The Giro d'Italia 2026 starts on May 8 in Bulgaria, covering 3,459km with 49,150m of climbing. Defending champion Simon Yates will not participate due to retirement, leaving Jonas Vingegaard as a top contender.
Key points
Giro d'Italia 2026 starts on May 8 in Bulgaria
Total distance is 3,459 kilometers
Total climbing elevation is 49,150 meters
Simon Yates will not defend his title due to retirement
Jonas Vingegaard is a top contender for the title
Giro d'Italia 2026Simon YatesJonas Vingegaard
Simon Yates poses with the Giro d'Italia trophy wearing the winners' pink jersey (AFP/Getty)
Simon Yates poses with the Giro d'Italia trophy wearing the winners' pink jersey (AFP/Getty)
The first Grand Tour of 2026, the Giro dâItalia gets underway on Friday 8 May with its Grande Partenza taking place in Bulgaria for the first time.
The 109th edition of the Giro will be fought out over 3,459km of road and 49,150m of climbing en route to the now-traditional processional final stage in Rome, where a successor to last yearâs winner Simon Yates will be crowned.
Yatesâ surprise retirement on the eve of the 2026 season means he will not defend his title, but there are two former winners and two further podium finishers on the provisional start list, with Jonas Vingegaard of Visma-Lease a Bike the hot favourite to seal the one Grand Tour winnerâs jersey he has yet to claim, after two maillots jaunes and one maillot rojo.
Pure climbers will be pleased to see just one individual time trial on the menu, while thereâs something for everyone on a varied route: seven summit finishes, eight flat stages for the sprinters, and seven so-called âmedium mountainâ days earmarked for breakaway artists.
As in most Giros the GC battle will really ignite in the final week, starting with a detour through Switzerland on stage 15 before the queen stage on stage 19, featuring six classified climbs in the Dolomites including the raceâs Cima Coppi - the highest point. One more mountainous day on stage 20 will sort out the standings before a jaunt all the way from Italyâs northeast to Rome for the final dayâs sprint.
Q&A
What is the start date and location for the Giro d'Italia 2026?
The Giro d'Italia 2026 begins on May 8 in Bulgaria.
How long is the Giro d'Italia 2026 route?
The route of the Giro d'Italia 2026 spans 3,459 kilometers.
Who are the favorites for the Giro d'Italia 2026?
Jonas Vingegaard is considered the hot favorite to win the Giro d'Italia 2026.
Why is Simon Yates not competing in the Giro d'Italia 2026?
Simon Yates is not competing in the Giro d'Italia 2026 due to his retirement from cycling.
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A fast, flat opening stage along the Bulgarian coast, including two laps of a 22km circuit which contain the extent of the dayâs very minimal climbing. The riders pass the finish line once before the two laps, giving lead-out trains time to get organised, and then itâs into the city centre for a very slight uphill sprint. Itâll be a fast man wearing pink at the end of day one.
A long second stage in Bulgaria offers the first minor test for the big names, with three classified climbs to surmount, the last just 8km from the finish and likely to be earmarked as the place to either monitor or go on late attacks. While some of the general classification contenders may opt to steal a march and gain some bonus seconds, this early in the race itâs equally likely to be a breakaway artist taking victory as the GC favourites keep their powder dry.
Stage 3 (Sunday 10 May): Plovdiv - Sofia (175km, flat)
Another outing for the sprinters and another chance to wear pink into the first rest day, which allows the race to travel from Bulgaria into Italy. Thereâs a category 2 climb to crest on the way there, though, coming right in the middle of the stage - early enough for the sprinters to regroup afterwards on the gentle descent towards the capital, Sofia, but also ripe ground for a breakaway to jump clear.
Officially another âflatâ stage, like stage three, this first outing on Italian soil - along the Tyrrhenian coast - features a category two climb, this time in the second half of the stage. While itâs a long ascent at nearly 15km the sprinters should be shepherded over it in one piece, with a long descent and then uphill drag to the finish to follow. The urban finale features more rises, with the 3.7 per cent gradients of the final drag favouring a punchier sprinter.
Stage 5 (Wednesday 13 May): Praia a Mare - Potenza (203km, hilly)
Stage five provides rolling hills all day in Calabria and the quiet Basilicata region, with the general classification contenders needing to be on high alert throughout the entire 203km slog. Enterprising breakaway riders will also be on the look-out for a stage win so the pace should be high all day. After 4,100m of altitude gain - including the Montagna Grande di Viggiano with its maximum 15 per cent slopes - thereâs a descent into the finish town of Potenza before another uphill drag to the line.
