Giro d'Italia Giro d'Italia 2026 Route: Speculation, Rumours and Announcements

[fenns]

On which stages can we expect to see snow on the ground beside the road?

 

[Onizuka999]

On which stages can we expect to see snow on the ground beside the road?

I think only in the stage with finish in Piani di Pezze

 

[Mayomaniac]

I think only in the stage with finish in Piani di Pezze

And unless it snows again it's gonna be very little snow

 

[Ulle97]

And unless it snows again it's gonna be very little snow

Yes, that is the only stage that goes above 2000m.
The rest of the hard mountain stages rarely go over 1700m.

Probably we will see more of this. Less high elevation in the Giro due to cancellations in recent years.

 

[Brullnux]

Yes, that is the only stage that goes above 2000m.
The rest of the hard mountain stages rarely go over 1700m.

Probably we will see more of this. Less high elevation in the Giro due to cancellations in recent years.

Yeah this seems likely, but part of me thinks that media and rider interest in the Giro is stalling a bit. I can see a future in which there might be more of a push to attract stars/TV to get the sponsor and town 'exposure' income back into a virtuous circle, and that might include a return to 'epic' climbs like Agnel, Stelvio, Gavia, etc.

It is also Vegni's last year so there may be a bit of a change in philosophy re having a Plan B for high mountain stages.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

I can see a future in which there might be more of a push to attract stars

They got Pogacar two years ago and the race was terrible (viewership numbers were way lower than 2025 too). They got Vingegaard this year and the race is likely to be terrible again (and ceteris paribus, an awful race with Vingegaard will be watched somewhat less than an awful race with Pogacar because Pogacar is more popular). I don't see how they can push harder to attract stars than they already have, and I also don't see any evidence that pushing to attract stars catalyses a virtuous cycle in the first place.

Generally speaking, the period when interest in the Giro was at its highest this century is also the period when it was unquestionably the hardest race in the sport. That should be their starting point. Focusing on attracting stars is probably even counterproductive, not just because it produces lopsided fields but also because having a softer route is a prerequisite for attracting riders who also want to race the Tour for GC. Having a *** field racing a *** route is never going to produce a virtuous cycle.

Finally, if Pogacar, Vingegaard and Seixas crush everyone else at the Tour this year, then they have a clear opening in attracting the tier below that, because nobody wants to spend every year in the next five years racing for fourth at the Tour.

 

[aphronesis]

They got Pogacar two years ago and the race was terrible (viewership numbers were way lower than 2025 too). They got Vingegaard this year and the race is likely to be terrible again (and ceteris paribus, an awful race with Vingegaard will be watched somewhat less than an awful race with Pogacar because Pogacar is more popular). I don't see how they can push harder to attract stars than they already have, and I also don't see any evidence that pushing to attract stars catalyses a virtuous cycle in the first place.

Generally speaking, the period when interest in the Giro was at its highest this century is also the period when it was unquestionably the hardest race in the sport. That should be their starting point. Focusing on attracting stars is probably even counterproductive, not just because it produces lopsided fields but also because having a softer route is a prerequisite for attracting riders who also want to race the Tour for GC. Having a *** field racing a *** route is never going to produce a virtuous cycle.

Finally, if Pogacar, Vingegaard and Seixas crush everyone else at the Tour this year, then they have a clear opening in attracting the tier below that, because nobody wants to spend every year in the next five years racing for fourth at the Tour.

Ablative absolutes are always nice. That aside, as the world, it would be interesting to see if the race could/can recover and maintain that against teams, sponsors, etc.

 

[Brullnux]

They got Pogacar two years ago and the race was terrible (viewership numbers were way lower than 2025 too). They got Vingegaard this year and the race is likely to be terrible again (and ceteris paribus, an awful race with Vingegaard will be watched somewhat less than an awful race with Pogacar because Pogacar is more popular). I don't see how they can push harder to attract stars than they already have, and I also don't see any evidence that pushing to attract stars catalyses a virtuous cycle in the first place.

Generally speaking, the period when interest in the Giro was at its highest this century is also the period when it was unquestionably the hardest race in the sport. That should be their starting point. Focusing on attracting stars is probably even counterproductive, not just because it produces lopsided fields but also because having a softer route is a prerequisite for attracting riders who also want to race the Tour for GC. Having a *** field racing a *** route is never going to produce a virtuous cycle.

