Who will win the purple jersey in Rome? Meet IDL Pro Cycling's Giro d'Italia 2026 points classification favourites

Thursday, 07 May 2026 at 12:36

Follow IDL Pro Cycling on Google

Stay up to date with the best cycling news by making us a preferred source on Google.

The Giro d'Italia is not only a battle for the iconic pink jersey — it is also a sprint showdown for the purple one. This year, once again, several riders will chase the maglia ciclamino all the way to Rome, where the prizes are handed out after 21 days. IDL Pro Cycling lines up the top contenders.

Giro d'Italia previews on IDL Pro Cycling:

Recent winners Giro d'Italia points classification

2025 - Mads Pedersen
2024 - Jonathan Milan
2023 - Jonathan Milan
2022 - Arnaud Démare
2021 - Peter Sagan
2020 - Arnaud Démare
2019 - Pascal Ackermann
2018 - Elia Viviani
2017 - Fernando Gaviria
2016 - Giacomo Nizzolo

Continue reading below the photo

Jonathan Milan, winner in 2023 and 2024

Points scoring: Giro d'Italia 2026

The Giro d'Italia is a brutally hard race — yet the points classification roll of honour is made up almost exclusively of sprinters. That is down to the traditional points structure. Whoever performs best in the sprint stages generally contends for the purple jersey. By way of illustration: Tadej Pogačar finished fifth in the points ranking two years ago despite winning six stages in the harder mountain stages.

Flat stages — one or two stars (stages 1, 3, 4, 6, 12, 15, 18, 21) Finish: 50, 35, 25, 18, 14, 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point

Hilly stages — three stars (stages 2, 5, 8, 9, 11, 13, 17) Finish: 25, 18, 12, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point

Mountain stages — four or five stars (stages 7, 14, 16, 19, 20) Finish: 15, 12, 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point

Time trial (stage 10) Finish: 15, 12, 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point

Intermediate sprints (all stages except the time trial) 12, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point

Favourites: Giro d'Italia 2026 points classification

To compile this list, former and current IDL Pro Cycling editors were asked for their top ten on the question: "Who has the best chance of winning the points classification at the Giro d'Italia?" Each top ten was awarded points on the following scale: 12 points for first place, 10 for second, then 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1. For each rider, the total points received have been converted into a percentage of the maximum achievable score. This gives a clearer picture of how IDL Pro Cycling rates the chances.

10. Paul Penhoët — Groupama-FDJ

First on the list is 24-year-old Frenchman Paul Penhoët of Groupama-FDJ. His team have been counting on the quick-finishing rider — who came through their own development programme — for several years now. Penhoët has been stringing together top placings for some time, but stands at "just" two professional victories so far. And both came back in 2023.

In 2026, Penhoët — who made his Grand Tour debut at last year's Tour de France — has not raced a great deal in the build-up to the Giro. His lead-out train, including Axel Huens and Cyril Barthe, also looks solid on paper, and Penhoët can handle a climb, meaning he could well feature in the fight on several occasions.

9. Erlend Blikra — Uno-X

Norwegian team Uno-X were the first to announce their Giro selection, and Erlend Blikra was given a prominent role in it. "Erlend is here to sprint, and there are many opportunities in this year's Giro. The sprint field will be strong, but we believe Blikra has the speed to compete for the prizes when everything comes together," says sports director Emil Vinjebo.

It will be the 29-year-old Norwegian's first Grand Tour — though this season he has already finished second twice at the UAE Tour and won a stage in Oman. "We believe Erlend will make it to Rome. In general, this Giro is not extremely hard. He should be able to make it to the end, but he needs a team that can help him through the tough days," Vinjebo explains.

8. Luca Mozzato — Tudor

Next up is Tudor's Italian sprinter Luca Mozzato, a familiar face from the spring Classics. In 2024 he finished second at the Tour of Flanders — a result he matched this season at Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne. Now the 28-year-old awaits his second Giro d'Italia.

Mozzato rode the Giro last year too, in the colours of the now-defunct Arkéa. That yielded just one top-ten finish, but he may well find more room to operate in this more sprint-friendly Giro.

7. Ethan Vernon — NSN

In seventh place we find someone who may have slipped under the radar for a wider audience, but who has shown he can compete with the best sprinters. Ethan Vernon of NSN has been building towards the Giro for months alongside his regular lead-out man Jake Stewart, and that partnership already paid off in Catalonia and the Loire Tour.

Those may not be races that get the closest attention here, but from previous years we also know that Vernon is a rider worth watching. He finished second twice at last year's Vuelta but is still chasing his first Grand Tour stage win. This Giro is his chance to change that.