Stage 6 (Thursday 14 May): Paestum - Napoli (142km, flat)
Another early outing for the sprinters, with only one minor climb to get out the way, very early on. Itâs one for the history buffs: the stage begins near the ancient Greek temples of Paestum before a long ride up the Tyrrhenian coast, passing through the plain around Mount Vesuvius, before getting into 70km of urban sprawl, with plenty of road furniture to navigate before the finish line on the wide roads of central Naples.
The longest stage of the entire Giro and with the second-most altitude gain, stage seven is the toughest so far and the first proper GC test as the race enters the Apennines. Thereâs 4,600m of climbing to overcome, with the most notable climb the formidable Blockhaus - approached from the tougher Roccamorice road - and a summit finish atop its infamous slopes: itâs just shy of 14km, with nearly 10km of that at a bruising nine per cent gradient and highs of 14. The Red Bull Kilometre - with its bonus seconds - comes in its lower slopes and could be the springboard for a GC contender to launch to victory.
Stage eight sees more climbing but on shorter, punchier hills than stage seven, and at nearly 100km shorter in theory is an easier day in the saddle - but there are plenty of pitfalls as the riders travel up the Adriatic coast. With each climb followed by a sharp descent and straight into the next uphill, stage eight will require full concentration from the GC riders and their lieutenants. The toughest is the Reputolo, with gradients maxing out at 22 per cent, with another 10 per cent ramp up to the finish line in Fermo.
The final stage of the first week proper is another summit finish, with 2,400m to climb on the way there - all of that crammed into the final 30km. Thereâs a deceptively easy start, with a flat run to Bologna, before rising into the central Apennines with a category three climb, a very brief descent, and then the category one ascent to Corno alle Scale. Itâs a similar route parcours to those often used in the Vuelta, with all the drama coming on the very last climb. Again the Red Bull Kilometre is on the lower slopes of the 10.8km last ascent, with more bonus seconds on offer.
Monday 16 May - rest day
Stage 10 (Tuesday 19 May): Viareggio - Massa (42km, individual time trial)
After a rest day weâre straight back into GC action with the one and only time trial on this yearâs route. Itâs a pan-flat, fast, almost entirely straight run out and back from Viareggio, with only two sharp U-turns as it wends one way along the Tuscan coastline and then back up the other. The approach to the finish is also nice and simple: thereâs a right-hander on the seafront with 1km to go, then another turn at 150m onto the finishing straight. Itâs a TT for the specialists so expect the bigger engines to shine and the pure climbers to try to limit their losses.
Back into the hills on stage 11, with a chance to catch out the odd GC rider who hasnât quite got back into the swing of things after the first rest day. Itâs another run along the Tuscan coast, with a flat but technical first section before criss-crossing the hills - including three categorised climbs - before entering Chiavari. The riders will need to be on high alert for the final 5km as a short climb is followed by a technical descent.
Stage 12 takes the race back into sprintersâ territory with a start on the Liguarian coast. Itâs by no means an easy day in the saddle, with two short, sharp category three climbs at Colle Giovo and Bric Berton to get over, but from there the sprintersâ teams have around 50km of descending and flat road to get themselves shipshape and claw back any aspiring breakaway on the flat road towards Milan.
Another stage in theory designed for the fast men, but this one has got a real sting in the tail in the form of two categorised climbs inside the final 20km, in the vicinity of Lake Maggiore. Itâs almost entirely flat until then, setting up a real nervy finish - almost Milan-San Remo-esque in its design - as the race inches towards the foothills of the Alps and the Swiss border. The climb up Bieno is the hors-dâoeuvre, with the following category-three to Ungiasca a nasty one, with several kilometres at double-digit gradients. Then thereâs a descent along the lakeside to the finish in Verbania, which could be contested either by punchier sprinters who have survived the climbs, or breakaway riders who excel going downhill.
The weekend kicks off with a short but fearsome mountain stage: only 133km but with just shy of 4,400m of elevation gain packed in, with little real recovery time, as the route alternates from descents into the valley to soaring high up in the Val dâAosta. There is one category two climb and three category ones including the summit finish, the 16.5km ascent to Pila up the Gressan side, which returns to the Giro 30 years after it last featured, on a stage won by Robert Millar. All four climbs have double-digit gradients at their worst, and the climbing starts right from the gun as the riders head out of Aosta to Saint-Berthelemy. The final kilometres range from nine per cent to 11, and itâs all uphill to the line.
