It was 2:53 a.m. on 13 May 1909 when 127 riders set off from Piazzale Loreto in Milan for the first edition of the Giro d’Italia. Victory went to Luigi Ganna, a bricklayer whom cycling brought into the spotlight, fresh off his win at Milan–Sanremo and fifth place at the previous year’s Tour de France. Since then, the race has become an annual journey through the geography and history of Italy, transforming over the years into one of the most recognisable sporting institutions of Italian identity.
The Giro has crossed more than a century of Italian history, following its social and economic evolution. If one had to choose a soundtrack to narrate these changes, Ennio Morricone’s music would be among the most fitting: the “Maestro” knew how to define atmospheres and sustain storytelling like few others. The 2026 Giro route was unveiled in Rome, at the Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone, the venue named after the two-time Oscar-winning composer. Here, the organisers presented an edition that marks a passing of the baton: it will be the last route signed by Mauro Vegni, who will leave the direction of the Corsa Rosa at the beginning of the year.
For the sixteenth time in its history, the Grande Partenza will be held outside national borders: the first three stages will in fact be raced in Bulgaria, while the finale will once again take place in Rome, which will host the stage finish for the eighth time. The numbers tell the story of a demanding Giro: 3,459 kilometers and 49,150 meters of elevation gain. The route is balanced, with a 40.2-km time trial, eight flat stages for sprinters, seven medium-mountain stages and five high-mountain stages, for a total of seven summit finishes.
Now the question is which champions will choose to line up at the start to aim for the maglia rosa and lift the Trofeo Senza Fine in the Italian capital – Giro 109 will conclude with the Roman circuit.
Speaking of history, Giro 2026 will offer several references to the past. Milan will host a stage finish for the ninetieth time, while the start from Gemona del Friuli will recall the 1976 earthquake, fifty years after the dramatic event.
The Montagna Pantani will be located at the Piani di Pezzè, while the Tappa Bartali—entirely in Tuscany—will coincide with the time trial from Viareggio to Massa. The Cima Coppi of this edition will instead be the Passo Giau, which at 2,233 meters represents the highest point of the entire route.
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The 2025 Giro d'Italia podium (Image: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
The final week will open with a very short but very demanding stage, entirely on Swiss soil, from Bellinzona to Carì. Two rolling stages will serve as a prelude to the last days in the high mountains. The Dolomite queen stage will take the peloton from Feltre to the Piani di Pezzè, in a return that recalls Marco Pantani’s victory in the 1992 Giro Dilettanti. Along the way, a sequence of historic passes: Duran, Staulanza (with the Coi variant), Giau and Falzarego.
The following day the race will pay tribute to the victims of the 1976 Friuli earthquake, crossing the affected area before the double climb to Piancavallo.
Before all this, there will be the finish on Blockhaus, tackled from its toughest side, that of Roccamorice. The first week will also offer the “walls” stage around Fermo and the Apennine finish at Corno alle Scale, the highest peak of the Bolognese Apennines. More than twenty years have passed since the Giro last visited, when Gilberto Simoni won here in 2004.
During the second week, the individual Viareggio–Massa time trial is scheduled, followed by a series of stages alternating technical finishes and possible sprints. The weekend will bring the peloton to the Aosta Valley, with the return of the climb to Pila, absent for more than thirty years: a short but extremely tough stage, 133 kilometers with more than 4,400 meters of elevation gain. Sunday should instead return to the sprinters, with a likely bunch sprint in Milan.
As expected, it will then be the third and final week to write the overall classification.
Cover image: Zac Williams/SWpix.com
