2026 Giro d'Italia stage 2 preview

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Stage 2 - May 9, 2026: Burgas - Veliko Tarnovo, 221 km

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Route information for the 2026 Giro d'Italia
(Image credit: RCS Sport)

Start time: 11:50 CET

Continuing the east to west route for the Grande Partenza in Bulgaria, stage 2 heads towards the interior, for a tricky finale where the Maglia Rosa will probably change shoulders with the sting of the Lyaskovets Monastery climb, 10 km from the finish.

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Leaving Burgas, the route crosses the Balkan Mountains, tackling two categorised climbs to head towards Veliko Tarnovo, perched on the rocky banks of the Jantra River, a tributary of the Danube. The finish features a sharp uphill kick of the 4km ascent of Lyaskovets Monastery Pass with an average gradient of 7% and maximum double-digits steep pitches before a fast descent to an uphill dash to the line.

Mountains

  • Byala Pass (cat. 3), km. 116.3
  • Vratnik Pass (cat. 3), km. 134.1
  • Lyaskovets Monastery Pass (cat. 3, 3.9km at 6.8%, max. 14%), km. 210.6

Sprints

  • Red Bull Km - 204.5-205.5
  • Intermediate Sprint - Sliven, km. 100.4
Lyne Lamoureux
Lyne Lamoureux

Lyne has been involved in professional cycling for more than 15 years in both news reporting and sports marketing. She founded Podium Insight in 2008, quickly becoming a trusted source for news of the North American professional cycling world. She was the first to successfully use social media to consistently provide timely and live race updates for all fans. She is proud to have covered men's and women's news equally during her tenure at the helm of the site. Her writing has appeared on Cyclingnews and other news sites. 

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