Vingegaard's team revealed in hunt for Grand Tour treble

After winning the 2025 Vuelta a España, the Dane now has a unique opportunity to join the illustrious group of riders who have won all three Grand Tours. With a Giro victory, he would add his name to a list featuring Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Felice Gimondi, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali, Chris Froome and Jacques Anquetil.

Vingegaard will be joined on the start line in Bulgaria by Sepp Kuss, Victor Campenaerts, Wilco Kelderman, Timo Kielich, Bart Lemmen, Davide Piganzoli and Tim Rex.

With this team, the Dane will likely have the strongest squad in the race. Kuss can be seen as Vingegaard’s talisman, having been present for each of his Grand Tour victories. Campenaerts, meanwhile, has quickly developed into Vingegaard’s key lieutenant since joining from Lotto last year, impressing with several strong climbing performances.

In December, the Belgian told the Domestique Hotseat that he and Vingegaard were set to be inseparable in 2026 due to his work in 2025. 

“We were at the dining table yesterday, and he [Vingegaard] emphasised really with a big underline how happy he is about my work,” Campenaerts said on the podcast. “He said, ‘I don’t know my program for next year, but I know what your program will be because you’re going to spend a lot of time with me.’”

Piganzoli can also be expected to play an important role in the high mountains. His two Giro appearances have produced 13th and 14th overall, the latter coming in last year’s race, while he also finished third at the 2023 Tour de l’Avenir behind Giulio Pellizzari and Isaac Del Toro. Those results underline his climbing ability.

Kelderman and Lemmen should also be reliable options once the road goes uphill, although both can play a role on the flat as well. The same applies to Kielich and Rex, giving Visma | Lease a Bike a well-balanced squad around Vingegaard.

Visma | Lease a Bike arrive at the Giro with Vingegaard as the clear favourite, a status the team are not trying to play down. 

Sports director Marc Reef told Domestique that the squad is fully aware of the responsibility that comes with bringing the race favourite to Italy. “Even with all the riders that were initially on the roster, we would have been the main favourite, and that’s still the same now, and we don’t walk away from it,” Reef said. “We are 100% prepared for this race, we need to be ready to do everything.”

For Vingegaard, the Giro is not only a chance to complete the Grand Tour set, but also the first part of a much bigger challenge. The Dane is set to target the Giro-Tour double, with Visma believing that a three-week race in May could help him reach an even higher level by July. 

Reef pointed to last year’s Tour-Vuelta combination as part of the thinking, saying the team saw Vingegaard improve during his second Grand Tour of the season.

The Giro will still be new territory for Vingegaard, and Visma know the race can be unpredictable. Reef referenced the team’s recent Giro wins with Primož Roglič and Simon Yates as proof that the race is rarely straightforward. “The Giro is never over until it’s over,” he said. “We have to be ready to race all the way to Rome.”