Every May, the Giro d'Italia asks a simple question of its riders: who are you when the road turns upward and the crowd presses close? In 2026, the race begins in Bulgaria on May 8 with 23 teams and 184 riders, and the question falls most heavily on Jonas Vingegaard — a two-time Tour de France champion who has never before faced the particular demands of Italian roads, Italian weather, and Italian expectation. Around him, a generation of younger riders, led by the 26-year-old Italian Giulio Pellizzari, is ready to offer an answer of its own.
Vingegaard favored as 23 teams prepare for Giro d'Italia debut in Bulgaria
A few days in the maglia rosa would make him a national sensation
Mark
So Vingegaard is the favorite, but is he really that dominant here? He's never ridden the Giro before.
Mimi
That's true, but his resume speaks for itself—two Tour wins, a Vuelta win last September, and he's already shown his 2026 form with victories at Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya. Visma-Lease a Bike has won nine Grand Tours in seven years. The team has prepared meticulously, spending three weeks at altitude with his key domestiques.
Luke
But here's what we don't know: how will he handle the Giro specifically? It's a different race than the Tour. The roads are rougher, the tifosi are more intense, and the weather in May is unpredictable. He's never raced it before. That's not nothing.
Mark
What about Pellizzari? He seems like the real threat.
Mimi
He dominated the Tour of the Alps, dropping Bernal and Arensman. He's finished sixth in both the 2025 Giro and Vuelta, and he won a mountain stage at the Vuelta. He's young, he's Italian, and the home crowd will be behind him completely. A few days in the maglia rosa would make him a national hero.
Luke
But again—he's never won a Grand Tour. He's shown he can climb and he can race well, but three weeks is different from a week at the Tour of the Alps. We're extrapolating from limited data.
Mark
Are there other serious contenders?
Mimi
Several. Ben O'Connor chose the Giro over the Tour, betting he can finish top five. Felix Gall is looking to prove himself as a stage racer. Thymen Arensman finished third at the Tour of the Alps. Derek Gee-West finished fourth in last year's Giro. The field is deeper than you might think.
Luke
The key thing is that Pogačar isn't here, Almeida is sick, and several other top riders are saving themselves for the Tour. That's why the field looks deeper—it's not that these riders are suddenly stronger, it's that the very best aren't competing.
Mark
What about the sprinters?
Mimi
They'll dominate the opening week. Milan, Magnier, Groenewegen, and Groves are all serious threats for stage wins. Groenewegen would love to pull on the first maglia rosa in Bulgaria. Milan wants to repeat his three stage victories from 2024.
Luke
But we should note that Groves has been dealing with a knee injury. Alpecin-Premier Tech says he's recovered and trained at altitude and is "expected to be ready," but that's team language. We don't know how sharp he'll actually be.
Mark
What's the wildcard element here?
Mimi
The ProTeam wildcards will hunt for stages and points. Bardiani will go on the attack as always. Polti VisitMalta will try to capitalize on any opportunity. Unibet Rose Rockets is making their Grand Tour debut. There's real hunger there.
Luke
And the Italian weather, the rough roads, the intensity of the tifosi—those are all variables that can't be predicted. Vingegaard's team has planned everything, but they can't control the Giro itself.
Der Puls
- Vingegaard arrives as the undisputed favorite, but the Giro's unpredictability — rough roads, May storms, three relentless weeks — has humbled greater certainties than his.
- Pellizzari is the story the tifosi are waiting to tell: a young Italian who dropped Bernal and Arensman at the Tour of the Alps and now races on home roads with a nation's hope behind him.
- Strategic absences have reshuffled the deck — Pogačar is gone, Almeida is ill, and riders like Ben O'Connor, Felix Gall, and Thymen Arensman have deliberately chosen this race as their moment to rise.
- The sprinters — Milan, Magnier, Groenewegen, Groves — will wage their own war across the opening week along the Black Sea and into southern Italy, each chasing stage glory before the mountains decide everything else.
- Five ProTeam wildcards, including Grand Tour debutants Unibet Rose Rockets, will attack relentlessly, turning every breakaway into a battle for points, prestige, and survival.
