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Follow us on GoogleFrom Nessebar to Rome, 21 stages and a maglia rosa will be contested in May 2026. Who can we expect on the start line in Bulgaria for the first men's Grand Tour of the year? IDL Pro Cycling runs through the field and their race numbers, from Jonas Vingegaard to Enrico Zanoncello.
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Also on IDL Pro Cycling — Giro d'Italia 2026 coverage:
- Stages preview
- GC favourites
- Points classification favourites
- Mountains classification favourites
- Young rider classification favourites
- Fantasy tips
Vingegaard is the natural top favourite for the Giro trophy (officially the 'Trofeo Senza Fine') as a multiple Grand Tour winner. The Visma | Lease a Bike Dane will be supported by loyal lieutenants including Sepp Kuss and Victor Campenaerts — and has already been given a helping hand in the build-up by the withdrawal of several potential rivals.
RCS saw João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG, prolonged illness), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost, not recovered from surgery) and Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step, fracture sustained in a crash at the Tour of the Basque Country) all pull out of this year's race.
Who will challenge Vingegaard for the pink jersey?
With those names absent, attention turns to the riders who will hope to take the fight to Vingegaard. Giulio Pellizzari and Jai Hindley form the dangerous tandem at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, as do Thymen Arensman and Egan Bernal at Netcompany INEOS and the Tudor pairing of Michael Storer and Mathys Rondel.
Many other teams are also targeting the classification, with ambitions ranging from outright victory to a top-five finish. Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious), Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM), Derek Gee-West (Lidl-Trek) and Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla) appear to be aiming for a podium place in Rome, while UAE Team Emirates-XRG with Adam Yates and Movistar with Enric Mas are genuinely dreaming of pink.
Sprint battles, the purple jersey and which young talent will emerge?
Among the sprinters, Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step), Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarché), Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets) are the main options for stage wins — and in some cases perhaps for the points classification and the purple jersey too.
English speaking fans have plenty to shout about at this year's Giro, especially those hailing from Down Under. Australian riders Michael Storer (Tudor) and Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla) both have shots at the podium, while Kadan Groves (Alpecin Premier-Tech) will be hunting stage wins.
Americans can root for Sepp Kuss (Visma) and Magnus Sheffield (Netcompany INEOS), but don't expect either to do anything outrageous, as both will be fully in the service of their team leaders. Canadians have a very bright top 5 hope in Derek Gee-West, who will be given free reign by Lidl-Trek. And Brits can put all their eggs in the INEOS and Ben Turner basket. The team will be all in for the GC, but hopefully Turner will get some chances to sprint on flat days.
And which young talent will announce themselves at this Giro, as we see virtually every year? Can Pellizzari, Rondel and UAE talent Jan Christen deliver on their potential? Or will a relatively unknown Frenchman, Italian or Spanjaard suddenly rise above themselves and take the race by surprise?
This was the devastating crash that forced Aussie 🇦🇺 Jay Vine to abandon the Giro on Stage 2.
— SBS Sport (@SBSSportau) May 9, 2026
Vine wasn't the only one injured in the pile-up, with Adne Holter, Marc Soler, and Santiago Buitrago also abandoning the race.#GirodItalia | May 8 - June 1 | SBS VICELAND 📺 pic.twitter.com/kqcFpeOrf1
Illness forces withdrawal after rest day
Jayco AlUla announced just before the 16th stage that Pascal Ackermann will no longer be starting. The German sprinter is suffering from an illness and will not compete in the final week.
