The Tour de France. The Vuelta a España. The Giro d’Italia. Jonas Vingegaard has now won them all. Joining a select few to have conquered all three of cycling’s Grand Tours.
In honour of this achievement, we’ve dipped back in time to rank each of the Dane’s four Grand Tour victories on prestige, panache and pure Vibes.
4. 2025 Vuelta a España
The 2025 edition of the Vuelta a España saw Jonas Vingegaard return to Spain after his second place behind teammate Sepp Kuss in 2023. The undeniable favourite, all eyes were on the Dane to win his first Vuelta title against UAE Team Emirates XRG’s João Almeida and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s Jai Hindley.
He enjoyed three stints in red. The first came early when, despite a crash, he managed to beat Giulio Ciccone in a photo finish on Stage 2. He briefly loaned it to David Gaudu before he gained it back after the Stage team time-trial. Another loan to Bahrain Victorious’s Torstein Træen came on Stage 6 before he reclaimed it on Puerto de Belagua at the start of the second week.
Vingegaard controlled most of the race, with Almeida’s biggest scalp coming via bonus seconds on the Alto de l’Angliru. A resounding performance on Stage 20 took his final lead over the Portuguese rider to 1min 16sec, his smallest winning margin in a Grand Tour.
It was a fairly straightforward win for the Dane race-wise, with the biggest threat to his red jersey challenge coming from anti-Israel protestors.
- Highs: Commanding performances from the off; Expectations matched
- Lows: Several stages shortened or neutralised; Little racing drama
- Stage wins: Three (Stages 2, 9 and 20)
- Winning advantage: 1min 16sec
3. 2023 Tour de France
Vingegaard entered the 2023 Tour as defending champion ready for another showdown with Tadej Pogačar. The Slovenian’s build-up had been disrupted after fracturing his wrist at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and racing only his National Championships between then and the Tour’s Grand Départ in the Basque Country.
The Pyrenees came quickly on Stage 5 and Vingegaard jumped at the opportunity, while Pogačar uncharacteristically faltered early, crossing the line over a minute down. The tables turned the next day though, with an explosive Pogačar attack slashing the deficit to 25 seconds, but Vingegaard took the yellow jersey with Jai Hindley struggling behind.
The second week was a closer fought affair that saw Pogačar take back a handful of seconds on Puy de Dôme and Grand Colombier to bring the deficit to just ten seconds going into the final rest day. The Tour hung in the balance.
The final week began with a tricky time-trial that ended with an ascent of the Côte de Domancy to Combloux. Many expected the gap to close further, or even tilt in Pogačar’s favour. Instead, Vingegaard blew his rival out of the water with the TT of his life, carving out another 1min 38sec, and Pogačar well and truly cracked in the Alps the following day with the famous ‘I’m gone, I’m dead’ radio message. By the end of the stage Vingegaard’s advantage was over seven minutes. The Tour was his. Undeniably.
- Highs: A repeated defeat of Pogačar; Greatest winning margin to date; Historic time-trial performance
- Lows: Only one stage win; Pogačar’s preparation hampered by injury, so potentially not at his best
- Stage wins: One (Stage 16)
- Winning advantage: 7min 29sec
2. 2026 Giro d’Italia
Vingegaard’s most recent escapade in Italy earned him entry into one of cycling’s most prestigious clubs having won all three Grand Tours, with his Trofeo Senza Fine trophy joining two from the Tour and one from the Vuelta on his mantelpiece.
He’d been the big favourite to win his first maglia rosa at his debut Giro since his schedule was announced, but anything can happen in a Grand Tour – especially the Giro.
He looked comfortable from the start, however, happily letting Bahrain Victorious’s Afonso Eulálio hold the pink jersey for most of the race and only ceding time to two GC contenders in the longest time-trial in a decade while illness swept through the peloton.
His decisive blows came at Pila and Carì, with his most emphatic victory on Piancavallo on Stage 20 serving as more of a crowning moment as he stretched his lead to 5min 22sec over Felix Gall.
He burst into life in the mountains and had little competition, winning five stages as he romped to victory while also making room for Sepp Kuss to complete his own Grand Tour stage win trilogy and for Davide Piganzoli to ride to eighth overall as the squad topped the team classification.
