From Nessebar to Rome, 21 stages and a maglia rosa will be contested in May 2026. Who can we expect on the start line in Bulgaria for the first men’s Grand Tour of the year? IDL Pro Cycling runs through the field and their race numbers, from Jonas Vingegaard to Enrico Zanoncello.
Also on IDL Pro Cycling — Giro d’Italia 2026 coverage:

Vingegaard is the natural top favourite for the Giro trophy (officially the ‘Trofeo Senza Fine’) as a multiple Grand Tour winner. The Visma | Lease a Bike Dane will be supported by loyal lieutenants including Sepp Kuss and Victor Campenaerts — and has already been given a helping hand in the build-up by the withdrawal of several potential rivals.

RCS saw João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG, prolonged illness), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost, not recovered from surgery) and Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step, fracture sustained in a crash at the Tour of the Basque Country) all pull out of this year’s race.

Who will challenge Vingegaard for the pink jersey?

With those names absent, attention turns to the riders who will hope to take the fight to Vingegaard. Giulio Pellizzari and Jai Hindley form the dangerous tandem at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, as do Thymen Arensman and Egan Bernal at Netcompany INEOS and the Tudor pairing of Michael Storer and Mathys Rondel.

Many other teams are also targeting the classification, with ambitions ranging from outright victory to a top-five finish. Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious), Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM), Derek Gee-West (Lidl-Trek) and Ben O’Connor (Jayco AlUla) appear to be aiming for a podium place in Rome, while UAE Team Emirates-XRG with Adam Yates and Movistar with Enric Mas are genuinely dreaming of pink.

Sprint battles, the purple jersey and which young talent will emerge?

Among the sprinters, Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step), Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarché), Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets) are the main options for stage wins — and in some cases perhaps for the points classification and the purple jersey too.

English speaking fans have plenty to shout about at this year’s Giro, especially those hailing from Down Under. Australian riders Michael Storer (Tudor) and Ben O’Connor (Jayco AlUla) both have shots at the podium, while Kadan Groves (Alpecin Premier-Tech) will be hunting stage wins.

Americans can root for Sepp Kuss (Visma) and Magnus Sheffield (Netcompany INEOS), but don’t expect either to do anything outrageous, as both will be fully in the service of their team leaders. Canadians have a very bright top 5 hope in Derek Gee-West, who will be given free reign by Lidl-Trek. And Brits can put all their eggs in the INEOS and Ben Turner basket. The team will be all in for the GC, but hopefully Turner will get some chances to sprint on flat days.
And which young talent will announce themselves at this Giro, as we see virtually every year? Can Pellizzari, Rondel and UAE talent Jan Christen deliver on their potential? Or will a relatively unknown Frenchman, Italian or Spanjaard suddenly rise above themselves and take the race by surprise?

Giro d’Italia 2026: Confirmed squads and leadersVisma | Lease a Bike (Jonas Vingegaard)Netcompany INEOS (Thymen Arensman and Egan BernalUAE Emirates (Adam Yates)Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe (Giulio Pellizzari and Jai Hindley)Lidl-Trek (Jonathan Milan, Derek Gee-West and Giulio Ciccone)Alpecin-Premier Tech (Kaden Goves and Luca Vergallito)Movistar (Enric Mas and Orluis Aular)Decathlon CMA CGM (Tobias Lund Andresen and Felis Gall)XDS Astana (Christian Scaroni, Diego Ulissi, and Alberto Bettiol)Unibet Rose Rockets (Dylan Groenewegen and Wout Poels)Jayco AlUla (Ben O’Connor and Pascal Ackermann)Uno-X (Andreas Leknessund and Erlend Blikra)
NSN Cycling (Ethan Vernon and Corbin Strong)Groupama-FDJ United (Paul Penhoët and Rémy RochasPolti Visit Malta (Giovanni Lonardi and Mattia Bais)Bardiani CSF-7 Saber (Manuele Tarozzi and Enrico Zanoncello)Tudor Pro Cycling (Michael Storer, Mathys Rondel en Luca Mozzato)Bahrain Victorious (Santiago Buitrago en Damiano Caruso)Picnic PostNL (Casper van Uden en Frank van den Broek)Lotto Intermarché (Arnaud de Lie and Lennert van Eetvelt)Soudal Quick-Step (Paul Magnier and Filippo Zana)EF Education-Easypost (Michael Valgreen and Madis Mihkels)Pinarello – Q36.5 (Matteo Moschetti en Chris Harper)Giro d’Italia 2026 participants