Jonas Vingegaard says he has found a good rhythm for Giro-Tour double

Danish cyclist Jonas Vingegaard made sporting history this year by completing the Grand Tour sweep, and now he is targeting another milestone at the Tour de France. Vingegaard, who won the Giro d'Italia in May, became the eighth person to win all three Grand Tours and the first to complete this sweep since British rider Chris Froome in 2018. The 29-year-old cyclist is now racing to become the ninth person to win both the Giro and the Tour in the same year. Winning the Vuelta last year after winning the Giro and finishing second in the Tour, and then finishing first in the Giro this year, points to a fourth consecutive Grand Tour. This situation brings to mind the performance displayed by Froome, who won the first three between 2017-18 and finished third in the Tour.

Vingegaard's great rival Tadej Pogacar was the first person to achieve this success after more than half a century two years ago. Peaking for the Giro in May and then getting back into shape for the Tour in July is by no means an easy task, especially when a general classification victory is targeted. Froome, who stated that aiming to win all four by participating in four consecutive Grand Tours is a huge desire, expressed that the transition from the Giro to the Tour is much more difficult than the transition from the Tour to the Vuelta. Froome, who stated that he has been struggling with fatigue in recent weeks, emphasized that Vingegaard faces a difficult task but has the capacity to succeed.

Vingegaard, however, says he managed his efforts in Italy well to use them in the Tour, where he will work to dethrone Pogacar, who has been champion in France four times. The leader of the Visma-Lease a Bike team stated that he did not completely exhaust himself in the Giro and did not remain on his knees at the end of the race, indicating he controlled his power. This strategy explains that it enabled faster recovery after the race, starting training and getting into a good rhythm. He states that if a cyclist is exhausted at the end of the Giro, they will need a recovery period of more than two weeks and it will be difficult to prepare for the Tour.

Although there are many cyclists participating in the Giro and Tour every year, there are very few who target a high degree in both races. Australian cyclist Michael Storer finished 10th in the Giro last year and then 42nd in the Tour, and this year announced that he finished 7th in Italy and would focus on stage wins in France. Storer, stating that managing the one-month period between the two races is absolutely challenging, expressed that while a month may seem long, it is actually not enough and a difficult balance must be struck between resting and recovering and not losing form. Storer thinks that Vingegaard's recovery from his Giro efforts might be easier for him than for himself because he won the race and did not experience as deep a fatigue as the others.

Another name taking on this tough double task is Dutchman Thymen Arensman from the Netcompany Ineos team, who is doing the Giro-Tour double for the second time in a row. The 26-year-old cyclist, who participated in the Giro last year to support his teammate Egan Bernal and finished 12th in the Tour, finished fourth in Italy this year and plans to focus on stage wins in France instead of the general classification. Arensman, stating that racing for the general classification and then participating in the Tour, which is a huge organization, is mentally very tiring, said that the time in between needs to be managed very well and that he is doing so. The statements and interviews made in Barcelona reveal the cyclists' strategies for coping with this challenging schedule and their physical limits.