Every May, the Giro d'Italia asks a simple question of its riders: who are you when the road turns upward and the crowd presses close? In 2026, the race begins in Bulgaria on May 8 with 23 teams and 184 riders, and the question falls most heavily on Jonas Vingegaard — a two-time Tour de France champion who has never before faced the particular demands of Italian roads, Italian weather, and Italian expectation. Around him, a generation of younger riders, led by the 26-year-old Italian Giulio Pellizzari, is ready to offer an answer of its own.
The 2026 Giro d'Italia rolls out of Bulgaria on May 8 carrying the weight of a clear favorite and the promise of a genuine story. Jonas Vingegaard — two-time Tour de France winner, Vuelta champion, and already victorious at Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya this season — has never ridden the Giro before. His Visma-Lease a Bike team, winners of nine Grand Tours in seven years, spent three weeks at altitude preparing key domestiques Victor Campenaerts, Sepp Kuss, and Davide Piganzoli. They have planned for everything they can control. The Giro will test what they cannot.
The rider most likely to test them is Giulio Pellizzari. The 26-year-old Italian, riding for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, dominated the Tour of the Alps and arrives with the tifosi already on his side. His joyful style and natural warmth make him the kind of rider Italian crowds adopt instantly. A few days in the maglia rosa would make him a sensation; a victory over Vingegaard would make him a star. Alongside him, 2022 Giro winner Jai Hindley offers Red Bull-Bora a second option — a quiet threat who knows exactly how this race is won.
The rest of the GC field is shaped by deliberate choices. Ben O'Connor, Felix Gall, Michael Storer, and Thymen Arensman all passed on the Tour de France to be here, each carrying something to prove. O'Connor has led a Grand Tour for two weeks. Gall needs a result to secure his future. Storer is climbing steadily. Arensman, who suffered through the 2025 Giro, arrives with more confidence and a third place at the Tour of the Alps behind him. Adam Yates of UAE Team Emirates-XRG, with Pogačar absent and Almeida ill, finds himself with the rarest of gifts: a genuine opening at a Grand Tour.
Before the mountains speak, the sprinters will have their say. Jonathan Milan wants to reclaim the form that brought him three Giro stage wins in 2024. Paul Magnier, a year older and stronger since his 2025 debut, is hungry. Dylan Groenewegen, now 32 and riding for Grand Tour debutants Unibet Rose Rockets, has already won four times this season and would love to take the first maglia rosa in Bulgaria. Kaden Groves, recovered from injury and sharpened at altitude, beat Milan in Salerno in 2023 and won in Naples last year.
The five ProTeam wildcards complete the picture — Bardiani making their 44th Giro appearance, Polti VisitMalta chasing every opportunity, Unibet Rose Rockets making their Grand Tour debut with Groenewegen and Wout Poels, and Uno-X Mobility sending riders into every breakaway they can reach. The race ends in Rome. Between Bulgaria and Rome, three weeks of roads will decide whether Vingegaard adds a third Grand Tour to his name, whether Pellizzari becomes Italy's next great champion, and whether the hunters and sprinters can steal enough moments to matter.
The Giro d'Italia arrives in Bulgaria on Friday, May 8, with twenty-three teams and 184 riders preparing to race across three weeks of Italian roads. It is a race that belongs, on paper, to Jonas Vingegaard. The Visma-Lease a Bike leader has never ridden the Giro before, but he arrives as the clear favorite—a two-time Tour de France winner who claimed the Vuelta last September and has already shown his 2026 form with victories at Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya. His team has won nine Grand Tours in seven years. The pressure, as always, will be immense.
But Vingegaard is not alone in the mountains. Giulio Pellizzari, a 26-year-old Italian riding for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, has emerged as a genuine threat. The young Italian dominated the Tour of the Alps, dropping Egan Bernal and Thymen Arensman on his way to victory. He finished sixth overall in both the 2025 Giro and Vuelta, and won a mountain stage at the latter. The Italian tifosi will embrace him immediately—his joyful racing style and friendly demeanor make him a natural hero for the home crowd. A few days in the maglia rosa would make him a national sensation; a victory over Vingegaard would make him a global star. Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe also has 2022 Giro winner Jai Hindley in their lineup, a rider who knows how to win this race and who may be content to let Pellizzari take the spotlight while he preserves energy for a late-race push.
