Flat 40km time trial could tempt Remco Evenepoel to race 2026 Giro d'Italia

The odds of Remco Evenepoel's potential participation in the Giro d'Italia in 2026 may well have shortened after Het Laatste Nieuws reported over the weekend that next May's race will include a 40km time trial over mostly flat terrain.

The reigning World Time Trial Champion, Evenepoel's first Grand Tour with his future Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe squad is currently the subject of much media speculation, with a decision only to be revealed in December.

The Belgian star is understood to be more than likely to return to the Tour de France next July to try and improve on his third place in his race debut in 2024. However, the questions surrounding his program in the first half of the 2026 season remain much more wide open, with a third participation in the Giro still very much a possibility.

Evenepoel last took part in the Giro in 2023, when he had to abandon with COVID-19 from the race lead after winning both time trials in the first nine days of racing.

There are rumours that the Giro's time trial will be in the second week in Tuscany, just like in 2025, but unlike other years, comparatively little has been leaked about the 2026 route. The addition of a comparatively rare long time trial would likely render a return to the corsa rosa much more tempting to the 25-year-old.

The last time there was such a long time trial in a Grand Tour was in 2024 in the Giro d'Italia in Perugia. That was a 40.6km effort which ended with an uphill fourth-category climb and a win for Tadej Pogačar.

The previous rolling or flat time trial of more than 40km in the Giro with no final climb, though, was way back in 2016. The 40.5km time trial resulted in a surprise first-ever Grand Tour stage win for Evenepoel's future teammate, Primož Roglič, after he was narrowly defeated in the opening race against the clock by Holland's Tom Dumoulin.

Set to start in Bulgaria on Friday, May 8, the 2026 Giro will then transfer to Italy on Monday, May 11, with a stage in the southern region of Calabria. A stage to Naples is very likely, as well as a summit finish on the Blockhaus in the Apennines for the first time in four years.

The third week could well include stages in the Dolomites, including an ascent of the Passo Giau on stage 19 and Piancavallo – last used in the 2020 Giro with a win for Tao Geoghegan Hart – on stage 20. The 2026 Giro is expected to finish in Rome on May 31, repeating the 2024 final stage.