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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
- Checking out the European course beforehand is smart. Hope she enjoys racing at home, whatever the result.jennifer1902-11-2026
- How does the starting order get decided in cyclocross? Eighth sounds impressive if she had to work her way through the whole field.cadencekingm02-11-2026
- The article’s timeline seems a bit muddled: it says this was the 2026 Koppenbergcross, then calls it her final race of 2025–Still, her progress is encouraging.pedalpowe2902-11-2026
- It’s lovely to see her smiling and thanking the fans. Taking things week by week sounds like the right approach after such a difficult year.patriciaw02-11-2026
- Eighth after starting on the back row at the Koppenberg is a strong ride. Good to see Fem building race rhythm without the pressure of chasing victories.tourdeforce902-11-2026
- I don’t understand how you can break vertebrae and not feel much pain there. Does that mean the collarbone injury was just more noticeable, or can spinal fractures sometimes cause very little pain? Hope he’s fully healed soon.sprocketspiny01-11-2026
- The recovery-score details are interesting, but they’re not a substitute for proper medical advice. Hopefully the team are keeping a close eye on him and letting the scans—not the urge to train—set the timetable.jennifer1901-11-2026
- Pogacar’s point about the safety gap between the Tour and smaller races is spot on. Riders are going faster than ever, yet some finishes still have awkward turns and road furniture right in the finale. Organisers need to take this seriously.gearguru3301-11-2026
- Two extra vertebrae fractures is a frightening discovery, especially after the concussion and collarbone injury. Glad he’s recovering, but it shows why coming back too soon would be a terrible risk.breakawaybikerd01-11-2026
- The team says it wants answers “as quickly as possible”, but speed shouldn’t come at the expense of a thorough investigation. Since Picnic PostNL commissioned it, will the full report be published? The team’s transparency will matter as much as who leads the inquiry.cyclechamp4530-10-2026