It has long been a topic whether Jonas Vingegaard will compromise his Tour de France by taking part in this year's Giro d'Italia.
Vingegaard himself is optimistic, but the former winner of both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France, Alberto Contador, thinks Vingegaard is making a mistake.
"We are in an era where training camps mean everything. Everything is measured and analyzed to an extremely detailed degree. It is not possible in the same way in the Giro, where it is somewhat difficult to plan and organize the load."
"So I don't think it's better for him (riding the Giro as a prelude to the Tour, ed.). There is always a risk that he might not be able to recover in time to be in optimal shape for the Tour de France", Contador tells TNT.
During this year's Paris-Nice, Visma sports director Marc Reef stated to TV 2 Sport that the team is very optimistic that Vingegaard can deliver both an optimal Giro and Tour de France.
"He is ready to do it. It was also his wish to do it this way, and I also think it will work. He has already said several times that in the second Grand Tour he is often better, or feels better and improves his numbers, so that is what we are trying with the Tour after the Giro", said Reef.
Alberto Contador is officially credited with two Tour victories and two Giro victories.
Several times he tried to combine the two races in the same season, but in none of those years did he find his best form at the Tour de France.
Only eight riders throughout history have won the two races in the same season, and only Tadej Pogacar has done so in the current millennium.
"Pogacar indeed did it in 2024, and it did not seem to be a problem for him. But we'll see how the situation turns out with Vingegaard. But I honestly don't think it's the best preparation for entering the Tour de France", Contador states.
The Giro d'Italia starts today with Vingegaard as the big favorite to claim the final win.