Jonas Vingegaard targets Grand Tour slam as Giro d’Italia begins in Bulgaria

Given the list of absentees from the Giro’s start list, Vingegaard’s Visma Lease-a-Bike team might ask if not now, then when, but making any assumptions of the Giro underestimates the capricious nature and volatility of a race renowned for freak accidents and extreme weather.

This is the first Giro Grande Partenza to take place in Bulgaria, and the 15th foreign start in 109 editions of the corsa rosa, but the grand plan has been blighted by political unrest in the host nation and disputes over travelling costs with the leading teams.

After three days of racing in Bulgaria, the convoy will head to the foot of Italy and then turn north, through Calabria and Campania, before the first major mountain finish at Blockhaus, on stage seven.

The 2026 Giro takes in almost 49,000 metres of climbing and five summit finishes, which, given Vingegaard’s capabilities, looks ideally suited to his hopes of success. There is one individual time trial, midway through the race, but it is flat and, despite being more than 40km long, should not trouble him.

If the Dane will be relying on his recent good form, Grand Tour experience and climbing skills, then Jim Ratcliffe’s recently rebooted Ineos team, which has relinquished sole naming rights to the Danish tech experts Netcompany in return for a €20m (£17.2m) a year boost, will be hoping to exploit AI in their pursuit of a first Grand Tour win since 2021.

Jonas Vingegaard takes a selfie with fans in Burgas, Bulgaria. Photograph: Gian Mattia D’Alberto/AP

For the new-look Netcompany Ineos, the Giro offers an opportunity to test two recent innovations – the integration of AI into their racing strategy and Geraint Thomas’s appointment as director of racing.

But Thomas, speaking at the Netcompany Ineos launch last week, believes there’s more to racing than software. “I think there’s still a need for the art,” he said. “Getting that clarity on all the data and stuff is one thing, but bike racing isn’t just about numbers. It’s about how you ride, the craft, and consistency.”

Wealthier than they were a month ago, the Welshman and his team are also now in a position to pursue Seixas, who, while only a teenager, has become the most coveted talent in the sport.

While the speculation over Seixas’s future continues, Netcompany Ineos will rely on the consistency of Egan Bernal, winner of the 2021 Giro and also the Tour de France, at just 22, in 2019. Like Vingegaard, the Colombian’s best career results came before a high-speed crash that left him in intensive care.

Bernal has not finished on the podium of a Grand Tour since making his comeback, and while he is a dependable performer in the high mountains, he is unlikely to challenge for the maglia rosa. This year’s Giro is Vingegaard’s race to lose.