Finally, if Pogacar, Vingegaard and Seixas crush everyone else at the Tour this year, then they have a clear opening in attracting the tier below that, because nobody wants to spend every year in the next five years racing for fourth at the Tour.

I don't mean attracting Pogacar/Vingegaard, more to tempt every B tier rider to go on the basis of the route being so hard and to prove themselves and win on 'legendary' climbs. I think they almost managed this year but got unlucky, but basically making sure the race consists of Del Toro, Almeida, one or two of the Bora guys, Ineos in future – anyone whose best at the Tour, realistically, is fifth.

I count these guys as stars who can attract crowds and viewership. People with better pull than Dani Martinez and O'Connor. It doesn't help that they're all currently in like two or three teams.

But anyway, my point was more that having big, famous climbs is good for hype, viewership, and attracting that second tier. Piancavallo might pay more than Bormio in the short term, but the Stelvio and Gavia is more attractive if your aim is to raise visibility back to where it was ten years ago. And, it may even sometimes even the very top tier, if they have a complex about it.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

I count these guys as stars who can attract crowds and viewership. People with better pull than Dani Martinez and O'Connor. It doesn't help that they're all currently in like two or three teams

I don't think anyone who watches races the size of the Giro infrequently is going to base their decision whether to watch or not on the presence of someone like Almeida or Lipowitz, unless they are from the same country.

And while it's bad for the sport, it does help the Giro that they are all in two or three teams. Because it means that the Giro can get at least one of Almeida and Del Toro every single year (barring injury). And probably two of Evenepoel, Lipowitz, Pellizzari and Hindley. And so on.

 

[Potomac]

EF present alien kit for Giro

The result is a kit that hovers somewhere between space, time, and the Italian roads. It is engineered by ASSOS to meet the demands of a three-week grand tour, with the performance, comfort, and technical quality our riders need to race at their best. It just also happens to take inspiration from world beyond our own.

 

[Brullnux]

I don't think anyone who watches races the size of the Giro infrequently is going to base their decision whether to watch or not on the presence of someone like Almeida or Lipowitz, unless they are from the same country.

And while it's bad for the sport, it does help the Giro that they are all in two or three teams. Because it means that the Giro can get at least one of Almeida and Del Toro every single year (barring injury). And probably two of Evenepoel, Lipowitz, Pellizzari and Hindley. And so on.

If Almeida and Lipowitz turn up you reasonably create promo and buzz and adverts saying it will be a battle between some of the best in the world. Creates a lot more excitement than, say, Caruso fighting for the podium.

And I disagree that concentration of stars to this extent helps the Giro. You ideally would want two high end GC riders per team – one to peak for the Giro (second best, or the best if they want a change) and the other the Tour. The Giro guy can then either be a domestique at the Tour or go to the Vuelta.

Currently, UAE have three or four of the biggest name GC riders (depending on A Yates); Bora have five (!); Visma had three but are a relatively short post Yates retirement. Decathlon and Lidl are more reasonabl and have two, and Ineos have five not so good GC riders. That's not helping the Giro if you compare it to a situation where UAE have Pogacar and Almeida, Bora only have two or at most three GC riders, Del Toro is on a team with one other, and so on. The current situation means that the Giro will only one guy from UAE, one if the Bora riders or if two then the bottom rung of the five, the lesser of Ineos' desperation hope, etc

 

[Devil's Elbow]

If Almeida and Lipowitz turn up you reasonably create promo and buzz and adverts saying it will be a battle between some of the best in the world. Creates a lot more excitement than, say, Caruso fighting for the podium.

Discounting Portuguese/German people, how many people do you think there are who a) don't watch the Giro every year and b) know enough about Lipowitz and Almeida to even remotely care they are racing it?

Also, anyone who does know enough about Lipowitz and Almeida to remotely care about them also know that billing them as 'some of the best in the world' is stretching the truth to say the least.

And I disagree that concentration of stars to this extent helps the Giro. You ideally would want two high end GC riders per team – one to peak for the Giro (second best, or the best if they want a change) and the other the Tour. The Giro guy can then either be a domestique at the Tour or go to the Vuelta.

