Grand Tour season is upon us once more. Last year, as far as the GC contests were concerned, these three races were dominated by the two super-teams – UAE Team Emirates XRG and Visma-Lease a Bike – who occupied the two top spots at each of the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a España. And after a spate of dropouts, it’s Visma’s Jonas Vingegaard who enters this one the resounding pink jersey favourite.
However, the start list of the 2026 Giro still shows stacked field where even the smaller teams and wildcard entries have stars capable of igniting the race. The day-by-day battle for stage wins will be hotly contested, with no shortage of challengers.
Visma-Lease a Bike
(Image credit: Visma Lease A Bike)
- Country: Netherlands
- 2025 Giro: 1st overall, Simon Yates
- Team leader: Jonas Vingegaard
- Team boss: Richard Plugge
Of the last five Grand Tours that haven’t featured Tadej Pogačar, Visma-Lease a Bike have won four – including Simon Yates’s thrilling last-minute coup at last year’s Giro. This team would be the dons of Grand Tour racing were it not for their Slovenian nemesis. They’ll be thankful, then, that Pogačar is sitting this one out, making their man Jonas Vingegaard the overwhelming favourite as he makes his Giro debut.
Embarking on an ambitious Giro-Tour double, Vingegaard has said that the plan for him is to steadily improve as the season goes on, before peaking in July. Given the way he has started 2026, with crushing overall victories at both Paris-Nice and Volta a Catalunya, either he is going to bring sublime form to the Giro and be even better come the Tour, or is in danger of peaking too soon.
The Dane faces a tricky balancing act: he wants to win, of course, but not by expending too much energy ahead of the Tour. His Visma-Lease a Bike team don’t want to stretch their resources too thin, and so will be resting Wout Van Aert and Matteo Jorgenson. That said, Vingegaard will have climbing domestique par excellence Sepp Kuss to support him in the mountains.
Lidl-Trek
(Image credit: LIDL Trek)
- Country: Germany
- 2025 Giro: 4 stage wins by Mads Pedersen; 1st, stage 10, Daan Hoole; 1st, stage 15, Carlos Verona
- Team leader: Jonathan Milan
- Team boss: Luca Guercilena
A repeat of last year’s astounding six-stage haul is a big ask, but Lidl-Trek have the talent to set the Giro alight again. There’s a shift in personnel, with Jonathan Milan replacing Mads Pedersen, and therefore also a shift in approach away from Pedersen’s hyperactive pursuit of points every day and towards a sharper focus on the sprint stage. As a twotime maglia ciclamino winner, Milan will also strive to repeat Pedersen’s victory in that classification.
In fact, Lidl-Trek could compete for all three of the main jerseys, with 2019 King of the Mountains Giulio Ciccone a candidate for that competition, and Derek Gee-West the pink jersey if he shows the form that saw him place fourth overall last year.
Netcompany-Ineos – Great Britain
(Image credit: Netcompany Ineos Grenadiers)
- Country: Great Britain
- 2025 Giro: 7th overall, Egan Bernal
- Team leaders: Thymen Arensman, Egan Bernal
- Team boss: Dave Brailsford
Ineos Grenadiers used to be so good at the Giro d’Italia. They won the pink jersey here three times in four years between 2018 and 2021 with Chris Froome, Tao Geoghegan Hart and Egan Bernal, and even as their Tour de France form slipped, they continued to make the podium. Last year, when Bernal was their highest finisher, in seventh overall, was their first time off the podium this decade, reflecting a transition away from racing for GC and towards aggressive tactics and chasing stage wins.
How will the newly minted Netcompany-Ineos approach this year’s race? It looks like a two-pronged strategy led by previous winner Egan Bernal and double Tour stage winner Thymen Arensman. Both are capable of a GC top 10, as well as stage wins. Australian Jack Haig will back them up in the mountains. The rest of the team looks strong, with Filippo Ganna, Connor Swift and Ben Turner all experienced bunch engines, ready to shepherd the leaders around the peloton. The Giro represents a rebirth for the team, with added impetus and a bigger budget. It’s too soon to see any benefits from that, but showing intent will be key.
