Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) and Fortunato (Astana) also out of the 2026 Tour de France
CyclingSaturday, 27 June 2026 at 15:56
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Follow us on GoogleOn Friday, we wrote about the Spanish riders who will be missing from the Tour de France start list. A day later, it’s Italy’s turn. La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that two pure stage hunters may also be ruled out of the 2026 Tour de France.
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Just as Spanish fans had to cross out the names of Iván Roméo (Movistar, ill), Cristián Rodriguez (Astana, dropped) and Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step, dropped) from their favourites books, fans in Italy will also have to swallow a bitter pill.
The names of Giulio Ciccone and Lorenzo Fortunato had been on the provisional start list for several months, but according to cycling journalist Ciro Scognamiglio, the two climbers have decided to skip the 2026 Tour de France.
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Ciccone won the mountains classification in the Giro d'Italia for the second time
Ciccone fully focused on the 2026 World Cycling Championships
Ciccone rode the Giro d'Italia in May, winning the mountains classification for the second time in his career. He was also scheduled to ride the Tour with Lidl-Trek, but he is skipping the biggest cycling race of the year—the same race in which he won the mountains classification in 2024.
We’ll see Ciccone again in August, when the Clásica de San Sebastián and the Tour of Burgos take place, races at which he won last year. In September, he’ll head to Canada, where he’ll focus entirely on the World Cycling Championships in Montréal.
With this decision, Ciccone is following the same path as Giulio Pellizzari, who will not be competing in the Tour de France on behalf of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. While Pellizzari wasn't expected to race in July, Ciccone was lined up for the Tour. The news means that Lidl-Trek can now go all in for Juan Ayuso and Mads Pedersen.
Continue reading below the photo
Fortunato will skip the Tour de France as well
Fortunato’s absence from the Tour de France is also striking, especially since he did not ride the Giro d’Italia in May. He won the mountains jersey at 2025 Giro, a feat he was also considered capable of achieving at the Tour de France. Fortunato has never competed in the Tour, and that will remain the case in 2026.
According to La Gazzetta, Fortunato will ride the Vuelta a España later this year, where XDS Astana undoubtedly sees more opportunities for success. The Kazakh team will focus on other riders in the Tour, including Dutchman Mike Teunissen.
It’s quite possible that Fortunato’s withdrawal from the Tour de France is related to his withdrawal from the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The Italian was one of many riders who fell ill during the French stage race and, as a result, did not start on the final day.
David Bavin-HobbsChief Editor
David has been working in the sports & cycling industry for 16 years. Covering racing, business and technology, he has worked in communications for cycling companies, teams, and as a journalist. His proudest achievement is winning the first bike race he ever entered. He hasn't won a race since.
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Latest Comments
- - Vamos Primož! Vuelta número cinco por favor. Qué clase.gearguru3327-06-2026
- - Not sure the piece nailed the timeline—didn’t his last TT win before today come in País Vasco 2024? And the article says Catalonia overall in 2025 was his last victory… feels a bit confusing on what counts as “last win.” Still, big result.jennifer1927-06-2026
- - Wait, is Red Bull-BORA really skipping Roglič for the Tour while Remco and Lipowitz co-lead? How does that even work with the GC pecking order—won’t that be messy?breakawaybikerd27-06-2026
- - Great to see him smiling on a TT bike again. Two national TT titles nine years apart says a lot about his longevity. Roll on Sunday’s road race.jeremya27-06-2026
- - Massive ride from Primož. On that Karteljevo course, to put30 into Ermakov and Omrzel over just8 km is huge. His aero has clearly come around again. Chapeau!sprocketspiny27-06-2026
- - C’est dommage pour Gaudu, mais les critiques anonymes, c’est lâche. Qu’il revienne avec la tête claire et un programme ciblé (Ardennes, Dauphiné), et on verra le vrai niveau.andrewf27-06-2026
- - Beating Vingegaard and Pedersen on that Vuelta finish was no fluke. Form’s cyclical. If he sorts the training blocks and the team politics, he can still podium at a one‑week race. Don’t write him off yet.michael5427-06-2026
- - Hard to read those anonymous quotes. Calling him an “annoying enigma” helps no one. FDJ have mishandled leaders before; maybe a reset and a proper altitude camp could bring back the 2022 legs. He’s only 29!cyclechamp4527-06-2026
- - Wait, is this for the 2026 Tour or next week’s Tour 2024? The article says next week but then mentions 2026—bit confused on the timeline.davidm27-06-2026
- - Brutal situation. From 4th at the Tour ’22 to missing the startlist now… but if the prep wasn’t there, fair play to step aside and let a stage-hunter in. Team harmony matters.velodromevirtuoso127-06-2026
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