Giro d'Italia 2026 mountains classification favourites: Who will win the Maglia Azzurra in Rome?

Monday, 04 May 2026 at 13:46

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The Giro d'Italia is almost here. While the general classification contenders are sharpening their blades for the season's first real target, the race's climbers have their eyes on La Corsa Rosa too — and for good reason. The blue jersey is a prize in its own right. IDL Pro Cycling runs through the ten favourites.

Every Grand Tour has its own way of distributing mountain points, and the Giro d'Italia is no exception. The organisers reward the first rider to summit the highest point of the race — known as the Cima Coppi, this year the Passo Giau on stage 19 — with a generous bonus: 50 points for first, 30 for second, 20 for third, then 14, 10, 6, 4, 2, and 1 for the ninth rider over the top.

There is also a distinction in the Giro between summit finishes and intermediate climbs. The first rider over a category one summit normally earns 40 points, but if that climb is also the stage finish, the reward rises to 50. That is a significant difference — and one that could play into the hands of attackers. The full breakdown is below.

Points distribution — Giro d'Italia mountains classification

Cima Coppi: 50 - 30 - 20 - 14 - 10 - 6 - 4 - 2 - 1

1st category finish: 50 - 24 - 16 - 10 - 6 - 4 - 2 - 1

1st category: 40 - 18 - 12 - 9 - 6 - 4 - 2 - 1

2nd category: 18 - 8 - 6 - 4 - 2 - 1

3rd category: 9 - 4 - 2 - 1

4th category: 3 - 2 - 1

See also/ soon on In the Leader's Jersey:

- Preview of the Giro d'Italia

- Favorites general classification (pink jersey)

- Favorites points classification (purple jersey)

- Favorites youth classification (white jersey)

- Pool tips for the Giro d'Italia

Recent winners, Giro d'Italia mountain classification

2025 - Lorenzo Fortunato*

2024 - Tadej Pogacar
2023 - Thibaut Pinot
2022 - Koen Bouwman
2021 - Geoffroy Bouchard
2020 - Ruben Guerreiro
2019 - Giulio Ciccone
2018 - Chris Froome
2017 - Mikel Landa
2016 - Mikel Nieve

*Lorenzo Fortunato is not riding this year's Giro d'Italia.

Lorenzo Fortunato will not be at his beloved Giro d'Italia this year

Giro d'Italia 2026 mountains classification favourites

To compile this list, current and former IDL Pro Cycling editors were each asked to submit a personal top ten in response to the question: "Who has the best chance of winning the mountains classification at the Giro d'Italia?" Points were awarded on the following scale: 12 for first, 10 for second, then 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1. Each rider's total has been converted into a percentage of the maximum achievable score to produce the final ranking. Those who narrowly missed the top ten include Gijs Leemreize, Andreas Leknessund, Chris Harper, and Einer Rubio.

10. Matys Rondel - Tudor

We open this list — from which Gijs Leemreize, Andreas Leknessund, Chris Harper, and Einer Rubio fell just short — with a name that may not ring many bells. Mathys Rondel is, however, a considerable talent. He announced himself again this spring with two near-wins on Mallorca before a top-ten finish at Paris-Nice. A fifth place at the Tour of the Alps followed, putting the 22-year-old in excellent shape heading into what will be his first Grand Tour.

Youth can be an asset in the mountains classification. Rondel has no reason to hold anything back, and Tudor have another potential card to play in this same list — more on that shortly.

9. Giulio Pellizzari - Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe

It would be far from his primary goal, but the logic holds: riders with genuine general classification ambitions tend to rack up points in the mountains too. Giulio Pellizzari may not be the top GC favourite — that name comes later — but he is among the strongest challengers for the pink jersey.

The Red Bull rider made his Giro debut in 2024, then still with Bardiani, and finished second in the mountains classification after spending several days on the attack. In his first season at Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe he placed sixth overall. His preparation this year has been excellent: two stage wins and the overall title at the Tour of the Alps. One to keep close tabs on.

8. Michael Storer - Tudor

For the third year in a row, Michael Storer lines up at the Giro — and in his two previous appearances he finished tenth on both occasions. Those are solid results in themselves for the Australian, who knows what it takes to win a mountains classification; he claimed the polka-dot jersey at the 2021 Vuelta a España, while also taking two stages. That was in the colours of Team DSM. Via Groupama-FDJ, Storer arrived at Tudor in 2024, where he quickly found his feet and claimed a stage win at last year's Paris-Nice.