Ben Turner will offer solid support to Bernal and Arensman
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Decathlon CMA CGM
(Image credit: Decathlon)
- Country: France
- 2025 Giro: 1st, stage 19, Nicolas Prodhomme
- Team leader: Felix Gall
- Team boss: Dominique Serieys
After riding to an impressive fifth on GC at last year’s Tour de France, Austria’s Felix Gall will ride the Giro for the first time since 2022. That edition saw him place 50th – a record he is almost certain to beat this time round. Gall isn’t the only interesting GC prospect on the Decathlon roster, but superstar youngster Paul Seixas sits this one out – in order to concentrate on the Tour de France as we’ve just learned. Gall will be joined in Italy by veteran rouleur Oliver Naesen and helped on the climbs by Gregor Mühlberger. Covering all bases, the team will also fi eld a sprinter in Tobias Lund Andresen, who could vie for stage wins.
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe
(Image credit: Red Bull)
- Country: Germany
- 2025 Giro: 1st, stage 8, Nico Denz
- Team leader: Giulio Pellizzari
- Team boss: Ralph Denk
So stacked is Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s squad since their title sponsor’s investment that – even in the absence of former Giro winner Primož Roglič, rising star Florian Lipowitz and marquee signing Remco Evenepoel – they have multiple options for the GC. The strongest, in terms of form, is 22-year-old Giulio Pellizzari, who has continued to improve since fi nishing sixth overall at last year’s Giro. He was third at Tirreno-Adriatico, then won the Tour of the Alps.
In terms of Grand Tour pedigree, however, the man who won them the 2022 Giro, Jai Hindley, stands out; his lack of form going into the race shouldn’t be too much of a worry, remembering how the shrewd Australian peaked from similarly underwhelming form in time for his previous Giro success.
And as a wildcard option there is Aleksandr Vlasov who, though not at his best for a while now, still has great talent. Whoever they end up backing, the team won’t want a repeat of last year, when leaders Roglič and Hindley both crashed out of contention in the first week. With no standout sprinting option, aside from Danny Van Poppel, they’re going all-in for a pink jersey challenge.
EF Education-EasyPost
(Image credit: ef Education)
- Country: USA
- 2025 Giro: 3rd overall, Richard Carapaz
- Team leader: Alexander Cepeda
- Team boss: Jonathan Vaughters
Nine days before the start in Bulgaria, Richard Carapaz became the umpteenth GC contender to pull out of the Giro. The Ecuadorean took longer than expected to recover from an operation to remove a perineal cyst on his lower spine after the Volta a Catalunya in late March. It left the American team without an obvious leader, but perhaps opened the door to other opportunities.
While Carapaz could have challenged for the podium – he was third last year – it’s equally true that, at 32, his best years might be behind him. Instead, Michael Valgren, James Shaw, Sean Quinn and others will now be tasked with getting into breaks, getting noticed and trying to nab a stage win.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG
(Image credit: UAE Emirates)
- Country: (UAE)
- 2025 Giro: 2nd overall, Isaac del Toro
- Team leader: Adam Yates
- Team boss: Mauro Gianetti
There’s no stopping UAE Team Emirates-XRG when Tadej Pogačar is at the helm. But in Grand Tours where the main man is missing, they can resemble a rag-tag crew of uber-talented but incohesive riders, held back by internal rivalry and questionable tactics. That was the case at last year’s Giro, when Isaac del Toro overcame Juan Ayuso in a tense leadership struggle, only to throw away the pink jersey at the last hurdle through the disastrous tactical call not to chase Simon Yates on the climactic Colle delle Finestre mountains.
The plan this year was for Portugal’s João Almeida to lead the super-squad, but that fell down two weeks before the start when the Portuguese rider pulled out, citing an illness that began at March’s Volta a Catalunya – a race in which he finished a disappointed 38th on GC.
This leaves a talented, if a little rudderless team on the startlist. In Adam Yates, Jhonatan Narváez and Jay Vine they have a talented team but not an all-dominating one that is going to take the race by the scruff of the neck as Del Toro did last year and Pogačar does every time he pins a number on. Elsewhere, Marc Soler or Vine could poach a stage win for the team.
Soudal Quick-Step
(Image credit: Soudal Quickstep)
- Country: Belgium
- 2025 Giro: 19th overall, James Knox
- Team leader: Paul Magnier
- Team boss: Jurgen Foré
Now the Remco Evenepoel experiment has ended, the mercurial Mikel Landa was due to lead the Belgian team. Unfortunately, the Spaniard was ruled out the same day as Almeida due to a small fracture in his pelvis. This leaves the Belgian squad scrapping for stage wins, or time in the break.
