingegaard has spent 27 days in the yellow jersey at the Tour de France and 15 days as race leader at the Vuelta. His first spell in pink now completes the trio.
Another historic milestone within reach
The next question is whether Vingegaard can turn pink into overall victory. He is now firmly in pole position to carry the maglia rosa all the way to Rome. Should he succeed, he would become only the eighth rider in history to win all three Grand Tours.
So far, that achievement has been reserved for Jacques Anquetil (France), Alberto Contador (Spain), Chris Froome (Great Britain), Felice Gimondi (Italy), Bernard Hinault (France), Eddy Merckx (Belgium) and Vincenzo Nibali (Italy).
Alongside Vingegaard, Tadej Pogačar is also on the verge of joining this exclusive club. The Slovenian has already won the Tour de France four times and claimed the Giro d’Italia in 2024, meaning only the Vuelta a España is still missing from his Grand Tour collection.
That could potentially change this year, with a possible appearance in Spain still lingering in the background. The idea carries extra intrigue given that the race is set to start in Monaco, where Pogačar lives. A final decision, however, will only be made after the Tour, according to his team.
“The first thing is the Tour de France,” UAE Team Emirates sports manager Joxean Fernández Matxin said recently. “In the past, we have already seen that finishing such a demanding season can leave a lot of accumulated fatigue. The priority is to arrive at the Tour in good shape and then decide the rest of the calendar depending on how everything evolves.”
Riders to have worn the leader’s jersey in all three Grand Tours
| Rank | Rider | Total | Giro | Tour | Vuelta | Date of completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
26 | Jonas Vingegaard | 43 | 1 | 27 | 15 | 2026-05-23 |
25 | Richard Carapaz | 20 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 2024-07-01 |
24 | Primož Roglič | 62 | 9 | 11 | 42 | 2020-09-06 |
23 | Chris Froome | 83 | 3 | 59 | 21 | 2018-05-25 |
22 | Rohan Dennis | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2018-05-05 |
21 | Fabio Aru | 10 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 2017-07-13 |
20 | Mark Cavendish | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2016-07-02 |
19 | Vincenzo Nibali | 57 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 2014-07-06 |
18 | Bradley Wiggins | 19 | 1 | 14 | 4 | 2012-07-07 |
17 | David Millar | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2011-05-09 |
16 | Cadel Evans | 15 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 2009-09-06 |
15 | Alberto Contador | 82 | 37 | 17 | 28 | 2008-09-13 |
14 | Bradley McGee | 9 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2005-08-28 |
13 | Laurent Jalabert | 37 | 8 | 4 | 25 | 1999-05-19 |
12 | Alex Zülle | 66 | 12 | 4 | 50 | 1998-05-16 |
11 | Miguel Induráin | 93 | 29 | 60 | 4 | 1992-05-26 |
10 | Thierry Marie | 10 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 1992-05-24 |
9 | Francesco Moser | 71 | 57 | 7 | 7 | 1984-04-17 |
8 | Bernard Hinault | 130 | 34 | 79 | 17 | 1980-05-20 |
7 | Freddy Maertens | 38 | 6 | 10 | 22 | 1977-05-20 |
6 | Eddy Merckx | 207 | 84 | 111 | 12 | 1973-04-26 |
5 | Felice Gimondi | 51 | 26 | 20 | 5 | 1968-05-08 |
4 | Rik Van Looy | 16 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 1965-06-22 |
3 | Jacques Anquetil | 113 | 44 | 52 | 17 | 1963-05-01 |
2 | Raphaël Géminiani | 10 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1958-07-08 |
1 | Rik Van Steenbergen | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1956-04-26 |
Data: ProCyclingStats
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