Giro d'Italia 2026 Stage 17 Preview | Which names will come out on top in the game of breakaway bingo?

The final week of the Giro d’Italia is racing on, with a stage that the attackers will have been looking forward to! In the finish town of Andalo, another superb chance awaits, on a route where riders may well try their luck from long range. Who stands a chance? IDL Pro Cycling takes you through it

We start on Wednesday in Cassano d’Adda, where the riders are given a completely flat opening phase in a stage that is 202 kilometres long in total. Only after more than 50 kilometres does the first difficulty of the day appear: the Passo Del Tre Termini, a third-category climb. Even so, this climb, at 8.2 kilometres long and averaging 5.9 per cent, is no walk in the park.

After a short descent, the road quickly rises again with the Cocca di Lodrino. At 8.2 kilometres at an average of 4.1 per cent, it is a little easier than its predecessor, but the organisers have labelled both climbs as third-category hills.

That is followed by an almost flat middle section, before the road rises again after a little under 140 kilometres. It is uncategorised, for a little under five kilometres at 5 per cent, but the intermediate sprint is placed at the top. That is in Roncone, after which the riders soon head towards the finale.

There they arrive after first going downhill, then uphill, and then briefly downhill again. With just under 30 kilometres to go, the fireworks are expected to really begin when the road rises again towards the Red Bull kilometre.

That is located roughly halfway up the climb to Andalo-Lever. The climb itself has three sections, with the first part the hardest. After that the gradient levels off a little, and with around 2.5 kilometres to go to the summit, the percentages rise again slightly. The top of the climb comes a little over 10 kilometres from the finish.

Then there is a short descent, before the road rises again towards the line. There is still plenty of climbing to do, with sections up to 8 per cent in the absolute finale. The climb is around 2.5 kilometres long, with the summit 1.5 kilometres from the finish. There are no more corners in those final 1.5 kilometres, nor any more meaningful elevation gain.

Times
Start: 12:10 p.m.
Finish: around 5:15 p.m.

The good weather in Italy is giving way somewhat, so a few rain showers are forecast in Andalo in the afternoon. Temperatures will also drop, with around 33C expected in the start town, while about 19C is forecast at the finish. The wind will be blowing gently from behind all day.

Too hard for the sprinters and too easy for GC gaps, so... it looks like we are heading for a big attackers’ bingo! And when you say attackers, you also say Alberto Bettiol, who has already won a stage in this Giro. XDS Astana team-mate Diego Ulissi is also one to note, as are compatriots Ludovico Crescioli (Polti VisitMalta) and Gianmarco Garofoli (Soudal Quick-Step).

Naturally, we also cannot ignore the name of Jhonatan Narváez on Wednesday. The UAE rider has been the man of this Giro so far, with no fewer than three victories. The Ecuadorian also finds a stage like this suited to him, although his team could also try it with riders such as Jan Christen, António Morgado and Igor Arrieta, who has also already won a stage.

Someone who will be especially keen to strike is Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek). The Italian has already tried many times, but has barely been given any room by his rivals. Riders such as Einer Rubio (Movistar), Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X) and Alessandro Pinarello (NSN) have also been in the mix in this Giro, but have not yet managed to strike.

What about Wout Poels? The Dutchman of Unibet Rose Rockets still wants to complete his trilogy, but is this stage hard enough to make the difference? In that same bracket, Koen Bouwman (Jayco AlUla), Aleksandr Vlasov (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Damiano Caruso — who said he should get a chance of his own in the final week — and Warren Barguil (Picnic PostNL Raisin) could also have another go.

Also worth keeping an eye on: Magnus Sheffield (Netcompany INEOS), Michael Valgren, Jardi van der Lee (both EF Education-EasyPost), Rémy Rochas (Groupama-FDJ United), Simone Gualdi (Lotto-Intermarché), the attacking specialists Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar) and Mattia Bais (Polti VisitMalta), and Johannes Kulset (Uno-X).

Teams such as Visma | Lease a Bike, Decathlon CMA CGM, Netcompany INEOS and Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe will perhaps be hoping for a quieter day, especially after Tuesday’s tough stage and with what is still to come in the third week .

Top favorites: Jhonatan Narváez (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek)
Outsiders: Alberto Bettiol (both XDS Astana), Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Einer Rubio (Movistar)
Long shots:Gianmarco Garofoli (Soudal Quick-Step), Igor Arrieta (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X), Alessandro Pinarello(NSN), Wout Poels (Unibet Rose Rockets), Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious), Magnus Sheffield (Netcompany INEOS), Jardi Christiaan van der Lee (EF Education-EasyPost), Simone Gualdi (Lotto-Intermarché) and Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar)