The 2026 Giro d'Italia enjoys its final day in Bulgaria on Sunday as the peloton races 175km from the second city, Plovdiv, to the nation's capital, Sofia.
Stage 1 in Burgas concluded with a sprint finish won by Paul Magnier (Soudal-QuickStep), and stage 3 looks all set to conclude similarly. One major hill, Borovets Pass (9.2km at 5.4%), marks the middle of the stage, but the day should finish with a mass sprint finish before bidding farewell to Bulgaria and heading home to Italy.
Riders will be hoping for a stage unmarred by crashes after stage 1 saw several major sprinters miss the finish as a result of one. Stage 2, meanwhile, was briefly neutralised late on following a nasty mass crash in the rain.
Frenchman Magnier will be hoping to double up in Bulgaria, having beaten Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon-CMA CGM) in the opener. Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), nominally the top sprinter in the peloton at this Giro, could only finish fourth in Burgas, and he'll be hoping for much more here.
"Unfortunately, two riders from our team were involved in the crash, Max Walscheid and Derek Gee," Milan told CyclingPro ahead of the start. “Fortunately, they didn’t sustain serious injuries, but of course, they are feeling the consequences of the fall.
"Today is another new chance. Saying that we are motivated is actually not enough. We are super motivated and completely ready."
Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AlUla), 177th on stage 1, and Kaiden Groves (Alpecin-Premier Tech), 180th, will also be aiming to make their mark at the front of the race in the final, though Matteo Moschetti (Pinarello-Q36.5) won't be in the mix after withdrawing from the Giro after stage 1.
Any sprinters dropped on the mid-stage climb will have plenty of time to make it back into the peloton well before the finish line, meaning a full group sprint in Sofia looks very likely.
Plovdiv to Sofia, 175km
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: RCS Sport)
(Image credit: RCS Sport)
Start time: 13:05 EET
Finish time: 17:14 EET
The Giro’s Bulgarian Grande Partenza concludes in Sofia, and once again favours the sprinters, even though the route features a long, steady climb midway.
After rolling out from Plovdiv, the peloton will make its way on a false flat uphill to the only climb of the day, Borovets Pass, topping at 1,300 metres before facing 72km of descending or false-flat downhill terrain all the way into the Bulgarian capital.
The final 8km are straight on a very slight downhill gradient until the final kilometre and should deliver a drag race for the fast men on a perfectly flat run-in to the line.
Mountains
Borovets Pass (cat. 2, 9.2km at 5.4%, max. 11%), km. 103.2
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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