Under 23 world champion Lorenzo Finn (Red Bull–Bora Hansgrohe Rookies) is the standout favourite for the Giro Next Gen that begins on Sunday June 14 and again promises to showcase some of the best young riders in the sport who are about to turn professional.
The eight-day stage race is the last of the three Giro d'Italia organised by RCS Sport after the men's Giro d'Italia in May won by Jonas Vingegaard and the more recent Giro d'Italia Women won by Demi Vollering.
The Under 23 race includes 1088 kilometres of racing and more than 14,000 metres of elevation gain. The stages are all in the south of Italy this year, with the start in Reggio Calabria near Sicily and the finish on June 21 in L’Aquila with a decisive 22.2km individual time trial.
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The opening stages suit the sprinters and breakaways before the mountain stages in the Apennines to Monte Livata and Piana delle Mele on stages six and seven.
Slovenia's Jakob Omrzel won the 2025 Giro Next Gen ahead of Australia's Ben Luckwell. Both have stepped up to WorldTour level this year with Bahrain Victorious and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.
Anglo-Italian Finn, 19, opted to stay in the Under 23 ranks another season but has raced with the WorldTour team several times. He is considered a future rival of Paul Seixas and Omrzel in stage races and Italy's next great talent.
Other riders to watch for at the Giro Next Gen include Daan Dijkman, the winner of the U23 Liège–Bastogne–Liège; Frenchman Remi Daumas, who impressed at the Ronde de l’Isard; Belgian Kamiel Eeman, winner of the Course de la Paix; and his compatriot Matisse Van Kerckhove, who won the Alpes Isère Tour.
Stage hunters include 2025 points jersey winner Aubin Sparfel (Decathlon CMA CGM Development) and 2025 stage winners Adam Rafferty (Hagens Berman Jayco) of Ireland and his compatriot Seth Dunwoody (Bahrain Victorious Development), U23 Paris–Roubaix winner Davide Donati (Red Bull–Bora Hansgrohe Rookies) and the likes of Davide Stella, Jack Ward, Patryk Goszczurny and Cameron Rogers.
Finn impressed at the Tour of the Alps while riding with the Red Bull–Bora Hansgrohe team but then crashed and fractured his wrist. He underwent surgery and has recently trained at altitude with his teammates to be ready for the Giro Next Gen.
"Thanks to surgery I recovered quickly and don't have any problems on the bike," Finn told BiciPro.
"If everything goes to plan, I should peak for the start of the Giro and then we'll see what happens. I think I've improved every year and this year I feel stronger. I haven't raced for a while but my training has gone well."
"We’ve analysed the route carefully and the structure of the stages is a bit different from last year," explained the two-time world champion.
"The last three days will be decisive for the general classification, with the final time trial playing a crucial role, and I’m preparing thoroughly for that. It will also be interesting to see who manages fatigue best towards the end of the race. If everything goes according to plan, I should be in top form for the start of the Giro."
Finn crashed during the 2025 Giro Next Gen and finished sixth overall before going on to take fourth at the Tour de L'Avenir behind Seixas. He won the U23 world title in Rwanda with a solo attack and was also fourth in the time trial.
He will have a similar race programme this summer and ride more races with the Red Bull–Bora Hansgrohe team before stepping up to WorldTour level in 2027.
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