Jonas Vingegaard shed tears of satisfaction, of achievement and for the happiness of seeing his family after winning the Giro d’Italia in Rome on Sunday evening.
The Dane celebrated with his young children on the final podium and plans to spend a few days in the Italian capital to relax with his family before turning his thoughts to preparing for the Tour de France.
“It’s very special. It’s even more special than I could even have dreamt of,” Vingegaard said of his Giro victory.
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“I had some tears for more than one reason. My family was there and they’re always there for me. I don’t know what I should do without them, to be honest. They mean absolutely everything to me. They always support me 100% in everything I do.
“It was also a little bit emotional to finish it off and win all three Grand Tours. It’s not the case, but if I stopped tomorrow, I’d feel that my career would be complete. I have a lot of goals but I also want to enjoy this.”
The King of Denmark called Vingegaard during the podium ceremony but he has put aside plans for any homecoming and celebrations in Denmark. The Tour de France is only five weeks away, and Vingegaard understandably wants to switch off and recover, at least for a week, before returning to training.
“We decided that we won’t do any celebrations now because I still have to focus on the Tour de France,” he said.
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“Next week, I’ll focus on my recovery, and then I’ll already be thinking about the Tour. But obviously, you need to just relax mentally a bit.
“I’ll stay in Rome for a few days, be with my family, and have some nice food – I’m sure I can get that in Italy. Then already the work towards the Tour starts.”
Italy has learned to admire Vingegaard during the Giro d’Italia, and he has learned to appreciate Italy more after seeing so many different parts of the country. His Roman holiday may not be as quiet and secluded as he hopes.
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“I really love Italy,” Vingegaard said.
“They’re really welcoming and they’re really happy to have you as a guest. That’s something I also appreciate when I go on holiday.
“Now I’ve seen all the different areas of this beautiful country. There are a lot of places that I now want to go to. Maybe I should tick them off all the places that we’ve been to one by one. I’m definitely going to come back for a vacation.”
Vingegaard was emotional because he also realised that he had made cycling history and joined the elite group of riders to have won all three Grand Tours.
His name now sits up there with Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali and Chris Froome in the exclusive club of Grand Tour treble or trilogy winners.
“It’s still hard for me to realise what just happened, and that I’ve won all three Grand Tours,” Vingegaard said, a little lost for words.
“Seeing the other seven names on that list is… They’re some of the biggest guys in cycling. I just don’t really think of myself in that way.”
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