Major date change sees Giro d’Italia Women shift to late May in 2026

The women’s Giro d’Italia will undergo a major date change next year, shifting away from its traditional July spot on the international calendar, where it has overlapped with the Tour de France.

The UCI announced that the event will take place from May 30 to June 7, 2026, marking its own spot on the calendar, which could promote increased visibility for the Italian Grand Tour.

The women’s Giro d’Italia, now managed by RCS Sports, is a long-running stage race, celebrating its 36th anniversary this year, which has carved out a niche as one of the most prestigious women’s events in the world.

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It has been the only women’s event that has traditionally covered 10 days of racing and includes many iconic mountain passes. Although the past two editions have been reduced to eight days of racing, it has taken the peloton over the Blockhaus last year and will include three summit finishes – Aprica, Valdobbiadene and Monte Nerone – during this year’s race, held from July 6-13.

The date change means that the women’s Giro d’Italia will no longer overlap with the Tour de France, and instead being positioned directly following the men’s Giro d’Italia, which concludes on May 31.

It also means that the month of May has become one of the busiest months for top-tier stage racing with La Vuelta Femenina held from May 3-10, Itzulia Women from May 15-17 and Vuelta a Burgos Feminas from May 21-24. Following the Giro d’Italia Women, the peloton will then head to the Tour de Suisse from June 11-14.

The UCI announced the date change for the women’s Giro d’Italia last Thursday following its Management Committee, where it also revealed that it has approved the men’s and women’s WorldTour races through the end of the next three-year cycle in 2028, with the committee unanimously voting to exclude the One Cycling project from the calendar.

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It also announced that Classic Brugge-De Panne changed its name to “The Great Sprint Classic”, that the women’s Dwars door Vlaanderen will step up from the Pro Series to the Women’s WorldTour, and that the Tour de France Femmes will shift slightly to August 1-9 in 2026.