They have some perfectly good riders in Paul Magnier, Jasper Stuyven and Filippo Zanna, but will the motivation be there? Without team boss Patrick Lefevere bellowing in their ear as in days past, and with Specialized cutting its ties at the end of the season, this feels like a make or break time for one of the most revered teams in pro cycling.
Bahrain Victorious
(Image credit: Bahrain Victorious)
- Country: Bahrain
- 2025 Giro: 5th overall, Damiano Caruso
- Team leader: Damiano Caruso
- Team boss: Milan Eržen
Bahrain Victorious’s record at the Giro is one of commendable consistency, but also gradual decline. In their nine appearances here since debuting in 2017, they’ve never failed to place a rider in the top five. Since Damiano Caruso’s runner-up finish in 2021, though, they have drifted further and further away from the top spot.
Caruso is arguably the most underrated Grand Tour contender in the peloton, his unglamorous style belying a steely dependability, but can the team really depend on the Italian for their GC bid again now that he’s turned 38? Santiago Buitrago is another option, but is perhaps a better puncheur than GC contender, having won stages here but never having finished higher than 10th at a Grand Tour.
Jayco-AlUla
(Image credit: Jayco)
- Country: Australia
- 2025 Giro: 1st stage 8, Luke Plapp; 1st stage 20, Chris Harper
- Team leader: Ben O’Connor
- Team boss: Brent Copeland
Back when Simon Yates led the team, the Giro d’Italia was a white whale for Jayco-AlUla. It was a race they relentlessly pursued but fell short of winning. They switched successfully to targeting stage wins at last year’s edition, landing one in the Apennines and another in the Alps.
Perhaps spurred on by watching Yates finally win it last year while riding for a different team, they are once again set on overall glory and will be targeting the pink jersey. This time Ben O’Connor takes the reins as GC leader, hoping to bounce back from a frustrating 2025. He had a slow start to the season, but tends to peak at Grand Tours, and the long climbs of the Giro are his happy place.
Alpecin-Premier Tech
(Image credit: Alpecin)
- Country: Belgium
- 2025 Giro: 1st, stage 6, Kaden Groves
- Team leader: Kaden Groves
- Team boss: Philip Roodhooft
Once again Alpecin-Premier Tech’s Giro tilt will be based around Kaden Groves, the sprinter who has taken two wins in the Italian tour since 2023. The Aussie lacks the raw speed of the quickest sprinters but excels on tougher terrain and should be in contention to win the points classification, having done so twice at the Vuelta.
Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber
(Image credit: Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber)
- Country: Italy
- 2025 Giro: 1st, Breakaway Classification, Manuele Tarozzi
- Team leader: Manuele Tarozzi
- Team boss: Roberto Reverberi
This will be the second-tier team’s 44th Giro. Over the years, they have nurtured many an Italian talent, with Domenico Pozzovivo, Sonny Colbrelli, Giulio Ciccone and Giulio Pellizzari all making their breakthroughs here. They will animate the breakaways, for sure, but might also showcase the latest major local talent.
Groupama-FDJ United
(Image credit: Groupama FDJ)
- Country: France
- 2025 Giro: 4th, stage 13, Rémy Rochas
- Team leader: TBC
- Team boss: Thierry Cornec
Groupama-FDJ United have enjoyed, by French standards, a reasonable amount of success in past Giro editions. But former stars Arnaud Démare (eight stage wins) and Thibaut Pinot (fourth overall 2017, fifth 2023) have long departed, and the squad now lacks the roster to do much more than chase breakaways.
Lotto Intermarché
(Image credit: Lotto Intermarche)
- Country: Belgium
- 2025 Giro: N/A
- Team leader: Lennert Van Eetvelt
- Team boss: Stéphane Heulot
Returning to the Giro for the first time since 2022, Lotto’s resources are still stretched thin by the requirement to ride all the Grand Tours, despite their merger with Intermarché-Wanty. Hope lies in 24-year-old Lennert Van Eetvelt, a talented climber with Grand Tour potential.
Movistar
(Image credit: Movistar)
- Country: Spain
- 2025 Giro: 8th overall, Einer Rubio
- Team leader: Enric Mas
- Team boss: Eusebio Unzué
There was a time when Movistar were one of the Giro’s patrons, winning in both 2014 (with Nairo Quintana) and 2019 (Richard Carapaz) and never missing the top four in the editions in between. That’s no longer the case. Their best hope lies in Giro debutant Enric Mas, who could push for a podium, at best.
