Giro d'Italia 2026 young rider classification favourites | The white jersey has never had a clearer favourite

by Martijn Polder

Tuesday, 05 May 2026 at 20:47

Behind the battle for the pink jersey, there is another contest worth watching at the Giro d'Italia: the white jersey for the best young rider. The youth classification is increasingly being decided higher up the general classification, as a new generation makes its mark in the sport's biggest races. Who will stand in white in Rome three weeks from now? IDL Pro Cycling looks ahead.

See also/near In the Leader's Jersey:
- Preview of the Giro d'Italia
- Favorites points classification (purple jersey)
- Favorites mountain classification (blue jersey)
- Favorites general classification (pink jersey)
- Pool tips for the Giro d'Italia

Recent winners Giro d'Italia white jersey winners

2025 - Isaac Del Toro
2024 - Antonio Tiberi
2023 - João Almeida
2022 - Juan Pedro López
2021 - Egan Bernal
2020 - Tao Geoghegan Hart
2019 - Miguel Ángel López
2018 - Miguel Ángel López
2017 - Bob Jungels
2016 - Bob Jungels

Giro d'Italia 2026 youth classification favorites

IDL Pro Cycling's ranking was produced by asking (former) editors of InDeLeidersrui.nl to name their top ten candidates for the white jersey. Each top ten was scored as follows: 12 points for first, 10 for second, then 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1.

10. Magnus Sheffield - Netcompany INEOS

It is easy to forget that Magnus Sheffield is still only 24. Now in his fifth season at WorldTour level, the American from Minnesota announced himself with a win at Brabantse Pijl at 20, and has since demonstrated that he can compete in stage race GCs, finishing fourth at Paris-Nice.

Grand tours have not yet clicked for him. Two starts, with a 59th at the Giro as his best result. But his time trial ability — particularly relevant given the 40-kilometre individual effort at this Giro — and his climbing legs make him a candidate. Whether he gets the freedom to pursue his own result is another question: with both Thymen Arensman and Egan Bernal in the squad, it is far from certain.

9. Afonso Eulálio - Bahrain Victorious

A relative newcomer at the top level, Eulálio joined Bahrain Victorious last year from a Portuguese continental team after making his mark there. He rode his first Grand Tour at the 2025 Giro and later finished a fine ninth at the World Championships in Rwanda.

This year, fifth at the AlUla Tour showed his promise, and he has been a reliable climbing domestique — most notably for Lenny Martinez at the Tour of Catalonia. If he can ride alongside the best for long enough, a strong personal result is not out of the question. And if Santiago Buitrago's inconsistency continues and an ageing Damiano Caruso is off the pace, this could be Eulálio's moment.

8. Igor Arrieta - UAE Team Emirates-XRG

It is hard to make your mark in the shark tank of UAE Team Emirates-XRG, but Arrieta has at least established himself there. The 23-year-old Spaniard is now in his second full season with the team, and has already ridden the Giro once — finishing 36th in 2025, including a fine fourth-place stage result at Castelraimondo.

A strong spring strengthens his case further: seventh at the Clásica Jaén, third at the AlUla Tour, eighth at the Basque Country. Arrieta's talent is coming through more and more clearly.

7. Johannes Kulset - Uno-X Mobility

Norway is producing climbing talent at an extraordinary rate. With Tobias Halland Johannessen finishing sixth at the Tour de France, Uno-X Mobility hope Kulset can follow a similar trajectory. On the evidence of two and a half years as a professional, the 22-year-old is well placed to do so.

He completed the Tour de France at just 20, finishing 47th. He was left out of the Grand Tour programmes last year, but made himself visible at every point the road went up. This year's results have been modest so far, but that may simply mean he is saving his best for Italy. Uno-X know what they need from him in the mountains.

6. Alessandro Pinarello - NSN Cycling

One of the revelations of the 2026 season so far — and a major talking point in Italian cycling. Pinarello made his name at Bardiani before NSN brought the 22-year-old climber from Conegliano into the WorldTour. He has flourished: 12th at the Volta ao Algarve, then 10th at Tirreno-Adriatico, and then he nearly won O Gran Camiño before taking the final stage victory, beating Adam Yates and Jørgen Nordhagen.

Riding a full Grand Tour at this level may still be too much to ask for a debutant. But if the trend continues, the ceiling is very high.

5. Davide Piganzoli - Visma | Lease a Bike

Few riders in this white jersey conversation carry as much Grand Tour experience as Piganzoli. He has ridden the Giro twice already — 13th in 2024 and 14th in 2025 — both times for the modest Polti VisitMalta squad. The expectations are higher now at Visma | Lease a Bike.

The team's priority is Jonas Vingegaard's GC challenge, and Sepp Kuss and Wilco Kelderman will be his key lieutenants. But precisely because of that structure, there may be more freedom for the young Italian to pursue his own classification as the race develops. Or he may ride himself into a superb placing in service of his team leader — Visma | Lease a Bike have form for that outcome too.

4. Lennert Van Eetvelt - Lotto-Intermarché

Van Eetvelt has done something none of the other white jersey contenders have managed: win a WorldTour stage race GC. He did it twice in 2024 — at the UAE Tour and at the Tour of Guangxi. But since that breakthrough season, things have stalled. A difficult 2025 was disrupted by multiple crashes, including an early fall at the Tour de France.

The Giro represents a reset. No wins yet this year, but sixth at the UAE Tour pointed towards returning form. The Ardennes did not go as hoped, and the peak needs to come in Italy. When Van Eetvelt fires — as he did in the opening week of the 2024 Vuelta — the ceiling is very, very high.

3. Jan Christen - UAE Team Emirates-XRG

Christen is a slightly unusual entry in this list. The talent of the 21-year-old Swiss is not in question: he won the AlUla Tour and finished second at the Clásica de San Sebastián. But stage race GC results have come only in races that avoided serious high-altitude climbing. Why does he rank so highly here?

Because his climbing pedigree as a younger rider was strong: seventh at both the Tour de l'Avenir and the Giro Next Gen, including a mountain stage win at the latter with 4,400 metres of climbing. His recent training numbers have reportedly been eye-catching too. We are not saying he will do an Isaac Del Toro — but we are not ruling it out either.

2. Mathys Rondel - Tudor

The Giro d'Italia will be Rondel's Grand Tour debut. There will be riders in the white jersey fight with more three-week experience. So why does the 22-year-old Frenchman sit second on this list? Look at his 2026 season and the answer becomes clear.

He showed promise in 2025 — fourth at the Tour de Luxembourg, ninth at the Tour de Romandie — but this year he has taken a significant step up. He nearly beat Remco Evenepoel on Mallorca, then rode an exceptional Paris-Nice to finish eighth. At the Tour of the Alps — perhaps the most important Giro indicator — he was fifth. He seems to get stronger as races get longer. Whether he can handle three weeks remains the key question. It would not surprise us one bit if he could.

1. Giulio Pellizzari - Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe

There could only be one. Pellizzari's rise has been nothing short of remarkable. From nearly taking the mountains jersey at the Giro to sixth in the overall with Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe the following year — nobody saw this development coming in 2025. And then he raised the bar again in 2026.

Third at the Tour of Valencia. Third at Tirreno-Adriatico, where he battled Isaac Del Toro and Matteo Jorgenson for the overall right to the end. Then came the Tour of the Alps, where he put his rivals away to claim his first stage race overall victory. With the bigger names elsewhere in the field, Pellizzari has emerged as the leading GC challenger to Jonas Vingegaard for the pink jersey. Against that backdrop, it would be extraordinary if he did not also take the white.

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