A climber-friendly course that could get in the way of Elisa Longo Borghini's third title – Analysing the Giro d'Italia Women route

The route for next year's Giro d'Italia Women was unveiled on Monday, and yet again, RCS have put together a really tough route, full of spectacles – probably the most exciting edition since the men's Giro organisers took over the women's race.

When RCS took control of the women's Giro in 2024, it marked a step up for the race and better organisation after a few turbulent years, and in unveiling the route for the 2026 race, RCS are taking it another step higher again with a really impressive route.

The headline of the nine stages is undoubtedly the Colle delle Finestre on stage 8, which replicates the finale of stage 20 of this year's men's Giro, and marks the first time the women's Giro will tackle the modern legend of the men's race. The women's race has never shied away from big, iconic climbs, but we've seen fewer of these impressive setpieces in recent years, so a visit to those hallowed gravel roads is more than welcome.

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It's what's around the Finestre stage that is really exciting, though. Some women's stage races in recent years have been guilty of pinning everything on one or two tough stages, but this Giro route is packing in the climbing, with a feisty Dolomites stage on stage 5, and even an uphill time trial.

You can never predict exactly how a race will pan out, and of course we don't know who will line up for the Giro next May, but on first impressions, this route looks seriously difficult, perhaps even too challenging for two-time defending champion Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ).

With a day to mull over the route and how the racing might go over some really intriguing terrain, here's our take on the 2026 Giro d'Italia Women.

Spectacle stages with real difficulty

When RCS initially unveiled the route, I was immediately drawn to the two headline stages of the race: the stage 4 uphill time trial and stage 8 over the Colle delle Finestre. These are obviously designed to be spectacles, something different and hard to capture attention, and they definitely did that – most headlines I saw picked out these two days.

However, on deeper reflection, these aren't just stages designed to look good on paper or lure fans in with recognisable climbs; they're seriously challenging stages. Stage 4 in particular is even harder than you might imagine, with an average 10% gradient for more than half of the 7km climb.

We haven't got to see too many particularly long uphill TTs in the women's calendar in recent seasons, which also adds to the challenge, as there will be a lot to work out in terms of pacing, strategy and equipment too.

This TT is the first real GC stage of the race, coming in the first half, but it could end up being one of the most important. A good ride can put you in pink, whilst a bad day or a blow-up could see some unlucky riders lose tons of time.

With the Colle delle Finestre, it's a similar story: this isn't just a token. They easily could have designed a route that ran flat to the base of the climb and then went straight up it – as we have seen many times in the Giro, especially with tough climbs – but RCS weren't worried about ramping up the difficulty, and have given the women the same finish as the men this year.

Having the descent off Finestre and then the climb to Sestriere really changes the shape of the stage into something that isn't just a big climb for the sake of it or where you can just send it to the top and see what happens. Riders will have to be smart and tactical on the Finestre and play the game all the way to the finish. I think this stage is going to be fascinating.

The best part, though, is that the GC definitely isn't going to be condensed into just these stages. Stage 5 in the Dolomites could wind up as being the most exciting of the whole week, featuring the cat. 1 Passo Tre Croci and then double ascents of the Costalissoio in the finale. Plus, placing this stage straight after the TT was a stroke of genius – anyone who lost out to Nevegal will have to be on the offensive on this stage. Excitement should be guaranteed.

RCS have also given up a great final stage, with stage 9 open to a lot of different possibilities, and harder than the punchy stages that have often rounded out the Giro. Instead, stage 9 features another cat. 1 climb, as well as a cat. 3 and a cat. 2, so there is plenty of fertile ground for some last-minute battles.

The eye-catching stages might be standing out right now, but make no mistake, this is a super difficult Giro that goes past just recognisable names and novel formats.

A lacklustre start

For all that's good about the Giro course, there are some things that could probably be better. The first thing that really stands out is just how uninteresting the first three stages are, with stage 1 literally pan flat and the other two featuring some idea of climbing, but with finishes primed for sprints.

Now, one or two early sprint stages are fine, and a key part of a Grand, but three in a row? And an opening stage with not so much as a mountains jersey to award? It's not a great way to capture everyone's attention – I'd be hoping for something exciting by stage 3.

The opening weekend is the only part of the race which overlaps with the men's Giro, and I can't see that a pan-flat day in the Veneto is going to tempt viewers away from stage 20 of the men's race, but then perhaps this is part of the point? Front-load the more straightforward stages into the overlap, so the exciting ones get their own spotlight when the men's race is all wrapped up. There could be some of this thinking, but for dedicated women's cycling watchers, there could be more excitement on this opening weekend.

The other thing that I think could round out this race is a more traditional time trial. As I said, I'm super excited for the uphill effort, but a flat TT would demand a more all-round skillset to secure the pink jersey, which is key in a Grand Tour.

Perhaps the pan flat opening stage could have been swapped for a TT, as has been customary in the Giro. I am glad they're shaking things up and moving away from that prologue format, but there were pluses to that format, too.

And of course, there's the perennial issue: the race could be longer. We've come to accept women's Grand Tours as being eight to nine stages in recent seasons, but let's not forget it wasn't that long ago that the Giro was 10 or 11 days, and even longer when you go further back. A return of a 10-day Grand Tour is absolutely possible, would not be too difficult, and would allow a more varied and therefore exciting course.

A route for a pure climber?

Picking apart the route is all well and good, but it all leads to one big question: who is going to win? Well, at the moment we don't even know who is going to ride, but we can already draw some conclusions. To my mind, this is the big one: the route being harder is going to make the race more open.

This might sound counterintuitive, but in this era where we have so many climbers on a similar level (the Annemiek van Vleuten solo raids seem so long ago), there are a lot of riders who can do well when these races really pack in the climbs. And what's even more interesting this year is the lack of flat time trials or Classics-style stages – the pure climbers have fewer chances to lose time, and more to gain it.

Even this far out, I'd be looking at riders like Sarah Gigante, Urška Žigart (AG Insurance-Soudal), Neve Bradbury (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) and Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek) as pure climbers who will be rubbing their hands together about this course. These are riders who have found pitfalls in TTs or chaotic, punchy stages, but won't have to worry about that at this Giro, and can indeed show off their pure climbing ability in the TT and Finestre, where fighting for position won't be an issue.

The other question that this volume of climbing raises: Is this too hard for Elisa Longo Borghini? The Italian will be seeking a third consecutive victory in 2026, but having won her last two pink jerseys more on her all-round skills than her climbing – she's only won one stage across those two overall wins, the opening TT in 2024 – she may be worrying that there are fewer ways for her to gain an advantage on this course.

She isn't a pure, lightweight climber, so it will take a big effort for her to come out on top in the very high mountains.

And the last, very intriguing question is about Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez). In recent years, Vollering hasn't gone near the Giro, as it's simply too close to the Tour de France Femmes for her to focus on both. Before that, it was the domain of her teammate Anna van der Breggen.

But in 2026, with the Giro brought forward to the start of June, the possibility of combining both is much more realistic, and as one of the most impressive climbers in the peloton, Vollering must surely be at least thinking about a tilt at pink. Especially with Pauline Ferrand-Prévot vowing to target the Tour again, this could be a better chance for Vollering to add another Grand Tour to her palmarès in 2026.