NSN Cycling
(Image credit: NSN)
- Country: Switzerland
- 2025 Giro: 4th overall, Derek Gee-West
- Team leader: Ethan Vernon
- Team boss: Kjell Carlström
NSN must forge a new path without the departed Derek Gee-West, their star from both the 2023 Giro (when he won the Combativity Award) and 2025 (when he finished fourth overall). Step forward sprinter Ethan Vernon, whose form this year suggests he could nab a stage win.
Pinarello-Q36.5
(Image credit: Pinarello Q365)
- Country: Switzerland
- 2025 Giro: 16th overall, Tom Pidcock
- Team leader: Chris Harper
- Team boss: Doug Ryder
The team’s decision to target the GC with Tom Pidcock last year saw him end up down in 16th, and the team winless. With Pidcock absent this time – he’s doing the Tour rather than the Giro – the focus will likely revert to stage-hunting.
Picnic PostNL
(Image credit: PICNICPostNL)
- Country: Netherlands
- 2025 Giro: 1st stage four, Casper van Uden
- Team leader: Casper van Uden
- Team boss: Iwan Spekenbrink
The retirement of Romain Bardet has made Picnic-PostNL even more dependent on youth, and a lean opening to 2026 has left them desperate for breakthroughs. With GC hope Max Poole out, the likes of Timo de Jong and Frank Van Den Broek will be tasked with getting into moves and avoiding anonymity.
Polti-VisitMalta
(Image credit: Polti Visit Malta)
- Country: Italy
- 2025 Giro: Second, stage 18, Mirco Maestri
- Team leader: Mirco Maestri
- Team boss: Francisco Javier Contador
Politi-VisitMalta’s staff may include two-time Giro winners Ivan Basso and Alberto Contador, but their aims here will be modest, targeting breakaways to chase what would be a third stage win here since their debut in 2021.
XDS Astana
(Image credit: XDS Astana)
- Country: Kazakhstan
- 2025 Giro: 1st, Mountains Classification, Lorenzo Fortunato; 1st, stage 16, Christian Scaroni
- Team leader: Alberto Bettiol
- Team boss: Alexander Vinokourov
Ten years have passed since Vincenzo Nibali staged a remarkable comeback in the fi nal week to win the 2016 Giro d’Italia, a result that remains the last time XDS Astana won a Grand Tour. These days, they prioritise stage wins over the GC, and in that sense remain a threat on parcours that suit them.
Though Kazakh by registration, the line-up is largely Italian in personnel, and is full of talented stagehunters extra motivated to succeed in their home race. Through Christian Scaroni, Alberto Bettiol and veteran Diego Ulissi in the punchy stages, and Davide Ballerini in the sprints, they can be in contention for wins in all terrain.
Unibet Rose Rockets
(Image credit: Unibet Rose Rockets)
- Country: France
- 2025 Giro: N/A
- Team leader: Dylan Groenewegen
- Team boss: Josse Wester
The prolific early season form of Dylan Groenewegen has given these wildcard Grand Tour debutants reason to get excited. Even from poor form the Dutchman tends to come good for at least one sprint win, as he has in five of his last eight Grand Tours. And one win would be enough to make their Giro a resounding success.
Tudor Pro Cycling
(Image credit: Tudor)
- Country: Switzerland
- 2025 Giro: 10th overall, Michael Storer
- Team leader: Michael Storer
- Team boss: Raphael Meyer
This wildcard team has finished 10th two years in a row thanks to Michael Storer, whose record suggests he is capable of even more. Marc Hirschi hopes the Giro will be a happier hunting ground than he’s found the Tour in recent years as he chases stage wins.
Uno-X Mobility
(Image credit: UNO X Mobility)
- Country: Norway
- 2025 Giro: n/a
- Team leader: Johannes Kulset
- Team boss: Thor Hushovd
Obliged to ride the Giro, as new members of the WorldTour, will Uno-X Mobility’s resources be stretched too thin? With stars Tobias Halland Johannessen and Jonas Abrahamsen sticking to the Tour, it’s up to others, including 21-year-old top-10 hopeful Johannes Kulset, to step up.
