Giro d’Italia 2026, Stage 1: Route, Favourites and Where to Watch on TV

The wait is over! It is finally time for the 2026 Giro d’Italia. The race caravan has already arrived in Bulgaria, where the shores of the Black Sea are turning Pink for the occasion. The Grande Partenza rolls out from UNESCO-listed Nessebar before finishing 147 fast and exciting kilometres later in Burgas. For the Giro, this marks the 16th start outside Italy across 12 different countries, while Bulgaria becomes the 22nd nation to host a stage of the Corsa Rosa. It promises to be a historic opening day, likely to culminate in a high-speed bunch sprint along the Black Sea waterfront and the awarding of the first Maglia Rosa of Giro No. 109.

The Route

A predominantly flat stage featuring a series of short rises packed into a 22-kilometre circuit that the riders will tackle twice around the midpoint of the day. The route hugs the Black Sea coastline and passes through the finish area once before heading towards Sozopol, where the peloton will take on two laps of a fast circuit marked by punchy little climbs, most notably the ascent to Cape Agalina, which serves as the day’s KOM and will award the first Maglia Azzurra after two passages. From there, the race heads back to Burgas along the coast for what promises to be an exciting finale.

The Favourites

The standout favourite is Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), who will be aiming to pull on the first Maglia Rosa of this year’s Giro. The Friulian powerhouse will face stiff competition, however, including several riders who have already managed to beat him in the past, such as Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM), Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets) and Matteo Malucelli (XDS Astana).

Watch out as well for the explosive talent of youngsters Paul Magnier (Soudal-QuickStep) and Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Intermarché), although the latter reportedly suffered a bout of gastroenteritis on the eve of the Corsa Rosa. Experience, meanwhile, will be on the side of Kaden Groves (Alpecin-PremierTech) and Ethan Vernon (NSN).

It is also worth keeping a close eye on Matteo Moschetti (Pinarello Q36.5), Pascal Ackermann (Jayco AlUla), Erlend Blikra (Uno-X Mobility) and Casper van Uden (Picnic PostNL).

Predict the stage winner with our ‘stage winner Predictor’. CLICK HERE,head over to the FanZone and earn one entry into the final prize draw of the Join the FanZone Challenge for every vote you cast (voting is open from 8:00 p.m. on the day before the stage until 10:00 a.m. on race day).

Giro d’Italia 2026, Stage 1: schedule and TV Coverage

147 km
Start: 1:50 p.m.
KM 0: 2:00 p.m.
LIVE coverage begins: 12:10 p.m.
Estimated finish: around 5:10 p.m.

TV: As always, Italian broadcaster RAI will provide free-to-air coverage of every stage of the Giro d’Italia. The day’s programming begins with one hour of “Giro Mattina” on Rai Sport HD, featuring rider presentations and pre-stage interviews, followed by “Prima Diretta” on the same channel to cover the start of the stage through to 14:00. The heart of the live broadcast then moves to Rai 2, with “Giro in Diretta” airing until 16:15, immediately followed by “Giro all’Arrivo”, covering the decisive moments of the stage right through to the finish line. Straight afterwards comes the traditional post-stage analysis show “Processo alla Tappa”, usually lasting around 45 minutes without viewers needing to change channel. Rai Sport HD also rounds out the day’s coverage with “TGiro” at 20:00, featuring interviews, race reports and analysis, and “Ri-Giro” at midnight, offering die-hard fans a complete recap of the key moments of the stage. The race will also be broadcast live in full on Eurosport and streamed on demand via Discovery+ and HBO Max.