6. Dylan Groenewegen — Unibet Rose Rockets

Number six is a name well known to cycling fans: Dylan Groenewegen of Unibet Rose Rockets. The dream for Bas Tietema's team is that they can change the name to the Unibet Roze Rockets after the Giro's opening day, with a sprint-friendly stage on paper in Burgas from the very first day.

Whether Groenewegen will also contest the intermediate sprints from day one is another question. His team's primary focus is on stage wins — though strong daily results inevitably bring the maglia ciclamino into play.

5. Orluis Aular — Movistar

Orluis Aular of Movistar comes in at fifth, a ranking largely based on his performances in last year's Giro d'Italia. The Venezuelan finished in the top five five times — though it must be noted immediately that last year's Giro was one that suited the Pedersen type of rider (and therefore Aular too).

And Aular is living proof that consistently finishing third or fourth does not automatically translate into points classification success — he ultimately finished tenth in that standing. Can he aim higher this time?

4. Kaden Groves — Alpecin-Premier Tech

Kaden Groves has been a fixture in Giro previews for several years now. The Australian from Alpecin-Premier Tech has been dealing with a knee problem since late February, but looks set to be ready in time for the Giro. The same was true in 2025, and Groves came through strongly then, winning a stage in Naples among other results.

In 2023 he also claimed a Giro stage win, while in 2024 he repeatedly came up short in second place. One advantage Groves holds over some of the other fast men is his climbing ability — meaning he could potentially sprint for victory on stages like stage 4 or 18, where others cannot.

3. Paul Magnier — Soudal Quick-Step

For the second year running, Paul Magnier lines up at the Giro d'Italia for Soudal Quick-Step. Where last year the goal was primarily to learn, and he stepped off halfway through, this time the aim is to win. It has to be, given his track record in the second half of 2025 — after leaving the Giro, he went on to win 18 (!) more times.

In the Classics, things did not quite click for Magnier, who subsequently headed to Sierra Nevada for an altitude camp. As one of the few riders who keeps his full Strava profile public, we could see that he put out his best power numbers of the year there. Dries Van Gestel and Jasper Stuyven form his lead-out.

2. Jonathan Milan — Lidl-Trek

After one year away — during which he won the green jersey at the Tour de France — Jonathan Milan is back at the Giro d'Italia, the race where he won the points classification in both 2023 and 2024. This year the initial goal is to wear the pink jersey on day one, as that still eludes his palmarès.

After that, attention will shift partly to the purple jersey, for which he has regular lead-out Simone Consonni and the tall German Max Walscheid as key support. After a somewhat disappointing spring, Lidl-Trek will be hungry for revenge at the Giro.

1. Tobias Lund Andresen — Decathlon CMA CGM

One of the sprinters of the year is Tobias Lund Andresen, who has had a superb spring for Decathlon CMA CGM. The Dane — who moved across from Picnic PostNL over the winter — won a stage at the Tour Down Under, the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, a Tirreno-Adriatico stage, and featured in the mix at virtually every Classic he entered.

The key advantage Lund Andresen holds over the likes of Milan is his climbing ability — as he demonstrated again on Friday at Eschborn-Frankfurt, where he was one of the few fast men to survive the hilly finale. The Dane told us at the start of that race that he has set his sights on the points jersey. "If you don't go for it and come up short in Rome, you'll kick yourself" was how he put it. Noted.

Read also

Write a comment

Tom van der Salm

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]

See author's posts

IDL-productions

Pogačar, Vingegaard and Van Aert went faster again in 2026... except when they didn't

Team GB dominate, China on the rise, Lavreysen the best ever? Five takeaways from the 2026 Track World Championships

Track World Championships day 2: A golden day for Team GB, Levreysen goes 2 for 2, and Kopecky eliminates the competition

Rumours, speculation and guesswork: 2027 Tour de France route will be revealed live on October 22 in Paris

Vollering adds the Women’s European Championships road race jersey to her rainbow wardrobe

Latest Cycling News

2027 Giro d'Italia route reveal: We'll know on Tuesday if Slovenian start and Zoncolan finale rumours are true

'The UCI are incompetent': Reverbi, team manager of Bardiani, is furious with the state of cycling

2027 Vuelta a España route rumours: Fearsome Angliru set to be made even harder

Van der Poel could be preparing for cyclocross return by working on his running, with impressive results

Bruyneel sees Visma as an excellent home for Seixas: 'Vingegaard is not going to win the Tour'

Popular Cycling News

Tadej Pogačar on Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Boonen, but also kiwi/pineapple, visualisation and the Gravel World Championships

Disgruntled Sjklemose could be best suited rider for Tour de France 2027 at Lidl-Trek: 'That doesn’t sit well'