The 2026 Giro d'Italia returns to Italy, to the Calabria region in the south, on Tuesday, after three days of racing in Bulgaria for stage 4. The 138km route, from Catanzaro to Cosenza, is expected to offer a third chance for the sprinters to shine, although a long and steady ascent cresting just 40 km from the line may inspire attacks.
On a welcomed, clear and fairly uneventful stage 3 - after the chaotic and crash-marred opening stages - Paul Magnier (Soudal-Quickstep) made it two wins in three days in a three-way photo finish in Sofia. The Frenchman edged out Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) and Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets) to show his sprinting prowess, especially since his stage 1 victory came after major sprinters missed the finish due to a late race crash.
Magnier admitted that the latest victory gave him confidence because it “was the first time with all sprinters in contention”, and he’ll be looking to add this to his tally.
The other fastmen looking for a stage win include six Grand Tour stage winner (two at the Giro) Milan, six-time Tour de France stage winner Groenewegen, Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM) and more.
Magnier has led the points competition since his win on the opening stage, and hopes to keep the maglia ciclamino till Rome. He has a 105-point lead in points competition on Milan, winner of the points jersey twice at the corsa rosa, and 62 points on Lund Andresen.
The mid-stage steady climb of cat. 2 Cozzo Tunno (14.3 km at 5.9%) with steeper pitches of 11%, will probably spur attacks by opportunists, but the sprinters’ teams will have 40 kilometres to bring everything back.
Start time: 13:40 CET
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Finish time: 17:13 CET
Starting in Catanzaro on the Ionian Sea, the peloton will cross the peninsula westward to the Tyrrhenian Sea coast over 33 kilometres, then head north along the shoreline on wide, gently undulating roads towards San Lucindo for the intermediate sprint. The riders will then turn inland to tackle the mid-stage climb of Cozzo Tunno, topping 40 km from the line. The climb, linked at the summit with Passo della Crocetta from Paola, is almost 15 km long but without major gradients, followed by a long descent to the Crati plain.
The final three kilometres, set on wide roads in an urban setting, feature a series of wide curves leading into the finishing straight for an uphill, 3.7% for the final 450 metres, finish in Cosenza.
Mountains
Cozzo Tunno (cat. 2, 14.3 km at 5.9%, max. 11%), km. 95
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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