Start time: 13:50 local time (EEST) / 12:50 CEST / 6:50 ET
Finish time: 17:12 CET local time (EEST) / 16:12 CEST / 10:12 ET
The Giro d'Italia starts outside of the Bel Paese for the 16th time and second consecutive year, with Bulgaria hosting a three-stage Grande Partenza on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
This year's race begins in Nessebar, a Unesco World Heritage Site on the Black Sea coast and ends further south in Burgas after 147km of flat and likely fast racing. A high-speed sprint finish seems assured with the stage winner also awarded the first race leader's Maglia Rosa.
The 2026 Giro route includes a possible eight sprint finishes and so has attracted many of the sport's best sprinters. Some might leave before the Giro reaches the halfway point but all will fight for victory in the numerous sprints of the first week.
Cyclingnews gave Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) five stars and top billing on our special analysis on the Giro sprinters, asking who can beat him. His rivals, especially on stage 1, include Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets), Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM), Paul Magnier (Soudal-QuickStep), Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Intermarché) and Ethan Vernon (NSN).
Outsiders to watch for are Casper van Uden (Picnic PostNL Raisin), Erlend Blikra (Uno-X Mobility), Ben Turner (Netcompany Ineos) Matteo Malucelli (XDS- Astana) Pascal Ackermann (Jayco AlUla) and Italy's Matteo Moschetti (Pinarello-Q36.5).
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Every rider has seen the final kilometres in the last few days and every rider will be fresh after the opening 147 km stage, with lead out trains expected to play a vital role in the final kilometers. For the GC contenders, stage 1 is about avoiding any crashes and tension.
The weather has been dry in the Burgas area ever since the rider arrived on Tuesday. They have trained in shorts but with several layers of clothing so far. However, a high of 22°C is expected on Friday afternoon.
Some riders have warned of the risk of cross winds blowing from the Black Sea. A peak wind speed of 22 kph is forecast and the wind will blow from the riders left across the open sea as they head south along the coast. Riders may be concerned at the start about possible crosswinds but they are unlikely to be strong enough to spark echelons attacks.
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(Image credit: RCS Sport)
(Image credit: RCS Sport)
The stage route from Nessebar to Burgas follows the coastline before crossing the finish line for the first time, and then heads south towards Sozopol to take on two laps of a 22.1km circuit. The long loop features the category 4 Cape Agalina to award the first mountains jersey, with the intermediate sprint in Sozopol after 90km and the first passage of Cape Agalina. They will perhaps inspire the early breakaway to fight to hold off any chase from the peloton.
The Red Bull KM sprint comes after 114.7, just 32km from the finish, so it will be interesting to see if any GC riders or sprinters fight for the six, four and two bonus seconds. The ten, six and four seconds awarded at the finish will decide the first race leader but the Red Bull KM second could be a factor on stage 2 and beyond. Every second counts in the fight for pink.
The final 32km of fast coastal roads bring the peloton back to Burgas from the south. The bridges and coast roads are exposed but the speed will be high as teams fight for position and chase down any breakaways.
The final kilometres are on wide and mainly straight roads, sweeping into the centre of Burgas via only slight turns in the road. The final rises slightly and gradually sweeps left, making the left side of the road the shortest and most logical line to the finish line and victory.
Stage prediction
My prediction
My prediction
Stephen Farrand
I think Jonathan Milan will win the opening stage for Lidl-Trek. The Italian power sprinter is back at the Giro after targeting the Tour de France sprints in 2025. He won three Giro sprints in 2024 and can handle the high pressure on his broad shoulders. His Lidl-Trek team should have the speed and skill to lead out the sprint, with the lack of corners and technical sectors helping Milan more than is rivals.
Dylan Groenewegen is perhaps Milan's biggest threat and could try to slingshot off his wheel in sight of the line to give Unibet Rose Rockets a historic Grand Tour stage win on their debut.
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
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