Which riders have already abandoned the 2026 Giro d'Italia
- Matteo Moschetti (Pinarello-Q36.5)
- Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
- Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
- Ådne Holter (Uno-X Mobility)
- Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious)
- Andrea Vendrame (Jayco AlUla)
- Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
- Wilco Kelderman (Visma | Lease a Bike)
- Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Premier Tech)
- Arnaud de Lie (Lotto-Intermarché)
- Milan Menten (Lotto-Intermarché)
- Timo de Jong (Picnic-PostNL)
- Josh Giddings (Lotto-Intermarché)
- Samuele Battistella (EF Education-EasyPost)
- Felix Engelhardt (Jayco AlUla)
- Fabio Christen (Pinarello-Q36.5)
- Jake Stewart (NSN Pro Cycling)
- Davide Ballerini (XDS Astana)
- Edward Planckaert (Alpecin-Premier Tech)
- Martin Tjøtta (Uno-X Mobility)
- Erlend Blikra (Uno-X Mobility)
- Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Intermarché)
- Sjoerd Bax (Pinarello-Q36.5)
- Javier Romo (Movistar)
- Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana)
- Pascal Ackermann (Jayco AlUla)
https://twitter.com/giroditalia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2055626633894072489%7Ctwgr%5E13daf375fb123cd841ce7c964e951b8f2c234c71%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdashboard.indeleiderstrui.nl%2Fadmin%2Farticle%2F101155%2Fedit%3Fdraft%3D1
Giro d'Italia 2026: Confirmed squads and leaders
- Visma | Lease a Bike (Jonas Vingegaard)
- Netcompany INEOS (Thymen Arensman and Egan Bernal
- UAE Emirates (Adam Yates)
- Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe (Giulio Pellizzari and Jai Hindley)
- Lidl-Trek (Jonathan Milan, Derek Gee-West and Giulio Ciccone)
- Alpecin-Premier Tech (Kaden Goves and Luca Vergallito)
- Movistar (Enric Mas and Orluis Aular)
- Decathlon CMA CGM (Tobias Lund Andresen and Felis Gall)
- XDS Astana (Christian Scaroni, Diego Ulissi, and Alberto Bettiol)
- Unibet Rose Rockets (Dylan Groenewegen and Wout Poels)
- Jayco AlUla (Ben O'Connor and Pascal Ackermann)
- Uno-X (Andreas Leknessund and Erlend Blikra)
- NSN Cycling (Ethan Vernon and Corbin Strong)
- Groupama-FDJ United (Paul Penhoët and Rémy Rochas
- Polti Visit Malta (Giovanni Lonardi and Mattia Bais)
- Bardiani CSF-7 Saber (Manuele Tarozzi and Enrico Zanoncello)
- Tudor Pro Cycling (Michael Storer, Mathys Rondel en Luca Mozzato)
- Bahrain Victorious (Santiago Buitrago en Damiano Caruso)
- Picnic PostNL (Casper van Uden en Frank van den Broek)
- Lotto Intermarché (Arnaud de Lie and Lennert van Eetvelt)
- Soudal Quick-Step (Paul Magnier and Filippo Zana)
- EF Education-Easypost (Michael Valgreen and Madis Mihkels)
- Pinarello - Q36.5 (Matteo Moschetti en Chris Harper)
Giro d'Italia 2026 participants
Data powered by FirstCycling.com
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Tom van der Salm (27) comes from the charming town of Zeilberg (Deurne) in the Netherlands and has been working as editor-in-chief & journalist at IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, In de Leiderstrui, since 2019. He travels with the peloton from the Tour de France to the AlUla Tour and from the World Championships in Rwanda or Canada to the Zilvermeercross in Mol. In his spare time he enjoys playing football, mountain biking, running, walking with his Labrador/Stabyhoun, investing, holidays, (specialty) beers, reading, cooking and watching sports & documentaries!
Contact: [email protected]
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Latest Comments
- I’m not sure how WorldTour licences work—could these reports affect whether the team gets one next year, or is that decision based on other criteria?velodromevirtuoso113-11-2026
- Pointing to three former riders doesn’t settle what nearly 100 people have reportedly shared. Hopefully the review looks at the team’s systems and culture, not just whose version of events sounds more convincing.julien13-11-2026
- Eight questions or 23? That’s a pretty significant difference in the accounts, and it’d be useful to know exactly what was sent and when.robert6513-11-2026
- Kittel’s position sounds more nuanced than Spekenbrink suggests: he didn’t endorse the “culture of fear” label, but still called for the team to be looked at critically. That distinction matters.bikebuffj13-11-2026
- The independent investigation is the important bit now. It needs to give current staff a safe way to speak honestly, not just become another round of public statements.michael5413-11-2026
- One Lombardia doesn’t tell us how Seixas will handle a full Grand Tour. I’d rather see him develop steadily than have every result turned into a Pogačar comparison.samanthak12-11-2026
- Pogacar is 30 already? I thought he was younger. If he keeps winning like this, how long can he realistically ride at the top?jeremya12-11-2026
- Interesting that Thomas made the comparison while speaking to Rowe, given Decathlon’s hopes of keeping Seixas and the reports linking INEOS with him. Praise, or a subtle message to a potential signing?gearguru3312-11-2026
- Seixas winning Il Lombardia at this age is a huge statement. The Pogačar comparisons are inevitable, but Thomas is right to leave room for both of them to keep improving—Pog is still setting the bar.robert6512-11-2026
- A fascinating career, but the article leans heavily on his side of the story. Were the three disqualifications all for the same equipment rule, or were there different issues each time?michael5412-11-2026