Giro d'Italia 2026: All you need to know

Giro d'Italia peloton rides underneath Italian flag — (Image credit: Getty Images)

last updated 15 May 2026

Approaching the end of the second week of the Giro, Jonas Vingegaard was perfectly poised in the Giro d'Italia's GC standings. The Dane won two stages in the mountains toward the end of the first week, but remained in second place overall, meaning his Visma Lease a Bike team had no obligation to put their riders on the front of the bunch to control the race.

The pink jersey remains on the shoulders of Bahrain-Victorious's Afonso Eulálio who has been in the lead since the end of stage five. Since then, Vingegaard has eaten into his lead, cutting the deficit from over six minutes to just 33 seconds after the long time trial on stage 10. Next in the standings is Netcompany's Thymen Arensman who, after placing second in the TT to team mate Filippo Ganna, jumped up the GC standings.

The 2026 Giro d'Italia started in Bulgaria 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 Women: Everything you need to know

Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) the two-time Tour de France winner won last year's Vuelta and so travels to the Giro looking to complete the set and become the eighth rider to do so.

Vingegaard's path to victory was made a little easier in the week's before the race as many other GC contenders including Joao Almeida, Richard Carapaz and Mikel Landa, pulled out, citing injury and illness. Their absence also paves the way for new riders to break through, like Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe's Giulio Pellizzari, recent winner of the Tour of the Alps.

It's not just the GC action to keep you watching through the full 21 stages, with a strong sprinting field assembled for the race, including Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), Paul Magnier (Soudal-Quick-step) - who took two stages in the opening weekend, and Ethan Vernon (NSN Cycling).

This year, Cycling Weekly will be covering the race with daily race reports, reactions following each stage, and analysis as the Italian showdown progresses. Scroll down to find the latest news and stories from the race.

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
Rest day	11 May	Row 3 - Cell 2	Row 3 - Cell 3	Row 3 - Cell 4	Row 3 - Cell 5	Row 3 - Cell 6
4	12 May	Catanzaro	Cosenza	144km	Flat	Jhonatan Narváez (Col) UAE Team Emirates XRG
5	13 May	Praia a Mare	Potenza	204km	Hilly	Igor Arrieta (Esp) UAE Team Emirates XRG
6	14 May	Paestum	Napoli	161km	Flat	Davide Ballerini (Ita) XDS Astana
7	15 May	Formia	Blockhaus	246km	Mountains	Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma Lease a Bike
8	16 May	Chieti	Fermo	159km	Medium mountains	Jhonatan Narváez (Col) UAE Team Emirates XRG
9	17 May	Cervia	Corno alle Scale	184km	Mountains	Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma Lease a Bike
Rest day	18 May	Row 10 - Cell 2	Row 10 - Cell 3	Row 10 - Cell 4	Row 10 - Cell 5	Row 10 - Cell 6
10	19 May	Viareggio	Massa	40.2km	ITT	Filippo Ganna (Ita) Netcompany Ineos
11	20 May	Porcari	Chiavari	178km	Hilly	Jhonatan Narváez (Col) UAE Team Emirates XRG
12	21 May	Imperia	Novi Ligure	177km	Flat	Alec Segeart (Bel) Bahrain Victorious
13	22 May	Alessandria	Verbania	186km	Hilly	Row 14 - Cell 6
14	23 May	Aosta	Pila	133km	Mountains	Row 15 - Cell 6
15	24 May	Voghera	Milan	136km	Flat	Row 16 - Cell 6
Rest day	25 May	Row 17 - Cell 2	Row 17 - Cell 3	Row 17 - Cell 4	Row 17 - Cell 5	Row 17 - Cell 6
16	26 May	Bellinzona (Switzerland)	Carì (Switzerland)	113km	Mountains	Row 18 - Cell 6
17	27 May	Cassano d'Adda	Andalo	100km	Hilly	Row 19 - Cell 6
18	28 May	Fai della Paganella	Pieve di Soligo	166km	Hilly	Row 20 - Cell 6
19	29 May	Feltre	Alleghe	151km	Mountains	Row 21 - Cell 6
20	30 May	Gemona del Friuli	Piancavallo	199km	Mountains	Row 22 - Cell 6
21	31 May	Rome	Rome	131km	Flat	Row 23 - Cell 6

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