Stage 15 (Sunday 24 May): Voghera - Milano (157km, flat)
The sprinters are rewarded for their Alpine slog on stage 14 with one last run out to end the second week. Thereâs only 200m of elevation gain on a very straightforward flat stage, with wide roads taking the peloton to Pavia before a jaunt along some sections of the traditional Milan-San Remo route. The finale is four laps of a simple 16.3km circuit on the flat boulevards of central Milan, with few technical corners to deal with, so it should be a classic bunch sprint.
Monday 25 May - rest day
Stage 16 (Tuesday 26 May): Bellinzona - Cari (113km, mountainous)
Racing resumes with the shortest road stage of the entire Giro, with 3,000m of climbing crammed into this outing entirely within Swiss borders. There are three individual climbs on the menu but two are covered twice over, in two laps of a punchy 22km circuit; the notable one is the category-two Leontica, with ranges from 8.5 to 14 per cent over its 3km length. From there itâs down into the Gotthard valley before the summit finish at Faido in the Cari ski resort: a category one, 12km climb with a nasty 13 per cent wall in its final kilometre. This stage looks perfectly designed to catch out the GC rider who took the rest day a bit too easy.
The GC battle gets a slight reprieve on a rolling stage well suited to the stage hunter. Heading north of Milan and bypassing Bergamo, near the stunning Lake Garda, there are three category three climbs, the last to Andalo-Lever just 9km from the finish, with a brief descent followed by another uphill to the line in Andalo. Itâs a classic transitional stage before the weekendâs double-header of brutal days in the mountains which will decide the GC, so expect the major names to keep their powder dry and maybe give their lieutenants a run-about.
Stage 18 (Thursday 28 May): Fai della Paganella - Pieve di Soligo (171km, flat)
Another bumpy outing with two categorised climbs but plenty of small rises, stage 18 is another transitional stage and the penultimate outing for the sprinters, who have a hefty two days in the mountains to surmount before the traditional run-out in Rome. It undulates through the valley roads between Trento and Treviso, heading southeast into the Veneto with the Dolomites looming ominously overhead. The final âmuroâ climb 9km from the finish line will test the legs - it maxes out at 19 per cent - before a slightly tricky finale: mostly downhill with a couple of corners before an uphill drag to the line.
Stage 19 is the queen stage and likely where the winning move will be made, an epic outing in the Dolomites with 5,000m of climbing packed into the final 100km. A rolling first 46km leads into the first of six categorised climbs, with each of those coming essentially back-to-back with no respite.
They are: the Passo Duran (max 14 per cent), Coi (max 19 per cent), Forcella Staulanza (max 10 per cent), Passo Giau (the Cima Coppi, the highest point of the whole race at 2,233m above sea level, max 14 per cent), the Passo Falzarego (max 10 per cent), and the 5km climb to to the finish at Piani di Pezze (max 15 per cent). Itâs not just the climbing that matters: thereâs a long descent of over 20km off the Falzarego to test the GC ridersâ mettle too. Expect fireworks.
The climbing continues on stage 20, with room for another twist in the tale after yesterdayâs gruelling effort. Another undulating start leads to a category three climb at Clauzetto, before a rolling approach to the 14.5km, category-one Piancavallo. Itâs so good organisers RCS opted to include it twice, with a long descent including the Red Bull Kilometre - with more bonus seconds on offer - before itâs tackled a second time, ending with a summit finish. Itâs a steep climb, averaging 9 per cent before a slight flat section and another 8 per cent section leading into a technical final kilometre.
Stage 21 (Sunday 31 May): Roma - Roma (131km, flat)
After a flight down to Rome and with the destiny of the maglia rosa determined, the riders embark on the now-traditional final stage in the Italian capital. Itâs pan-flat and relatively short, with the first section taken at a Sunday-jog pace as the winner and his team sip fizz and pose for photos on the flat, wide roads out to the coast at Ostia. From there itâs a turn back along the same roads into the centre of Rome itself, where the pace will steadily ramp up over eight laps of a 9.5km city-road circuit swinging past the Colosseum and other landmarks. It includes some technical corners and a few cobbled sections - known as sanpietrini - for extra jeopardy, with a minor tilt uphill on the finishing straight.
