Cycling

Jonas Vingegaard also wins in Piancavallo. The Giro is his. The last stage in Rome

by Dario Ceccarelli

30 May 2026

Il danese Jonas Vingegaard Hansen del Team Visma | Lease A Bike (maglia rosa), vincitore della tappa, sul podio durante la ventesima tappa del Giro d’Italia, da Gemona del Friuli a Piancavallo, sabato 30 maggio 2026. (Foto di Simone Spada / LaPresse) LAPRESSE

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

What now? What shall we call him? A Martian, too? By now, climb after climb, the adjectives are running out.

Jonas Vingegaard, in the twentieth and penultimate stage of the Giro, gave another demonstration of his class, inflicting another definitive blow on rivals who could do nothing when the King of the Fisherman took the lead. This time, on the ramps of Piancavallo, where Marco Pantani laid the foundations to win the 1998 Giro, Captain Vingo sprinted from a distance, almost 11 kilometres from the finish. His rivals, the other bigs, look at him resignedly and let him go. Too strong, too light and powerful together. He makes a race of himself, applauded and cheered on by the crowd as if he were a true Friulian in the pink jersey with the inscription: 'Friuli thanks and does not forget' dedicated to the victims of the 1976 earthquake.

A solitary ascent

The last feat everyone was asking for. Only Austrian Felix Gall, second both at the finish and in the general classification, tried to stay in the slipstream. But there was no match. Caught up by the usual small group fighting for the podium, Gall also put his heart at rest by limiting the damage (+1'15") and finishing ahead of the Australian Jai Hindley (also third in the classification) and the Canadian Derek Gee.

The surprise was Portugal's Afonso Eulalio, who, after a small crisis, finished seventh (+2'03"), taking the white jersey, ahead of our stainless Damiano Caruso, 38 years old, a Sicilian who rode for the last time. "I swear this is the last time, I want to close in beauty," says Caruso. In fact, he succeeded: in the classification he is ninth, about ten minutes behind the pink jersey, preceded by Davide Piganzoli, Vingegaard's faithful squire but also the first of the Italians in a race that, apart from a few exceptions, has been dominated by foreigners.

Caruso turns 39 in October. Piganzoli, a Valtellinese from Morbegno, 24 in July. They are like the old man and the child in Guccini's song. A nice viaticum for Davide who, in the near future, might leave the well-established Vingegaard workshop to set up on his own.

A special mention also for Giulio Ciccone. The blue jersey of best climber is his. He deserves it after all the hard work he has done. For one day he also wore the pink jersey. He is an Abruzzese, stubborn, tenacious, never tame, a hard worker. He lacks a touch of lucidity, but if he had it, he would not be Ciccone.

Back to Vingegaard

The pink jersey, in its fifth stage victory (all uphill), has therefore won the Giro. This Sunday, 31 May, with the parade through Rome on the circuit of the Circus Maximus and the Imperial Forum, will be officially certified with the blessing of the Eternal City and the Dome.

An important conquest for the Dane, who can thus enter the exclusive club of the Triple Crown, reserved for the outstanding riders who have won the Giro, Tour and Vuelta at least once in their career. Vingegaard is eighth after Anquetil, Gimondi, Merckx, Hinault, Contador, Nibali and Froome. Small detail: his historical rival, Tadej Pogacar, has not yet entered this prestigious gallery of champions. In fact, he is missing the Spanish Vuelta. Surely he will win it sooner or later, but for the moment the Slovenian Cannibal still has to make an appearance.

A nice message, the one Vingo sends to Taddeo for the upcoming tour. Which more or less goes like this: stay tuned, dear friend. You are very strong, we know that. But I'm not coming to France to be an extra. I'm back as strong as in the good old days. So if you really want to win your fifth Tour, you'll have to work hard for it.

You will see, anything is possible

Certainly in our mountains, the Dane has confirmed himself as one of the strongest climbers of his generation. The impression is that he is still growing. However, he is bubbling with happiness: 'To have the pink jersey in Rome is really special for me. But arriving here alone was beautiful. I tried to enjoy every metre until the end. Enjoying the public and the crowd, also to honour these people affected by the earthquake. The Italian climbs are different from the French ones, but I had some good responses and so I am very happy," the pink jersey concluded

A very special champion, Jonas Vingegaard. Humble and strong at the same time with his 53 career successes, including two Tour de France (2022-2023) and the Vuelta 2025. A simple person who loves rituals such as kissing the photos of his loved ones on his frame. After each stage, he phones his wife, Frida, to whom he also says goodbye to little Frida and Hugo. He was not born rich, nor wealthy. And he is called 'King Fisherman' because in 2016 he worked in a fish market in Denmark.

Dawn shift: 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. And in the afternoon, training. In short, he's someone who comes from the bottom. Who has built his career piece by piece, climb by climb. It is no coincidence that when he is asked what he would have liked to do instead of a cyclist, he replies that he would have liked to be a carpenter.

"But even in the workshop you have to work hard," concludes Vingo. "And anyway, I prefer light and open spaces. Like the horizon in the mountains, when your legs are spinning and you feel like you are going faster than the clouds'.