Vingegaard sitting pretty in pink but vying more Giro stage wins

May 25 : Jonas Vingegaard already has a hat-trick of stage wins on his Giro d'Italia debut, and despite holding a healthy lead at the top of the overall standings and looking to save energy for the Tour de France, the Dane is aiming for at least one more stage victory.

Vingegaard came into the Giro bidding to become just the eighth rider to win all three Grand Tours. The 29-year-old has lived up to the favourite's tag, and has an almost two-and-a-half minutes gap to his nearest rival heading into the final week.

His most recent success on Saturday's stage 14 saw the Visma-Lease a Bike rider seize the pink jersey from Afonso Eulalio (Bahrain Victorious), the surprise early leader.

Vingegaard's three wins all came at summit finishes, and there are three mountain stages still to come.

"There are a lot of chances in the third week. We will choose our days," Vingegaard told reporters on Monday's rest day.

"I'm not going to tell which days it will be, but it will not be completely defensively always, that's for sure. I want to honour this race.

"Now I have the pink jersey, and I also want to try to win a stage in the pink jersey. For me, that would be a special feeling. For sure, we will go for at least one more stage."

Vingegaard took his time before taking control of the Giro. Portugal's Eulalio was never seen as a real contender, and the Grand Tour debutant was allowed his moment to shine before the Dane moved into top gear.

The Tour de France, which Vingegaard has won twice, begins on July 4 and that will prove a much tougher ask with Tadej Pogacar defending his title.

That race has become a two-way battle between the pair, with Vingegaard and Pogacar claiming the top two spots in each of the last five editions, and the Dane was