Vingegaard's team has calculated everything. They spent three weeks at altitude with key domestiques Victor Campenaerts, Sepp Kuss, and Davide Piganzoli—a former Polti VisitMalta leader who transferred to Visma specifically to support the Dane. The squad is built for control and for the long game. They will know when to attack, when to defend, and when to let other teams and riders take the maglia rosa in the opening weeks. What they cannot control is the Italian weather in May, the rough and twisting roads, the intensity of the tifosi, and the unique demands of racing the Giro as the overwhelming favorite.
Other contenders have made strategic choices to be here. Ben O'Connor, the Australian from Jayco AlUla, opted for the Giro over the Tour de France, betting that he can finish in the top five and then use that fitness for stage victories in July. He has finished fourth in a Grand Tour before and led the 2024 Vuelta for two weeks. Felix Gall, the Austrian from Decathlon CMA CGM, has not won since his 2023 Tour de France stage victory but finished fifth in last year's Tour and eighth in the Vuelta. The Giro is his chance to prove himself as a stage racer and secure a new contract. Michael Storer, riding for Tudor Pro Cycling, finished tenth in the 2025 Giro and appears on a consistent upward trajectory. Thymen Arensman, the Dutchman from Netcompany Ineos, finished third at the Tour of the Alps and saved Ineos' 2025 Tour hopes with two stage victories. He suffered through the 2025 Giro but seems to have more self-confidence now.
The sprinters will dominate the opening week along the Black Sea coast and through southern Italy. Jonathan Milan of Lidl-Trek wants to return to his Grand Tour sprinting best and repeat his three Giro stage victories from 2024. Paul Magnier of Soudal-QuickStep made his Grand Tour debut in the 2025 Giro and took three top-ten placings before leaving after two weeks; he is older and stronger now and hungry for success. Dylan Groenewegen, the 32-year-old veteran now riding for Unibet Rose Rockets, has already won four times since joining the team and would love nothing more than to pull on the first maglia rosa in Bulgaria. Kaden Groves of Alpecin-Premier Tech, the Australian who won stage 20 of the 2025 Tour de France, has recovered from a knee injury and trained at altitude. He beat Milan and Mads Pedersen to win a Giro stage in Salerno in 2023 and won the big sprint in Naples last year.
Beyond the headline contenders, the race is packed with opportunity. The absence of Tadej Pogačar, João Almeida's illness, and the focus of other top riders on the Tour de France have opened space for riders like Adam Yates of UAE Team Emirates-XRG, who has never won a Grand Tour but now has the opportunity of a lifetime. Enric Mas of Movistar, looking for redemption after a difficult 2025 Tour, will compete for a top-ten finish alongside Juan Pedro López and Einer Rubio. Derek Gee-West of Lidl-Trek finished fourth in last year's Giro and could emerge as one of Vingegaard's biggest threats if he can stay healthy over three weeks.
The five ProTeam wildcards—Pinarello-Q36.5, Tudor, Bardiani CSF 7 Saber, Polti VisitMalta, and Unibet Rose Rockets—will hunt for stages and UCI ranking points. Bardiani, making their 44th appearance in the Giro, will go on the attack as always, with young talents like Filippo Turconi and Manuele Tarozzi infiltrating breakaways. Polti VisitMalta will try to hoover up every opportunity that comes their way. Unibet Rose Rockets, denied a Tour de France wildcard by the organizers, will make their Grand Tour debut in Italy with Groenewegen and veteran climber Wout Poels. Uno-X Mobility, another first-time Giro team, named their full lineup early and will send riders on the attack whenever possible, with Andreas Leknessund having worn the maglia rosa for five days in 2023.
The race begins in Bulgaria on Friday with the first maglia rosa up for grabs on the Black Sea coast. From there, it moves south through Italy, into the mountains, and toward Rome. Vingegaard is the favorite, but the Giro has a way of surprising even the best-laid plans. The next three weeks will tell whether the Dane can add a third Grand Tour to his palmares, whether Pellizzari can announce himself as a true contender, and whether the sprinters and stage hunters can steal moments of glory from the favorites.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
Pellizzari is Italy's next great stage racer and the Italian tifosi love his friendly, joyful racing style and approach to life.— Cyclingnews analysis
Visma-Lease a Bike will play a long game, with the goal of winning the maglia rosa in Rome. That's all that really matters to them.— Cyclingnews analysis
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