Giro d'Italia 2026 Startlist Confirmed: Vingegaard, Almeida and 23 Teams Ready for Bulgaria Grand Partenza
RCS Sport has officially confirmed the 23-team startlist for the 2026 Giro d'Italia, completing the field for what promises to be one of the most compelling editions of the corsa rosa in years. The race begins on May 8 with a historic Grand Partenza in Bulgaria — the first time the Giro has started in the Balkan nation — before 3,459 kilometres and 21 stages lead the peloton to a finale in Rome on May 31.
The headline name is Jonas Vingegaard. The two-time Tour de France champion makes his Giro debut with Visma-Lease a Bike, entering the race off the back of a spring that has seen him dominate both Paris-Nice and the Volta a Catalunya. Vingegaard has been characteristically forthright about his ambitions, declaring earlier this month that he would "rather win the Giro than the Tour" — a statement that raised eyebrows across the peloton but reflects his desire to add the maglia rosa to a palmares that already includes two maillots jaunes. His final altitude training camp in the weeks before the Grand Partenza will determine how sharp he arrives in Sofia.
João Almeida leads UAE Team Emirates-XRG in a race he has long targeted. The Portuguese rider, who famously wore the maglia rosa for 15 days as a neo-pro in 2020, has matured into one of the sport's most consistent stage race performers. With Tadej Pogačar skipping the Giro to focus on the Monuments and the Tour de France, Almeida is the undisputed leader of the Emirati squad and arrives with a team built to deliver him to Rome in pink.
Giulio Pellizzari carries the hopes of Italian cycling. The young Lidl-Trek climber has been tipped as a future Grand Tour winner since his explosive debut season, and the 2026 Giro represents his first realistic shot at a top-five finish. Pellizzari's climbing ability in the high mountains has drawn comparisons with a young Vincenzo Nibali, and the Italian tifosi will pack the mountain stages to cheer on their latest hope. His teammate Jonathan Milan will target the flat stages, giving Lidl-Trek a formidable dual threat.
Richard Carapaz, the 2019 Giro champion, returns for EF Education-EasyPost with his eye on a second maglia rosa. The Ecuadorian has been quietly impressive this spring, and his experience of winning the race makes him a dangerous contender on the brutal mountain stages that define the Giro's final week. Tao Geoghegan Hart, the 2020 champion now riding for Jayco-AlUla, adds another former winner to a GC field that rivals any Giro in recent memory.
The wildcard selections tell their own story. Unibet Rose Rockets earned the most debated invitation, securing a Grand Tour start that signals both the team's ambition and RCS Sport's willingness to embrace newer, media-savvy operations. The traditional Italian wildcards went to VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè and Polti Kometa, while Pinarello-Q36.5 and Tudor Pro Cycling qualified through the ProTeam rankings — a performance-based pathway that reduces the number of pure invitational slots.
The sprint stages will be fiercely contested. Filippo Ganna is expected to target the opening time trial in Bulgaria as well as any flat stages that suit his enormous engine, while Kaden Groves, Pascal Ackermann, and Dylan Groenewegen will battle for the bunch sprint victories. Milan's presence gives Lidl-Trek options across every terrain.
With one month to go before the Grand Partenza, the 2026 Giro has the ingredients for a classic: a first-time favourite in Vingegaard, a home hero in Pellizzari, experienced champions in Carapaz and Geoghegan Hart, and a route that includes over 14,600 metres of climbing across some of Italy's most spectacular mountain passes. The countdown to Bulgaria begins now.