May 7 (Reuters) - Jonas Vingegaard is targeting a victory on his Giro d'Italia debut that would see him join an exclusive club of cyclists to have won all three Grand Tours.
Vingegaard, who won the Tour de France in 2022 and 2023 and the Vuelta a Espana in 2025, is among the favourites at this month's Giro d'Italia.
"Taking on this challenge, which is new to me, is exactly what I needed. I can't wait to get started; my goal is to win the Giro d'Italia in Rome," the Visma-Lease a Bike rider told Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview published on Wednesday.
"For several years, my competitive schedule has been very similar. I felt the need for a change.
"The Giro is a major goal, and I’m convinced that these few weeks will help me reach peak form for the Tour as well. But right now, my focus is solely on the Giro."
Victory in Italy would see Vingegaard become the eighth rider to win all three Grand Tours after Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali and Chris Froome.
Four-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar needs a win at the Vuelta a Espana to complete the trio of Grand Tour wins but Vingegaard said he was not focused on achieving the feat before the Slovenian rider.
"Achieving this hat-trick is a goal for me, and that’s it. It means making history," the Dane added.
"He’llget there too; it’s just a matter of time. Tadej is perhaps the best ever. But I’ve already beaten him and I’m confident I can do it again."
The Giro d'Italia runs from May 8-31.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