Currently, UAE have three or four of the biggest name GC riders (depending on A Yates); [...] That's not helping the Giro if you compare it to a situation where UAE have Pogacar and Almeida

If Del Toro was the leader at a smaller team and UAE had no credible leaders behind Almeida, then Del Toro would not be doing the Giro on a regular basis (commercial value of the Tour + Vuelta is better for him than the Giro) and Almeida would also not be doing the Giro on a regular basis (diminished squad depth = UAE need him with legs at the Tour way more than they do now). You would have a chance of them both being there, but the chance of neither being there would be higher, I think.

 

[Brullnux]

Discounting Portuguese/German people, how many people do you think there are who a) don't watch the Giro every year and b) know enough about Lipowitz and Almeida to even remotely care they are racing it?

Also, anyone who does know enough about Lipowitz and Almeida to remotely care about them also know that billing them as 'some of the best in the world' is stretching the truth to say the least.

If Del Toro was the leader at a smaller team and UAE had no credible leaders behind Almeida, then Del Toro would not be doing the Giro on a regular basis (commercial value of the Tour + Vuelta is better for him than the Giro) and Almeida would also not be doing the Giro on a regular basis (diminished squad depth = UAE need him with legs at the Tour way more than they do now). You would have a chance of them both being there, but the chance of neither being there would be higher, I think.

Enough. Ten years ago Quintana, the 4th best GC rider at the time, vs Uran drew more hype than some of what we have had recently. I don't think it is unreasonable to bill Lipowitz vs Almeida vs Carapaz vs Ayuso vs (say) IDT or Pellizzari or Remco or someone else freed from the Bora/Visma/UAE prison as a battle of some of the best in the world. It's a field that looks a lot more like late 00s and the 2010s, less like early 2020s.

Re breaking up teams, I think the upside of more good riders counteracts the potential downside of 'one fewer'. Besides, the crucial difference in my alternative scenario is not that each team has one leader, but that teams have two or at the very most three. Not the 3 to 5 as we currently have. It is the 3 to 5 leader structure that is obviously a disbenefit to the Giro vs the 2 to 3 structure; if each team had one main GC leader that would be worse, sure.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Enough. Ten years ago Quintana, the 4th best GC rider at the time, vs Uran drew more hype than some of what we have had recently. I don't think it is unreasonable to bill Lipowitz vs Almeida vs Carapaz vs Ayuso vs (say) IDT or Pellizzari or Remco or someone else freed from the Bora/Visma/UAE prison as a battle of some of the best in the world. It's a field that looks a lot more like late 00s and the 2010s, less like early 2020s.

Quintana was the next big thing at the time, not a great comparison.

Besides, the crucial difference in my alternative scenario is not that each team has one leader, but that teams have two or at the very most three.

I was already working with two leaders per team in my reply, but sure.

 

[Brullnux]

Quintana was the next big thing at the time, not a great comparison.

I was already working with two leaders per team in my reply, but sure.

So is Lipowitz! Granted, different context (aliens vs iron grip of Sky), but another podium this year or thereabouts and Lipowitz will establish himself as a big name. Not enough to draw a crowd by himself but as you say, the key is being able to draw the right mix of high end riders to create a buzz or hype (which might be easier to do/could be augmented by a return to the classic climbs).

Re the team makeup, there was an assumption in your previous message of Del Toro as 'the leader' (i.e., sole leader) of a smaller team. But besides, I don't think there's much more to say about that point – the Giro was better field wise and got more attention when talent was less concentrated, and it is clear to me there's causation there (rarely bringing two or more leaders to the Tour, more freedom over the calendar for the leaders in a team as there are fewer of them, more proscribed domestique roles within teams for grand tours).

 

[Devil's Elbow]

So is Lipowitz! Granted, different context (aliens vs iron grip of Sky), but another podium this year or thereabouts and Lipowitz will establish himself as a big name. Not enough to draw a crowd by himself but as you say, the key is being able to draw the right mix of high end riders to create a buzz or hype (which might be easier to do/could be augmented by a return to the classic climbs).

Seixas is the next big thing, not Lipowitz. Of course the Seixas hype is also bigger than the Quintana hype 12 years ago, but then again the size of that hype also means everything else gets overshadowed by default, pushing Lipowitz down.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

EF present alien kit for Giro

The result is a kit that hovers somewhere between space, time, and the Italian roads. It is engineered by ASSOS to meet the demands of a three-week grand tour, with the performance, comfort, and technical quality our riders need to race at their best. It just also happens to take inspiration from world beyond our own.

