Giro d'Italia 2026: the complete story from Bulgaria to Rome
The complete recap of the 2026 Giro d'Italia: the Bulgarian start, the fight for the maglia rosa and how Jonas Vingegaard made history.
A Giro like no other
The 109th Giro d'Italia ran from 8 to 31 May 2026: 21 stages, three rest days and around 3,459 kilometres, with a Grande Partenza nobody saw coming: Bulgaria.
From Bulgaria to the Blockhaus
Three days along the Black Sea coast and through the Bulgarian interior, followed by a full travel day to Calabria. Already on stage 7, the Giro's longest at 244 km, the first blow landed: Jonas Vingegaard won on the feared Blockhaus, though surprise package Jhonatan Narváez stayed in pink for nine more days.
Pink changes hands at Pila
On stage 14, the first genuine Alpine test to the Pila ski resort, Vingegaard finally took over the maglia rosa. From that point he never let go: he won again in Switzerland (stage 16, run entirely outside Italy) and accelerated eleven kilometres from the line on the Piancavallo queen stage for his fifth stage win.
History in Rome
Jonathan Milan won the chaotic final sprint in Rome, but the real news was Vingegaard's overall victory: the eighth rider ever — and the first since Chris Froome in 2018 — to win all three Grand Tours.
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