While this victory was more straightforward than his historic battles with Pogačar, it was a display of dominance Vingegaard hadn’t previously shown in a Grand Tour and it was the one that cemented his place in history, joining only seven other men with all three Grand Tours – an achievement even Pogačar doesn’t yet have.
- Highs: Completed the Grand Tour overall and stage wins sets; Most stage wins in a Grand Tour
- Lows: No great battles, Lost time in TT
- Stage wins: Five (Stages 7, 9, 14, 16, 20)
- Winning advantage: 5min 22sec
1. 2022 Tour de France
It was a homecoming Grand Départ for Vingegaard as the 2022 Tour kicked off in Denmark. On co-leadership duties alongside Primož Roglič, this was the Grand Tour that saw him claim his first three-week victory as Jumbo-Visma saw many highs and lows throughout the race.
The first obstacle arrived on Stage 5 with the cobblestone stage from Lille, which saw two-time defending champion Pogačar gain time early. It would end up being a cataclysmic day for Jumbo as Van Aert hit the ground early in the maillot jaune and almost found himself crashing into the back of Team DSM’s car, then came the moment. Chaos on the cobbles. Vingegaard asks Nathan van Hooydonck for his bike. It’s far too big. Another bike change – this time it’s Steven Kruijswijk’s. The team car pulls up. He ditches this bike and heads for his own. Jumbo riders are everywhere and Kruijswijk is running across the road milliseconds before a steaming peloton rips through to get his original bike back from Vingegaard.
It didn’t stop there either. A motorbike later clipped a haybale that Roglič careered into, dislocating his shoulder before promptly popping it back in while his team rode past to pace Vingegaard back up the field. All in all, the Dane only lost 21 seconds to Pogačar. It could have been far worse without the help of his teammates.
The first mano-a-mano battle came on the Planche des Belles Filles, and although Pogačar claimed the stage win, Vingegaard finished alongside him. He was biding his time.
Stage 11 was a big day in the Alps, with the Col du Galibier followed by the Col du Granon. Jumbo-Visma set the pace over the Col du Télégraphe in a determined display and set up a mouthwatering showdown on the Galibier with Vingegaard and Roglič taking the fight to Pogačar. One threw the first punch, the other countered, again, and again. The bees swarmed around Vingegaard ahead of the Granon. He attacked with 5km to go and Pogačar couldn’t answer, losing almost three minutes as Vingegaard took the race lead and his first Tour stage win.
Both teams began to deplete from there. Roglič and Kruijswijk abandoned on Stage 15 while Pogačar lost four teammates before the start of Stage 17. Pogačar beating Vingegaard in a steep sprint on Peyragudes would end up as more of a moral win instead of one that had any sort of impact in the GC.
on the next day to Hautacam, Vingegaard delivered the killer blow and sent Pogačar almost three and a half minutes back overall.
On Stage 18 to Hautacam Pogačar was on the back foot and tried and tried again, unable to shake the maillot jaune from Vingegaard’s shoulders. On the day’s penultimate climb, the Col de Spandelles, tensions were high. Vingegaard wobbled, Pogačar went down and Vingegaard waited. The pair shook hands. But on the slopes of the Hautacam the killer blow was dealt as Kuss shepherded Vingegaard up to Van Aert, who’d been in the day’s breakaway, and the pair distanced Pogačar in one of the most iconic performances in modern Tour history. Vingegaard claimed another stage. Cobbles aside, he was calm and composed and Jumbo-Visma’s teamwork really shone.
For me, this Tour is his greatest Grand Tour achievement for his jump from mere competitor to Pogačar to a genuine rival for years to come.
It is not his biggest winning margin and he didn’t have the most stage victories, but it is against the greatest possible competition, with no potential injury asterisks. And more than that, it was Jumbo-Visma at the peak of their powers and Jonas Vingegaard coming of age to set himself on the path to cycling greatness.
- Highs: First Grand Tour title and Tour stage win; Respect between rivals; Overcoming Pogačar’s early advantage; Excellent teamwork on Galibier, Granon and Hautacam
- Lows: Multiple crashes for the team; Chaos on the cobblestones
- Stage wins: Two (Stage 11, 18)
- Winning advantage: 2min 43sec