Jonas Vingegaard vs Remco Evenepoel, or a second chance for Isaac del Toro? Riders we're hoping will race the Giro d'Italia in 2026

The route of the men's 2026 Giro d'Italia is out, featuring plenty of sprint stages, a host of opportunities for the puncheurs, a 40km time trial, and – like the 2026 Tour de France route – backloaded mountains for the maglia rosa hopefuls.

The race, then, has something for everyone, even if fans will have to wait a while for the big GC battle to play out in the Alps and Dolomites.

We know the route, as we do with the Tour, while the Vuelta a España route will be revealed in Madrid on December 17. But we don't yet know who will be lining up in Bulgaria to take on the 109th edition of the Corsa Rosa.

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Numerous top riders from around the peloton have spoken about next May's race and the possibility of participating, but there have been few confirmations yet. With that in mind, here's who we'd like to see racing the 2026 Giro d'Italia.

GC riders

Jonas Vingegaard

Jonas Vingegaard, who already has two Tour de France wins and one at the Vuelta a España, is keen to complete his Grand Tour 'set' before retiring from racing, recently saying that he'd prefer to add the Giro d'Italia to his collection over winning another Tour.

"After the Tour de France and the Vuelta, I still have the Giro left… but we haven't yet decided if I'll be competing in it next season," he said last month. "We still need to discuss it with the team. The Tour obviously remains the biggest objective. But now it's a question of whether we can combine the two next year."

Visma-Lease a Bike would probably prefer Vingegaard to focus on July once again next year, but Giro d'Italia organisers have done their best to tempt him to add their race to his calendar.

"We're working on it," RCS Sport CEO Paolo Bellino told Cyclingnews recently. "We're trying to set up a real battle between some 'grande campione', some real big names. But I only like to announce things when they're a done deal."

Remco Evenepoel

Remco Evenepoel has a big choice to make next spring – will the Belgian make his Giro d'Italia return or will he instead race a fuller spring Classics season, possibly including a Tour of Flanders debut?

Whatever he decides, Giro organisers RCS Sport have certainly tried their best to tempt the Olympic champion to their Grand Tour next May. A pan-flat 40.2km time trial between Viareggio and Massa would certainly provide him a prime opportunity to take the pink jersey, while the backloaded mountains of the route mean the biggest GC pitfalls are confined to later in the race.

He'll start his season at the Volta ao Algarve or the UAE Tour, while the Ardennes Classics are also on his schedule. He hasn't yet committed to any other spring plans, however, recently answering, "In visual terms, yes," when asked about the chances of racing Flanders.

"It's difficult to combine everything. Choices have to be made. I'm joining a new team whose ultimate goal is to win the Tour. Then stage races like the Volta a Catalunya are necessary to test things out. And we'll wait and see what the Giro d'Italia course looks like first. Based on the decision we make about that, we'll plan my season."

Isaac del Toro or João Almeida

Tadej Pogačar, with four Tour de France titles under his belt, is set to go for a fifth title next summer, and his domination of the Giro d'Italia a year ago means he has no reason to make a quick return. However, one of his teammates should get a shot at the Italian Grand Tour before turning their hand to supporting Pogačar two months later.

Both Isaac del Toro and João Almeida have raced the Giro before, with the young Mexican finishing runner-up on his debut last May and the Portuguese rider finishing on the podium back in 2023.

As of 2025, the pair lay a rung below the very strongest Grand Tour contenders (Pogačar plus Vingegaard and Evenepoel), but given Del Toro's rate of progress, he may well be ready to challenge the latter duo in 2026.

Depending on who else shows up to contest the maglia rosa, Del Toro and Almeida could well line up in Bulgaria as the top favourites to win the race. In an ideal world, we'd like to see a huge showdown between Vingegaard, Evenepoel, and Del Toro next May. Watch this space…

Sprinters

Tim Merlier, Jonathan Milan and Jasper Philipsen

As we've seen, the Giro d'Italia features a host of stages in which the sprinters are set to do battle, including the first chance at the pink jersey in the Bulgarian city of Burgas.

Further sprint chances come in Sofia on stage 3, Cosenza on stage 4, Novi Ligure on stage 12, Milan on stage 15, Pieve di Soligo on stage 18, and the closer in Rome on stage 21. That's a third of the race given up to the fastmen, a number rarely seen in modern Grand Tours. At this year's Giro, by comparison, there were just five mass sprint finishes.

So, then, with the Tour de France featuring five likely sprints and zero after stage 12, what better opportunity for the Giro to play host to the world's fastest sprinters?

It's unlikely that all three of Tim Merlier, Jonathan Milan and Jasper Philipsen will show up in Italy next May, but the sight of the three top sprinters in the peloton facing off on seven days of the race would bring excitement and anticipation to stages which aren't traditionally the most exciting.

