A travelling celebration up and down Italy. From Amantea to Rome, going the long way. Over 1,000 kilometres of cycling through climbs, descents, flat terrain, undulating hills, seaside, towns and high mountains. Over 20,000 metres of elevation gain, 18 stages, 29 teams – including Official Teams that started every stage and many Daily Teams – totalling almost 2,000 cyclists.
This is what made up the Giro-E Enel 2026, the eighth edition of the event created and organised by RCS Sports & Events, an exclusive e-bike experience taking place on the same roads and on the same days as the Giro d’Italia, but on a shortened route, with wonderful pedal-assisted bikes that give amateur cyclists the feeling of riding like the real stars. With these bikes, Giro-E participants were able to scale the Everests of the cycling world, veritable behemoths such as Blockhaus, Corno alle Scale, Pila and, on Saturday, the fearsome yet equally magnificent Piancavallo. They tackled stages with a total elevation gain of 2,700 metres – a tall order indeed – as was the case on stage 16, the long-awaited and almost eagerly anticipated big Dolomites stage, which featured four climbs of the calibre of Passo Duran, Coi, Forcella Staulanza and Piani di Pezze.
It would be wrong to say that the motor does the climbing for you, because if you don’t pedal, the bike won’t move forward. It does, however, give you that extra boost of power that transforms your ride, allowing you to experience the Giro d’Italia as the pros do. The team presentation in the morning with the sign-in sheet, the starting village, the group ride on traffic-free roads, taking part in skill and consistency tests to draw up a ranking and award jerseys that have a feel of glory.