His 2026 spring has been slightly quieter. But if he picks his moments — and is willing to let the GC go early — he has the ability to go deep.

7. Damiano Caruso - Bahrain Victorious

At 38, Damiano Caruso is preparing for his ninth and final start at the race he calls his own. He has finished second, fourth, and fifth (last year) in the Giro GC, and has come close in the mountains classification more than once — including third-place finishes in both 2019 and 2021.

Age is beginning to tell for Caruso, who turns 39 in October. His 2026 results have not given much cause for excitement, though he showed something at the recent Tour de Romandie, featuring prominently in the breakaway. Getting into the right move will also be the key to scoring mountains points.

6. Wout Poels - Unibet Rose Rockets

The Giro will be Wout Poels' 26th Grand Tour — and, sadly, his last. In his farewell to the peloton, he has one final shot at completing a trilogy of Grand Tour stage wins and, perhaps, adding a mountains classification to a palmarès that already stretches to the horizon. He came agonisingly close at the 2021 Tour de France, where he finished second in the mountains classification behind Tadej Pogačar.

It has been a while since we have seen him race. His last start was Milan-San Remo on 21 March. Last year at the Tour of Turkey he was in brilliant form, winning a stage and the overall — but then the Giro did not quite deliver. The altered build-up this time around will hopefully pay dividends.

5. Filippo Zana - Soudal Quick-Step

Filippo Zana has started the Giro seven times, but this will be his first in the colours of Soudal Quick-Step. After years with Bardiani and then Jayco AlUla, the 27-year-old climber has taken on a new challenge — and it has started well. Stage and overall victory at the Tour of Sardinia, plus a top ten at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, are encouraging signs.

He already has a Giro stage win on his record: in 2023 he beat Thibaut Pinot in a sprint finish at Val di Zoldo. In his previous six starts, he never climbed higher than 11th in the mountains classification — but a seventh place in the Vuelta mountains in 2024 showed he is capable of mixing it in these competitions. Worth watching.

4. Jonas Vingegaard - Visma | Lease a Bike

Jonas Vingegaard is making his Giro debut as the race's overwhelming favourite for the overall title. The question for the mountains classification is a simple one: how much freedom will the Dane's Visma | Lease a Bike leave for the pure attackers?

History suggests not a great deal. Vingegaard has consistently finished inside the top three of the Tour de France mountains standings, winning the competition in 2022. The more he is forced to mark his rivals, the more mountain points he will inevitably collect. The blue jersey may not be his goal — but he could end up with it anyway.

3. Jay Vine - UAE Emirates-XRG

He has won the Vuelta a España mountains classification back-to-back — in 2024 and in 2025, where he also got the better of eventual race winner Jonas Vingegaard in the mountains competition. Jay Vine is therefore an obvious name to mention when the blue jersey comes up. The Australian is adept at picking his days, and targeting the Giro mountains classification is precisely the kind of focused campaign that suits his style.

That said, he did not finish the 2025 Giro d'Italia — and staying upright has, unfortunately, been a recurring problem in his career. In January, he crashed in 'his' Tour Down Under following a collision with a kangaroo. After that, the Volta a Catalunya was his only race before abandoning after three days. There are still question marks around his form.

2. Christian Scaroni - XDS Astana

Christian Scaroni spent time in the blue jersey during last year's Giro, but ultimately ceded the mountains classification to teammate Lorenzo Fortunato — the race that produced that stunning stage win at San Valentino, where the two XDS Astana riders crossed the line together. This will be his fourth Giro, and the Italian will know the roads like the back of his hand.

His form is also encouraging. On the very first day of racing this season, Scaroni won on Mallorca — then added a stage and the overall at the Tour of Oman. An attacking Tour of the Basque Country preceded an eighth place at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He arrives in Bulgaria ready to perform.

1. Giulio Ciccone - Lidl-Trek

The 31-year-old Giulio Ciccone is preparing for his ninth Giro d'Italia — and he has already won the mountains classification once, back in 2019, accumulating more than double the points of runner-up Fausto Masnada. After several years spent chasing a high general classification finish, that ambition now lies firmly behind him.

And so the signs are pointing in one direction again. Ciccone won the mountains classification at the Volta a Catalunya this spring — and he also did it at the Tour de France in 2023, making him one of very few riders with polka-dot jerseys from both races. Lidl-Trek know exactly how to run this kind of campaign, and their Italian climber knows exactly what it takes. His name goes at the top of this list.

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Gauthier RibeiroEditor and cycling journalist

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