They could have just said "look at our new kit. We designed it this way because we think it looks cool". But they had to - again - completely ruin it by adding a load of nonsensical PR drivel about what it represents...

 

[Coppi-Bartali]

This team is like Astana, but with higher-level riders. Everyone except Yates will be in the breakaways, and they'll all be fighting for every stage, sprint... It's going to be chaos.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2051295259145990336

View: https://x.com/TeamEmiratesUAE/status/2051295259145990336?s=20

 

[Berniece]

This team is like Astana, but with higher-level riders. Everyone except Yates will be in the breakaways, and they'll all be fighting for every stage, sprint... It's going to be chaos.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2051295259145990336

View: https://x.com/TeamEmiratesUAE/status/2051295259145990336?s=20

Maybe we get GC Vine? If he stays upright he definitely has a shot at top 5

 

[Red Rick]

The Giro would be infinitely better every year if they made it so hard riders wouldn't dare the Giro/Tour double so that the guys who take a starting money bag and sleepwalk to the Giro win just stay in their lane.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

The Giro would be infinitely better every year if they made it so hard riders wouldn't dare the Giro/Tour double so that the guys who take a starting money bag and sleepwalk to the Giro win just stay in their lane.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Soler x Christen x Arrieta

Only proper intellectuals can interpret the tactical plans they have prepared.

I've seen Luke Tuckwell is also riding, always an odd build-up doing Romandie, I'd have him as an outside top 10 threat if he wasn't riding for others because the field is quite thin, with some who are capable going for stages. The lower spots could be occupied by a few different names when some inevitably drop out.

 

[search]

The rules for the Giro are finally available. Without any major changes, as far as I can see.

7.76 MB file on MEGA

mega.nz

Here's the classification of the stages, including sprint zone info:

	Stage	Cat.	Sprint Zone	BSP
1ª	NESSEBAR / НЕСЕБЪР - BURGAS / БУРГАС	a)	5 KM	3”
2ª	BURGAS / БУРГАС - VELIKO TARNOVO / ВЕЛИКО ТЪРНОВО	c)	N/A
3ª	PLOVDIV / ПЛОВДИВ - SOFIA / СОФИЯ	b)	3 KM	3”
4ª	CATANZARO - COSENZA	b)	5 KM	3”
5ª	PRAIA A MARE - POTENZA	c)	3 KM
6ª	PAESTUM - NAPOLI	a)	5 KM	3”
7ª	FORMIA - BLOCKHAUS	d)	N/A
8ª	CHIETI - FERMO	c)	N/A
9ª	CERVIA - CORNO ALLE SCALE	d)	N/A
10ª	VIAREGGIO - MASSA TUDOR ITT	e)	N/A
11ª	PORCARI (Paper District) - CHIAVARI	c)	3 KM
12ª	IMPERIA - NOVI LIGURE	b)	5 KM	3”
13ª	ALESSANDRIA - VERBANIA	c)	3 KM
14ª	AOSTA - PILA (Gressan)	d)	N/A
15ª	VOGHERA - MILANO	a)	5 KM	3”
16ª	BELLINZONA - CARÌ	d)	N/A
17ª	CASSANO D’ADDA - ANDALO	c)	N/A
18ª	FAI DELLA PAGANELLA - PIEVE DI SOLIGO	b)	3 KM
19ª	FELTRE - ALLEGHE (Piani di Pezzè)	d)	N/A
20ª	GEMONA DEL FRIULI 1976-2026 - PIANCAVALLO	d)	N/A
21ª	ROMA - ROMA	a)	5 KM	3”

The winner gets 50pt for cat a) and b), 25pt for c), 15pt for d) and e). Every day (apart from the ITT), the first intermediate sprint is for Ciclamino points (12-8-5-3-1), and 2nd sprint for bonus (6-4-2) and Red Bull points (15-8-5-3-1).

Three full-point stages (4-12-18 ) are potentially too hard for the flat sprinters, compared to 5 more or less nailed down flat sprints.

Mountain rules are unchanged. Cima Coppi is Passo Giau.

 

[Netserk]

so two stages without a categorised climb in the last 10 km that are without the 3 km rule

 

[Berniece]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2051574759154966714