Giro d'Italia 2026 stage 19 preview | It's time for the Dolomites — and the queen stage will settle things

It is time for the Dolomites! The Giro d'Italia will be decided in the coming days, and the queen stage will make sure of that. The mythical Italian mountain range sets the favourites a stage they will be feeling for a long time. Will it be another Jonas Vingegaard day, or will it go to the challengers or the breakaway? IDL Pro Cycling runs through the names.

It is actually impressive that the 19th stage of the Giro d'Italia does not begin with a climb. Like almost every other Dolomite stage, this one starts flat too. Well, relatively flat: from Feltre, the road will roll up and down for the first 20 kilometres, but never hard or long. Perfect conditions to form a breakaway? It looks like we are in for another gruelling opening hour at the very least.

Real climbing only begins from Agordo, but after that there is not a single flat kilometre left to come. The climbing starts with the Passo Duran, a brute of 12.1 kilometres averaging 8.2 per cent. Between kilometres three and ten the gradient averages 9.4 per cent, with sections hitting 14 per cent. There is no easing into this one.

The descent is not too technical, but the road rises sharply again almost immediately upon arriving in Dont. It is a true two-stage rocket, with a crushing climb to Coi first (5.8 kilometres at 9.7 per cent, with slopes reaching 19 per cent). A short descent then brings the riders to the foot of the Forcella Staulanza, which is somewhat gentler at 6.3 kilometres and 6.7 per cent.

That summit reaches 1,766 metres, but we are far from finished. The road drops around 300 metres, but gradually. After roughly 16 kilometres of respite, the highest point of the Giro looms: the Cima Coppi — the mythical Passo Giau. At 2,233 metres, the Giro also tackles it from the hardest side.

Twenty-seven hairpins spread over 9.9 kilometres at an average gradient of 9.3 per cent: the wheat will be separated from the chaff. The summit is just under 50 kilometres from the finish, so whether attacks will be launched here is still open to debate. One thing is certain: there will definitely not be a large group left over the top.

Normally the descent from the Passo Giau heads down to Cortina d'Ampezzo, but just before the riders enter the winter Olympic town, they turn left. The Passo Falzarego is the penultimate climb of the day — less brutal, but not pleasant either: 10 kilometres at 5.6 per cent, itself something of a two-stage rocket. Never truly severe, but at this point in the stage, how it will hurt.

From the top it is a long descent towards Alleghe. After 24 kilometres of downhill, it is straight back uphill for the final course: the Piani di Pezzè. It is the shortest climb of the day at just five kilometres, but it averages 9.8 per cent. There is no respite at any point, with the maximum gradients reaching 15 per cent. Even the final kilometre stays in double digits. After more than 5,000 metres of climbing, who will be the strongest?

Times
Start: 12:30 p.m CET
Finish: around 5:12 p.m CET

The Dolomites can always throw a surprise. The peloton looks to have some luck, but you never know. It should be around 22°C at the start, but in the mountains it will be considerably cooler. There could also be a passing shower, and even thunderstorms have not been ruled out. In the mountains, conditions can change from one kilometre to the next.

We have had four real mountain stages, and four times Jonas Vingegaard has been the best. The pink jersey wearer leaves nothing to chance, and if he targets the queen stage, there is probably no one who can stop him winning it. Will he take his fifth stage victory? The Dane has already said he does not want to waste too much more energy.

Should Visma | Lease a Bike set the tempo from the front all day, Davide Piganzoli could also go well. But there are plenty of rivals who are desperate to let their legs do the talking. Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) has always been the second-best climber in the race, while Jai Hindley (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Thymen Arensman (Netcompany INEOS) are lurking in the battle for the podium .

Derek Gee-West (Lidl-Trek) is also growing into the race with every stage, and is fighting Michael Storer (Tudor) and Afonso Eulálio for a top-five place. We expect less from the names below them if the GC riders really push the tempo, but a breakaway day remains possible, giving the other climbers a chance to make their mark.

Dutch fans will immediately think of Wout Poels. The Unibet Rose Rockets climber has frequently been seen near the front and has even held his own among the GC favourites. Is this his day? Not if Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) has anything to say about it. The Italian wears the blue mountain jersey but needs to sprint ahead of Vingegaard in the climbers' competition. If there is a day to do it, this is it.

Movistar are still waiting for their first result despite the Spanish team's attacking instincts. With Einer Rubio and Enric Mas they have two candidates. Jan Hirt is there for NSN, while Aleksandr Vlasov (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) has also been seen near the front on several occasions. Could Giulio Pellizzari have recovered from his recent troubles? If so, he could strike here.

Further back, GC riders who have already lost time will be looking to move up. Pinarello Q36.5 have both David de la Cruz and Chris Harper well positioned, while Mathys Rondel (Tudor) could also sneak through. Johannes Kulset (Uno-X Mobility), Igor Arrieta, Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Markel Beloki (EF Education-EasyPost) could also make themselves heard.

Top favorite: Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Outsiders: Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM), Thymen Arensman (Netcompany INEOS), Jai Hindley (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) and Wout Poels (Unibet Rose Rockets)
Long shots: Davide Piganzoli (Visma | Lease a Bike), Enric Mas, Einer Rubio (Movistar), Giulio Ciccone, Derek Gee-West (Lidl-Trek), Igor Arrieta (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Chris Harper (Pinarello Q36.5), Michael Storer (Tudor) and Jan Hirt (NSN)