Looking at stage profiles, the 2026 Giro d’Italia appears to be a favourable edition for sprinters. Nine of the 21 stages are classified as “flat”, even if not all of them will necessarily end in a bunch sprint. Still, the fast men should be able to carve out six or seven tangible opportunities, giving them every chance to fight for the Maglia Ciclamino.
The sprinters even have a golden opportunity to claim the first Maglia Rosa of the 2026 Giro. The opening stage along the Black Sea, from Nessebar to Burgas, features no real climbing – just a single Category 4 ascent after 60 km, useful mainly for assigning the first Maglia Azzurra. Everything else points towards a high-speed finish. Stage 3, the final day in Bulgaria, from Plovdiv to Sofia, should also favour the fast men, although the Borovets Pass (Cat. 2, 9.3 km at 5.2%) with just over 70 km remaining could pose an extra challenge for the heaviest sprinters.
Back in Italy, the Calabrian stage also looks set for a sprint – though perhaps not a perfectly compact one. The Cat. 2 climb of Cozzo Tunno (14.3 km at 5.9%) sits just over 40 km from the finish between Catanzaro and Cosenza. Some teams may try to make the pace hard to drop the pure sprinters. But on Stage 6, Paestum to Naples, it will be very hard to avoid a sprint on the stunning Neapolitan seafront. With the Valico del Chiunzi (Cat. 3) sitting more than 90 km from the line, the road to Via Caracciolo should once again crown one of the world’s fastest riders.
After several demanding stages suited to climbers, TT specialists and breakaway artists, the sprinters will come back into the spotlight on Stage 12, Imperia to Novi Ligure. The climbs of Colle Giovo and Bric Breton (both Cat. 3) between km -75 and km -55 should not be enough to break the peloton. Stage 13, from Alessandria to Verbania, is far more uncertain. The route is pan-flat until the final 22 km, where the climbs of Bieno (Cat. 4) and Ungiasca (Cat. 3) can disrupt the lead-out trains and inspire late attacks. Holding things together will be no easy task.
One of the clearest sprint opportunities comes on Stage 15, Voghera to Milan. The city of Milan returns to host a Giro finish for the first time since 2021, with a short, billiard-table-flat stage featuring a five-lap city-centre circuit. A prestigious finish is guaranteed – and the sprinters will throw everything at it.
The final week traditionally belongs to the GC contenders, and the main goal for the remaining sprinters will simply be survival. Stage 18, from Fai della Paganella to Pieve di Soligo, could suit them on paper, but two factors work against the fast men: accumulated fatigue after nearly three weeks of racing, and the Muro di Ca’ del Poggio (Cat. 4, 1.2 km at 12.2%) just over 20 km from the finish. With tired legs and depleted teams, controlling the stage might prove difficult – and the attackers will sense an opportunity.
But every effort will be rewarded with one final, precious chance: the grand finale in Rome. For sprinters, the parade stage is anything but a catwalk – it’s a dream. Flying past the Colosseum and onto a finish that has already crowned great names since 2023, they will battle for one of the most coveted victories of their careers. Speed matters, but so do the last drops of energy left in the tank. And the chance to cross the line on the Via dei Fori Imperiali is motivation enough for even the most exhausted sprinter.
Fun fact: Naples, Milan and Rome have not all hosted stage finishes in the same Giro edition since 1959. In 2026, all three await the sport’s fastest men.
Discover the details of all the stages of the Giro d’Italia 2026!
