Giro d'Italia Women route to tackle epic Colle delle Finestre and steep uphill time trial in tough 2026 race

The Giro d'Italia Women route for 2026 will include an uphill time trial, opportunities for the sprinters, and the iconic Colle delle Finestre climb, it was revealed on Monday as RCS unveiled the race's full parcours.

Starting in Cesenatico on May 30, the nine-stage race will traverse northern Italy from Emilia-Romagna to Piemonte, finishing in Saluzzo on June 7, with over 12,000m of climbing set to decide the pink jersey.

The headline news from Monday's route reveal is that the race will tackle the famous Colle delle Finestre for the first time in its history. The women's Giro has tackled many iconic mountains in its time, including the Stelvio and Mortirolo, but never the Finestre, with the gravel climb making an appearance on stage 8.

The finale of stage 8 is a replica of the finale of stage 20 of this year's men's Giro, which decided the race dramatically, taking on the gravel slopes of Finestre and then climbing up to Sestriere for the finish.

The other exciting inclusion in this year's Giro d'Italia Women is a 12.7km uphill time trial to Nevegal on stage 4. The race has often included a prologue or flat time trial, so a steep uphill effort against the clock is a novel and exciting addition.

Across the other seven stages, there are chances for the sprinters, puncheurs, and plenty of climbs to shake up the GC and determine a truly worthy winner. Can Elisa Longo Borghini make it three wins in a row, or could the wealth of climbing work in someone else's favour?

Here are the details of the full route of the 2026 Giro d'Italia Women.

A gentle introduction with chances for the sprinters

The nine-stage race opens with a completely flat day on stage 1, running from Cesenatico to Ravenna with not a climb in sight across 139km, finishing on a circuit in Ravenna. This will almost certainly be a day for the sprinters, meaning a fast rider will take the first pink jersey of the race, and they could hold onto it for a few days.

Stage 2 from Roncade H-Farm to Caorle has at least thrown a category 4 climb into the mix, but it's another day that should end in a sprint as the single rise comes some 90km from the finish. We could be looking at back-to-back wins for someone.

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The difficulty kicks up a little on stage 3, which has two categorised climbs and some uncategorised rises in the final 55km, and then a kick to the finish line in Buja.

The slightly tougher finish might preclude the really pure sprinters, but wouldn't be too hard for a rider like Lorena Wiebes. We may be several months away, but is it too early to predict a Wiebes hat trick to open the Giro?

Uphill TT kicks off the GC battle

After a relatively straightforward first three days, there will be a rude awakening on stage 4 with a 12.7km uphill time trial on a category 1 climb.

Starting in Belluno, the first 5km of the stage are relatively flat, but then the road kicks up the climb to Nevegal. Some of the hardest slopes come at the start of the climb, with gradients of 14% in the first 2km, and an average of 10.3% for the first 5km. The next kilometre is 6.4% average, and then it eases at the top, so this will be a really tricky TT to pace.

After three sprint-friendly days, this brutal effort will separate the GC riders from everyone else, and will suit a really strong climber who can pace herself well. It's a 7km category 1 climb, so the time gaps could be pretty big, and whoever takes the pink jersey here could well hold it until the end of the race.

On stage 5, the race heads into the Dolomites for the second cat. 1 climb of the week, taking on the Passo Tre Croci in the first 60km of this 138km stage. There isn't a summit finish on this day, but there are three more categorised climbs packed into the final 50km on what could be a really interesting day.

The descent to the finish in Santo Stefano di Cadore favours someone who wants to make a break for it on the final climb, so everyone will be on high alert.

After two really tough days, there's some respite on stage 6 with another flat, transitional day from Ala to Brescello.

On paper, this climbless day should be a sprint finish, but the 155km stage could tempt some non-climbers into a last-ditch attempt at a stage win, and it's exactly the kind of late-race stage that could spring a surprise if the sprint teams aren't switched on.

Colle delle Finestre Queen stage headlines the final weekend

The Friday, Saturday and Sunday stages offer a really packed schedule of racing, forming the crescendo of the race, capped with the Queen stage and the Colle delle Finestre.

Friday starts with likely the easiest of the three stages, but stage 7 is the longest of the race at 165km from Sorbolo Mezzani to Salice Terme. It opens with some 120km of flat, but the finale features two short, steep climbs: the Pietragavina and the Castello di Oramala. These come in quick succession, and then 20km downhill to the finish.

This could be another GC day, but with what's to come on Saturday, you could also see the top contenders holding back a little and letting a break get away, to save some energy for the huge day coming on stage 8.

That's right, stage 8 is the big one, featuring the race debut of the Colle delle Finestre, a relatively new climb in Giro d'Italia history, but has already gained mythical status in the men's race, for stories such as Chris Froome's race-winning raid in 2018, or Simon Yates' fairytale ride in 2025.

Though shorter than the men's Giro stage 20 from 2025 – the women's stage is only 101km in length – it copies the formula of this year's men's visit, going up the Finestre and then finishing on the gentler climb to Sestriere.

My view

Matilda Price

I'm so excited to see the Colle delle Finestre on the route for next year's Giro d'Italia Women. It's an iconic climb that produces amazing racing every time – this year's men's Giro stage is unforgettable – and it's time the women tackle it too. Between this and Mont Ventoux in the Tour de France Femmes, we have some real spectacles on the horizon next year. I can't wait for this stage!

The Colle delle Finestre is a real brute of a climb, coming in just shy of 20km in length and climbing to 2,178m altitude with an average gradient of 9.4%. Those numbers would be hard enough, but this climb has an added dimension: gravel. The final 8km of the climb is on unmade, gravel roads, which churn under the wheels and sap all your energy to make for a truly cruel climb where only the strongest prevail.

It's not over at the top, either, with a descent and then 16km more of climbing up the Sestriere to the finish line. This valley climb is gentler, but it's still a long effort and back up to 2,033m above sea level. This truly is the queen of Queen stages, and whoever wins this is likely to be taking the pink jersey home with them

If all that wasn't enough, there's still one more battle left on stage 9, starting and finishing in Saluzzo with three more categorised climbs on the route. This 143km stage takes on the cat. 1 Montoso climb in the first 55km, and then two easier climbs before a punchy finale back in Saluzzo.

If the GC is decided, this will be the final day for the opportunists, but if the overall standings are still close, there's plenty of chances for things to kick off again on this final day.