Tom Bachmann, dpa
Jonas Vingegaard first consulted Frida. "She thought it was great to see me in a pink jersey," reported Denmark's cycling star after the interview. Frida is just five years old, mind you. Vingegaard was therefore probably not surprised by his daughter's colour preference - if you want to follow clichés.
Before his first start at the Giro d'Italia, Vingegaard likes to tell the anecdote about his daughter. Of course it makes you smile, but there is much more to it than that. Possibly even an imminent end to his career.
New energy through new goals
But first things first. First of all, the 29-year-old will start the 109th Giro d'Italia in Nessebar, Bulgaria, on Friday as the big favourite. Three weeks later, Vingegaard wants to cross the finish line in Rome in the shadow of the Colosseum in the pink jersey of the overall winner. In addition to the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España, he would then have won all three major national tours. Not even his great rival Tadej Pogacar has managed that so far.
It was Vingegaard's express wish to ride this Giro. "I just needed a change. I'm really looking forward to it. It gives me a lot of new energy," said the Dane and drew the bow to the actual goal: "I could even be better at the Tour as a result."
He has already won twice in France, but has lost to Pogacar in the past two years. The Slovenian had won the Giro in 2024 before the Tour with an ease that is now expected from Vingegaard due to the lack of major competition.
Riis and the idea of change
For Vingegaard, however, the most important thing was to break out. Out of the usual structures of a season. New races, new goals. And perhaps soon a new life?
There are at least some signs that point to either a change of team or the end of his career. As a professional, Vingegaard knows no other racing team than Visma, for whom he has been riding since 2019 and with whom he still has a contract until 2028.
Rumours have recently been circulating that Visma would like to significantly reduce its commitment and that the team would need a new, strong financial backer. At least 30 million would have to be invested per year to maintain the level. As yet, no investor has been found.
The British team Ineos, which will ride under the name Netcompany from the start of the Giro, has secured it. The IT company comes from Denmark of all places and so it was none other than Bjarne Riis who put the obvious mind games into words. "It would be unambitious of Jonas if he didn't at least think about a change," said the 1996 Tour winner. "The team has the people, the resources and the experience it needs."
Data vs. lifestyle
Visma is a team of data and figures. Everything is subordinated to success, nothing is left to chance. Although this led Vingegaard to two Tour victories, it no longer seems to fit in with his life. "Visma takes it too far with him. I'm afraid he's overexerting himself," said his wife Trine last year.
The 40-year-old is much more than just Vingegaard's wife. She manages his career, sometimes looks after his Instagram account and openly confronts the team. In her opinion, Vingegaard does not get enough support. "You can only look at it with respect, as is done for Tadej Pogacar. When he's on the start line, there's no doubt who the captain is," said Trine Vingegaard.
Dispute over the new kitchen
And then there was the episode with the kitchen. Well before the 2025 tour, the couple decided to renovate the house. Jonas Vingegaard removed the old kitchen, installed the new one and also laid the floor. "The team wasn't very happy about it," reported his wife.
But this is exactly what her husband needs. "He's not recharging his batteries at a three-week altitude training camp. He needs to be at home, where he can really be himself," she said and then let out this telling sentence: "In many ways, the countdown to the end of his career began when we had our first child."
And that brings us back to Frida. If her dad wins the Giro, he will have achieved almost everything in sporting terms - even with a rival like Pogacar in mind. Perhaps a classics success here or a world championship title there. But whether that makes him happy is probably exactly the question that Vingegaard could deal with at some point later this year.
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