Giro d'Italia 2026: All you need to know

Paul Magnier in the pink jersey at the Giro d'Italia — (Image credit: Getty Images)

last updated 8 May 2026

The 2026 Giro d'Italia started in Bulgaria with a sprint win for Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-step) on stage one on Friday and multiple abandons on stage two. Both stages were shaped by crashes as the opening sprint was contested by just 11 riders after the crash blocked the road, while the crash on stage two resulted in several riders abandoning the race, including GC hopeful Adam Yates. Paul Magnier won again on the Sunday before the race travelled back to Italy on the first, early rest day.

Bulgaria's Grande Partenza was the race's third foreign Grande Partenza in five years as organisers RCS continue to look beyond Italy's borders for places to host the race's opening weekend. The prestigious three-week, 21-stage race is the opener in the trio of Grand Tours, followed by the Tour de France in July and the Vuelta a España in August.

Giro d'Italia 2026: Key details

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Date	8 - 31 May
Total distance	3459km
Number of stages	21
Start location	Nessebar, Bulgaria
Finish location	Rome, Italy
UCI ranking	WorldTour
Edition	109th
Total climbing / elevation gain	49,150m
Leader's jersey colour	Pink (Maglia Rosa)
Last winner	Simon Yates (GBr)
TV coverage (UK)	TNT Sports
TV coverage (US)	Max

The peloton rides through Rome on Stage 21 of the Giro d'Italia 2024

Giro d'Italia 2026: The route

The route and stage map for the 2026 Giro d'Italia — Giro d'Italia 2026 route. Image credit: RCS.

The Giro d'Italia 2026 begins with three stages in Bulgaria, as already announced, starting on 8 May, before 18 stages from the south to the north of Italy, via Naples, the Apennines, Milan, the Alps and the Dolomites. The 109th Giro finishes in Rome on 31 May.

Giro d'Italia 2026: Stage-by-stage table

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Stage	Day	Start	Finish	Distance	Terrain	Stage winner
1	8 May	Nessebar (Bulgaria)	Burgas (Bulgaria)	156km	Flat	Paul Magnier (Fra) Soudal-Quick Step
2	9 May	Burgas (Bulgaria)	Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgaria)	220km	Hilly	Guillermo Silva (Ury) XDS Astana
3	10 May	Plovdiv (Bulgaria)	Sofia (Bulgaria)	174km	Flat	Paul Magnier (Fra) Soudal-Quick Step
4	12 May	Catanzaro	Cosenza	144km	Flat	Row 3 - Cell 6
5	13 May	Praia a Mare	Potenza	204km	Hilly	Row 4 - Cell 6
6	14 May	Paestum	Napoli	161km	Flat	Row 5 - Cell 6
7	15 May	Formia	Blockhaus	246km	Mountains	Row 6 - Cell 6
8	16 May	Chieti	Fermo	159km	Medium mountains	Row 7 - Cell 6
9	17 May	Cervia	Corno alle Scale	184km	Mountains	Row 8 - Cell 6
10	19 May	Viareggio	Massa	40.2km	ITT	Row 9 - Cell 6
11	20 May	Porcari	Chiavari	178km	Hilly	Row 10 - Cell 6
12	21 May	Imperia	Novi Ligure	177km	Flat	Row 11 - Cell 6
13	22 May	Alessandria	Verbania	186km	Hilly	Row 12 - Cell 6
14	23 May	Aosta	Pila	133km	Mountains	Row 13 - Cell 6
15	24 May	Voghera	Milan	136km	Flat	Row 14 - Cell 6
16	26 May	Bellinzona (Switzerland)	Carì (Switzerland)	113km	Mountains	Row 15 - Cell 6
17	27 May	Cassano d'Adda	Andalo	100km	Hilly	Row 16 - Cell 6
18	28 May	Fai della Paganella	Pieve di Soligo	166km	Hilly	Row 17 - Cell 6
19	29 May	Feltre	Alleghe	151km	Mountains	Row 18 - Cell 6
20	30 May	Gemona del Friuli	Piancavallo	199km	Mountains	Row 19 - Cell 6
21	31 May	Rome	Rome	131km	Flat	Row 20 - Cell 6

Simon Yates crosses the line to win the 2025 Giro d'Italia

Giro d'Italia 2026: The jerseys

The rider wearing the pink jersey (maglia rosa) leads the general classification. This is the rider who has accumulated the fastest time around the route so far, inclusive of time bonuses collected. On the final day, it is awarded to the overall general classification winner along with the Trofeo Senza Fine.

There are other jerseys up for grabs too. The purple (ciclamino) jersey is awarded to the rider who has accumulated the most points. More points are offered at the end of flatter, punchier stages than on mountain finishes, so this is a jersey for the sprinters. The blue (azzura) jersey goes to the rider who accumulates the most points on classified climbs, and the white (bianca) jersey is like the pink jersey but given to the best young rider under 26.

Read about the Giro d'Italia jerseys here.

More about the Giro d'Italia 2026

Stage 20 of the Giro d'Italia 2024, to Bassano del Grappa

Giro d'Italia: Past winners

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Year	Winner	Country	Team
2025	Simon Yates	Great Britain	Visma-Lease a Bike
2024	Tadej Pogačar	Slovenia	UAE Team Emirates
2023	Primož Roglič	Slovenia	Jumbo-Visma
2022	Jai Hindley	Australia	Bora-Hansgrohe
2021	Egan Bernal	Colombia	Ineos Grenadiers
2020	Tao Geoghegan Hart	Great Britain	Ineos Grenadiers
2019	Richard Carapaz	Ecuador	Movistar
2018	Chris Froome	Great Britain	Team Sky
2017	Tom Dumoulin	Netherlands	Sunweb
2016	Vincenzo Nibali	Italy	Astana
2015	Alberto Contador	Spain	Tinkoff-Saxo
2014	Nairo Quintana	Colombia	Movistar
2013	Vincenzo Nibali	Italy	Astana