What is the Giro d'Italia?
2026 is the 109th edition of the famed Giro D'Italia! This years race begins in Nessebar, Gulgaria on May 8th and finishes in Rome, Italy on May 31st. It's a 21-stage race featuring 3,468km (2,155 mile) of riding with 48,700 meters(~160,000ft) of climbing. Riders battle long days and and traitorous climbs to claim stage wins as well as the coveted "Maglia Rosa" - awarded to the overall race leader.
The longest days in the saddle:
- Stage 5: 203km (127 miles)
- Stage 7: 244km (153 miles) *Also one of the biggest climbing days
- Stage 17: 202km (125 miles)
The biggest climbing days:
- Stage 7: 4600m (15,091 ft)
- Stage 14: 4400m (14,435 ft)
- Stage 19: 5000m (16,404 ft)
2025 Giro d'Italia Winner:
In 2025, Visma - Lease a Bike rider Simon Yates took the overall win to don the pink jersey (Maglia Rosa). He won't be racing this year. In fact, Yates surprised the cycling world earlier this year with an abrupt retirement announcement citing burnout, loss of motivation, and a wanting to prioritize time with family. While getting paid to ride your bike and race everyday sounds like the dream to most of us, I have to imagine the pressure of constantly needing to perform and precisely calculate every calorie consumed and burned gets exhausting. Kudos to Yates for prioritizing his mental health.
So, with 2025's winner retired, who does that set up for success?
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma - Lease a Bike):
Simon Yates prior Visma teammate and one of the most prevalent racers the better half of the past decade, Jonas Vingegaard, will be lining up. Jonas is currently slated as the clear favorite to claim the win in 2026 and we have a hard time disagreeing. Almost every staff member at TPC felt, barring a catastrophic day, Jonas should walk away with the win. Jonas has a proven track record of being one of the fittest, toughest, and smartest road racers in recent years and one of the few riders who've posed a challenge to the dominant force, Tadej Pogacar (not racing this years Giro D'Italia). Jonas has also displayed he's in good form so far in 2026 by taking overall wins at both Paris-Nice and Volta a Catalunya.
Adding a third 2026 win to his resume seems like it would be a massive confidence boost going into the Tour de France this year.
But, who might be at the front giving Jonas Vingeegard a challenge for the Maglia Rosa.....?
Other Possible Contenders:
Ben O'Connor (Jayco-AIUla)
Ben O'Connor finished 4th in 2025. He's generally in the mix at the front of the race, or at least starts the day with that intent and the 2026 Giro d'Italia will be no different. Jayco-AIUla has built a strong team around O'Connor to help him get there. So far in 2026 his most standout results include the Australian National Championships where he got 4th in the Individual Time Trial and the Santos Tour Down Under where he got 10th. Ben is strong, but does he have the fitness and 21-day endurance to contend with 2-time TdF winner Jonas Vingegaard?
Our CTO, Gregory thinks so...
"He has been a strong rider over the years, he is going to find a new confidence and win"
This was the strongest vote against Jonas that wasn't caveated with "but, Vingeegard is going to need to have a bad day for this to happen".
Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
Adam Yates is the 2025 Giro d'Italia GC winner's identical twin brother.... how could you not pick him as a potential victor? Whether you believe in nature or nurture, both are at play here for delivering an athlete clearly capable of conquering the Maglia Rosa. Often, UAE Team Emirates has a clear leader, Tadej Pogacar, who many say has established himself as the most talented road racer of all time. However, Tadej is sitting this one out, which lets one of the many other powerhouses on the team step forward and take their shot at victory instead of working as a domestique to Pogacar. On many teams, Adam Yates would be a strong front runner - but UAE Team Emirates is stacked.
Adam has had a strong 2026 so far taking the overall win at 0 Gran Camino, 2nd place at the Muscat Classic, and 15th at UAE tour.
Cory (buyer) and Justin (CRO) both have Adam Yates on their list of a rider to watch for, should Jonas be in poor form or have a mechanical...
Egan Bernal & Thymen Arensman (Netcompany-INEOS)
Netcompany-INEOS is taking a unique strategy. While Egan Bernal is officially confirmed as the team leader, the team is taking a 2-punch approach to trying to claim victory by also placing standout rider Thymen Arensman up front. It'll be interesting to watch as the team works to set both these riders up for success - enabling them to strategically push each other to the finish line through each stage.
Bernal: This year, Bernal has shown he's in top form. In 2026 he's already defended his Colombian National road race title and claimed 2nd OA at the Tour of the Alps.
Justin also put Egan on his list of riders that could pose a threat to the overall win.
Arensman: Thymen finished 3rd at the Tour of the Alps just behind Bernal, which proves their strong team dynamic. He also finished 9th at Volta ao Algarve and 15th at Tirreno-Adriatico. He's not a name you hear mentioned as often, but, when executed properly, there's power in numbers and it'll be exciting to watch how him and Bernal work together.
Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe)
The overall winner of the Tour of the Alps, 3rd overall at Tirreno–Adriatico and Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, as well as 4th at Milano Torino. Pellizzari is young (22 years old) and already shown incredible talent. In my opinion, he is one of the biggest challengers to Jonas. Being so young, Giulio's potential is unpredictable. Has he only shown us a small portion of what he's capable of? Is his breakthrough right around the corner? Or, is a 3-week stage race too difficult of an arena with minimal experience? I'm excited to find out.
How to Watch:
One of the hardest parts of being cycling fans? Where to watch live coverage of your favorite races. I know many friends who have subscriptions to streaming services for the sole reason of watching a handful of races per year. So, find those friends and watch it together! Maybe bring some bagels and coffee to say thanks.
Here are the two streaming services showing live coverage of Giro d'Italia in the United States:
- HBOMax
- TruTV
If you don't have either of those an want to watch the action, either poll your friends or search for a nearby cycling themed coffee shop that might be streaming it.
Keep the Action Going!
May 30th-June 7th the action returns with the women lining up to claim the coveted Maglia Rosa. Keep an eye out for our picks for that race coming soon!
