Heraldo de Madrid - Bulgaria hosts opening trio of 2026 Giro stages

It will be the 16th time that the Giro, which will run from May 9-31, starts in a foreign country and the second time in a row after Albania hosted the opening three stages of this year's Giro, which was won by Britain's Simon Yates.

Since 2010, seven starts have taken place abroad, including in Jerusalem in 2018.

The peloton will begin the 2026 edition of the three-week grand tour by riding along the Black Sea coast between Nessebar and Burgas, RSC said during Monday's route reveal ceremony in the Italian capital.

Riders will then be faced with three category three climbs in a 220 kilometre run to Veliko Tarnovo, known as the "City of the Tsars", before the 174km stage three between Plovdiv and capital city Sofia, which features one long category two ascent to the Borovets Pass.

From there, the race will return to Italy where, from a punchy fourth stage between Catanzaro and Cosenza in the country's deep south, it will snake its way up to the mountainous regions of the far north where the pink jersey winner will be decided.

In total, riders will face 50,000 metres of elevation gain over 3,458km of racing, which will end with the now customary procession stage around Rome.

Some 8,700 metres of that elevation gain will be in the decisive 19th and 20th stages of the 21-stage race.

The 19th is this year's Queen Stage and a brutal affair with 5,000 metres of elevation gain over six categorised climbs, including the highest peak of the race at Passo Giau and a summit finish at Alleghe in the heart of the Dolomites at the end of a breathless 151km-long route.

The penultimate stage runs 199km from Gemona del Friuli and puts the riders through two category one climbs to Piancavallo and will be the last opportunity for the pink jersey hopefuls to stake their claim before the parade around Rome.

Next year's women's race will begin on May 30 in Cesenatico on the Adriatic coast and will be held over nine stages, with the race finishing on June 7 in Saluzzo on the other side of the Alps from France.

Local hero Elisa Longo Borghini will defend her title in a race which is one stage longer than the previous two editions, both of which were won by the Italian.

Overall, riders will race 1,153.7km and take on 12,500m of elevation gain, with an interesting fourth stage 12.7km mountain time trial between Belluno and Nevegal being one of the highlights.

H.Roldan--HdM