Merlier and Milan have both raced the Giro twice before, racking up four stage wins apiece with Milan also taking home the points classification in 2023 and 2024. The Belgian will be keen to race the Tour, however, and he's said that he isn't keen on racing two Grand Tours in a year, while Milan is facing an intra-team battle with Mads Pedersen to lead Lidl-Trek's Tour sprint lineup.

Philipsen, on the other hand, has never raced the Giro, though a stage win at the race is the only component missing from a possible Grand Tour triple. With his focus on the spring Classics and Tour, though, it seems unlikely that he'll take part next May.

Classics men

Mathieu van der Poel

We've already outlined the case for Alpecin-Deceuninck sprinter Jasper Philipsen to head to Italy next May. Now how about his teammate, Classics superstar and lead-out man extraordinaire, Mathieu van der Poel?

The Dutchman has already raced the Giro, of course, making his debut at the race three years ago. Van der Poel won the opening stage in Hungary and held the pink jersey for three days, to boot, showing that he could successfully combine the Classics and Giro having just won the Dwars door Vlaanderen and Tour of Flanders.

A return to the Giro next year looks unlikely, however, with the Classics and Tour certainly a priority both for him and for Philipsen. However, the Giro route, with five suitably punchy stages in Valiko Tarnovo, Naples, Fermo, Chiavari, and Verbania, certainly looks better-suited to Van der Poel's skills than the Tour's – especially with Pogačar among the contenders for the same stages he'd be targeting in France.

Biniam Girmay

2026 is set to be a year of change for Biniam Girmay, who departs Intermarché-Wanty after five years for a new start at the new-look NSN Cycling Team. It's no secret that the Eritrean didn't enjoy his best year in 2025, with no wins to his name and a second place at the Tour de France opener his best result. So, then, why not head back to the Giro, the scene of where it all began for him – along with Gent-Wevelgem six weeks earlier – in the spring of 2022?

Girmay, of course, went on to take three stages and the points jersey at the 2024 Tour de France, but as we've outlined above, there are plenty more chances for both the sprinters and the puncheurs next May compared to the July race. Girmay can compete in both, of course, and, on top form, he'd certainly be in the frame for the maglia ciclamino.

The 25-year-old's 2026 plans have yet to be announced, and he only officially signed with his new team on Monday. The Swiss squad will likely want their new star rider at the world's biggest race next summer, but he's certainly another name on our Giro d'Italia wish list.

Young talents

Thibau Nys

Twenty-three-year-old Thibau Nys is currently racking up wins during the ongoing cyclocross season, including the opening two races of the UCI World Cup, so the Giro d'Italia perhaps isn't at the forefront of his mind right now. However, La Gazzetta della Sport recently reported that Nys is likely to make his Giro debut next May.

The Lidl-Trek man will be heading into his fourth season as a professional road racer next year, and he built up to his Tour de France debut this summer with a host of appearances at week-long races around the calendar. Along the way, he has built a reputation as a quality puncheur, winning five stages across the Tour de Romandie, Tour de Suisse, and Tour de Pologne in 2024 as well as the GP Indurain this season.

With several punchy stages on the menu next May in addition to various other mountain breakaway opportunities (Nys can climb well, too), the 2026 Giro looks like it'll provide a good chance for the Belgian to try for his first Grand Tour stage win.

Paul Magnier

We'd like to see Soudal-QuickStep's main man Tim Merlier line up at the Giro, but if he doesn't return to Italy next year, then the Belgian team have a perfect second option to send there for the sprint finishes.

No other sprinter won more races in 2025 than Frenchman Paul Magnier, with the 21-year-old scoring a massive 19 wins in his sophomore season.

Among them were five wins in six days at the Tour of Guangxi plus another at WorldTour level at the Tour de Pologne. He hasn't yet raced at the highest level, however, and what better race to make his Grand Tour debut than a Giro d'Italia with plenty of opportunities for sprint victories?

Matthew Brennan

British youngster Matthew Brennan is the other major up-and-coming fastman in the current peloton. The 20-year-old Briton burst onto the scene this year, his debut season in the professional ranks, capturing 12 wins between March and September.

Already, he's tasted success at WorldTour level, scoring four wins across the Volta a Catalunya, Tour de Romandie, and Tour de Pologne. He's quickly proven himself and looks ready to take on a Grand Tour next year.

Visma-Lease a Bike's lead sprinter Olav Kooij has headed off for pastures new at Decathlon CMA CGM, while the team will once again centre their Tour de France on Jonas Vingegaard's GC ambitions. There's space, then, for Brennan to head to the Giro as the team's main sprinter with a cluster of riders in support.