By Dave Campbell — Jonas Vingegaard’s Giro d’Italia victory placed him in one of cycling’s most exclusive clubs: riders who have won all three Grand Tours. Meanwhile, his Slovenian rival, Tadej Pogačar, has just won the Tour de Suisse and as of July 26 has joined another legendary group: riders with five Tour de France titles.
That makes this the perfect time to test our readers’ knowledge of cycling’s greatest Grand Tour champions. How well do you know the riders who have conquered the sport’s biggest stage races?
Q1. By winning the Giro d’Italia in May, Vingegaard became only the eighth man to win all three Grand Tours. Can you name the other seven?
Q2. Despite winning all three Grand Tours, Vingegaard has never won a one-day classic. Do any of the other seven riders in the “All Three Grand Tour Club” share that distinction?
Q3. Only two women have won all three Grand Tours. Can you name them?
Q4. Tadej Pogačar recently won the Tour de Suisse and now aims for a fifth Tour de France title. Did any of cycling’s five-time Tour de France winners also win the Tour de Suisse before winning in France?
Q5. Women’s Grand Tours have much shorter and more complicated histories than the men’s races. The Giro d’Italia Donne dates to 1988, making it the oldest of the women’s Grand Tours. The women’s Tour de France has a checkered, sporadic history, appearing in different formats and under different names since 1984. La Vuelta Femenina has existed as a stage race only since 2018.
Given those shorter timelines — and, in the Tour’s case, multiple name changes — has any woman won the same Grand Tour five times?
Click to next page for answers.
