Seven mountain finishes and a total 49,150 metres of altitude gain may not seem like much compared to the 2025 Giro d’Italia, when riders had to wrestle with 52,325m and a triple killer of mountain stages in the last week. However, organisers say they wanted the upcoming edition to offer something else – a great GC battle, and perhaps even a way to secure a Giro-Tour double title.
Unveiled in a news conference in Rome last week, the 2026 Giro d’Italia route offered a glimpse of what could lie ahead in the battle for the maglia rosa, including a 40-kilometre time trial stage, a Grande Partenza in Bulgaria, and a Swiss stage.
Outgoing Giro d’Italia director Mauro Vegni called the route modern, demanding and balanced, aimed at attracting big-name contenders, and a chance to both ride the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France in a single season.
Giro’s ‘balanced GC battle’
The Giro will begin on May 8 in Bulgaria, which will be the 16th foreign start in its history and the second straight one after the Grande Partenza was held in Albania in the 2025 edition.
The first three stages will take cyclists around Bulgaria before going back to Italy for stage 4 in Catanzaro.
There will also be a Swiss stage from Bellinzona to a summit finish in Carì.
Besides gruelling climbs, the Giro is expected to provide plenty of opportunities for sprinters to snatch stage wins before the tour’s conclusion on May 31 in Rome.
“This year’s Giro has a lot of stages that are like a Classics, so we hope to attract riders who will go for stage wins, while also creating a fascinating GC (General Classification) battle,” said RCS Sport chief executive officer Paolo Bellino.
Bellino is set to take over the public and media direction from Vegni.
In an interview reported by Cycling News, Bellino said he agreed with having a “balanced GC battle” and admitted that organisers have come up with strategies to attract big contenders for the Giro.
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Organisers target big names like Vingegaard, Evenepoel
Two-time Tour de France champion and 2025 Vuelta a España winner Jonas Vingegaard has previously touted his interest in competing in the Giro, including time triallist genius Remco Evenepoel, who recently bagged both World and European ITT titles.
“It’s a demanding and balanced race,” Vegni said, according to a report from Domestique and Tuttobiciweb.
“Of course, we hope that the teams and various champions will evaluate it positively.
“If I were Jonas Vingegaard, I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to come and race it, because if he won it, he would complete his collection of Grand Tours ahead of [Tadej] Pogačar, given that he has already won the Tour and the Vuelta.”
Simon Yates eyeing title defence?
Simon Yates, of Visma-Lease a bike, crushed rivals to secure the 2025 Giro title without having to take a single stage – a feat achieved by Alberto Contador a decade before.
He won three minutes and 56 seconds ahead of close contender Isaac del Toro of UAE Team Emirates XRG.
EF Education – EasyPost’s Richard Carapaz, who also won the Giro back in 2019, completed the podium.
Attending the presentation in Rome, Yates recalled to reporters the emotions he felt winning the Giro, and how he wanted to experience it again.
“When I saw the Colle delle Finestre on the route, my first reaction was: ‘Oh, not again.’ But I was able to fight back and come up with something special.”
Despite dubbing the upcoming edition as “very demanding”, Yates was quite confident about his edge, saying some of the stages suited him.
“Blockhaus is a very tough climb, I rode it in 2022, and it can really change the race. The Aosta stage will probably be the key one: it’s extremely hard, but it suits my characteristics quite well.”
Head of racing at Visma Grischa Niermann said in a press release the Giro had “nice parcours,” citing the flat 40-km time trial, several tough uphill finishes, and even harder stages in the Dolomites and Alps.
But Niermann did not reveal anything substantial for their possible line-up.
Instead, he said the team will decide on what to do, including which rider will try their grit, skill, and luck to secure the coveted maglia rosa next year.
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