‘We are convinced that racing the Giro d’Italia will benefit his level in the Tour de France’ – Jonas Vingegaard takes on the double as Visma-Lease a Bike announce plans for 2026

Jonas Vingegaard will make his debut at the Giro d’Italia in 2026, attempting the double alongside the Tour de France, Visma-Lease a Bike confirmed on Tuesday at their team presentation.

Having lost the past two Tours convincingly to Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Vingegaard is taking a new approach in the coming season, with the team confident that chasing victory in the former can also benefit his chances in the latter Grand Tour.

“Apart from the fact that he has always wanted to do the Giro, we are convinced that racing the Giro will benefit his level in the Tour,” said Visma’s Head of Racing, Grischa Niermann. “Of course, we are aiming to win the Giro, but the Tour remains our main objective.”

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In preparation for the Grand Tour double, Vingegaard will start his season at the UAE Tour on February 16, with the Volta a Catalunya starting on March 23 as his only other race before the Giro.

Vingegaard has already won two Tours and claimed the most recent Vuelta a España, so victory in May at the Giro would make him only the eighth man in history to win all three Grand Tours. The Tour may remain the key objective, but he’s hungry for the pink jersey.

“I have been thinking about riding the Giro for a while now. It’s one of the biggest races on the calendar, and it’s also one I have never done before. I really want to experience it, and now feels like the perfect moment,” said Vingegaard.

“Winning the Vuelta last fall only gives me more motivation to go all-in for victory in Italy as well. I would love to add the pink jersey to my collection.”

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Chasing victory in both the Giro and the Tour are vital to Visma’s ambitions for 2026, but at the Vuelta, their focus will switch to stage victories with Matthew Brennan set to make his GT debut and lead in tandem with Wout van Aert.

“Riding three weeks of stages will be tough, and I don’t yet know how my body will respond, but with good preparation and a strong team, I hope to achieve a lot,” said young Brit Brennan, who starts his season at the Tour Down Under on January 20.

For Van Aert, who will also race the Tour again, it will be a first return to the Vuelta since he crashed heavily out of the race at the end of 2024 and injured his knee.

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“I still have unfinished business in the Vuelta,” Van Aert added. “It was a painful exit in 2024, but I’ll return with a lot of motivation. As a team, we can certainly achieve something special there.”

The Classics

Before the excitement of Grand Tour season, however, Visma will of course be taking aim at several one-day Classics, with a broader approach than previous years. Where the cobbled races have previously taken precedence, they are looking specifically at the hilly Classics with a leadership trio of Matteo Jorgenson, Ben Tulett and Louis Barré.

They aren’t removing their old focus, though, and are confident that despite his recent ankle fracture, Van Aert will still be the leading man on the cobbles from Omloop Het Nieuwsblad right the way through to Paris-Roubaix.

The Belgian will also be making a long-awaited return to the two prestigious Italian one-day races which he won in his early career – Milan-San Remo and Strade Bianche. For the former and at the Tour of Flanders, Brennan will be with him on the start line.

“In the spring… I want to show myself everywhere and seize every opportunity that comes my way,” said Van Aert.

“Unlike recent seasons, I’ll be back on the start line of the Italian classics Strade Bianche and Milan–San Remo. After my victory in Siena during last year’s Giro d’Italia, I realised that Strade Bianche, despite the changes to the course, still suits my qualities very well. I consider Strade Bianche and Milan–San Remo to be among the most beautiful races of the season, so I definitely don’t want to miss them in 2026.”

Van Aert has focused more on the Belgian Classics in recent seasons (Image credit: Getty Images)

“Wout has never hidden the fact that he dreams of winning Paris-Roubaix or the Tour of Flanders. It would be wonderful for him, and for us, if he can fulfil that dream,” added Niermann.

“With our goal of winning a cycling monument in mind, it makes sense to have him at the start of Milan-San Remo. With him, a former winner, there, we have an extra card to play for victory there.”

Aside from their main leaders, Visma are looking to be winning all-year round and once again trying to knock UAE of the top spot of the UCI’s rankings, which they have dominated the past two years. With nine new signings for the men’s team and a squad filled with young talent, building for the future is almost as important as the present for team CEO Richard Plugge.

“Cycling is a sport that is constantly evolving. This winter, we have once again initiated several innovations to ensure that we continue to get the maximum out of every domain within our organisation,” said Plugge.

“I am proud that, once again, we can express such ambitions on the eve of a new season: winning Grand Tours and Monuments with both the men’s and women’s teams. On the men’s side, we have deliberately implemented changes to the squad, with a significant number of new riders joining the team. All of this symbolises the next step we want to take as a team over the coming five years.”