The full start list for the Men’s Giro d’Italia 2026 brings together 23 teams and 184 riders for the first men’s Grand Tour of the season. The race begins on Friday, 8th May in Bulgaria before working its way towards the final stage in Rome on Sunday, 31st May.
This year’s men’s Giro has a slightly different feel because the route starts away from Italy, the GC field is not built around one returning defending champion, and several teams arrive with very clear sprint or stage-hunting ambitions. Jonas Vingegaard gives Team Visma | Lease a Bike the headline favourite, while Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, UAE Team Emirates XRG, Netcompany Ineos Cycling Team, Team Jayco AlUla, Decathlon CMA CGM Team and Tudor Pro Cycling Team all bring riders capable of shaping the general classification.
The start list also gives the race a strong sprint thread. Jonathan Milan, Kaden Groves, Dylan Groenewegen, Ethan Vernon, Tobias Lund Andresen and Paul Magnier are among the fast finishers expected to target the flatter stages, particularly early in the race. That should make the opening week important for more than just the pink jersey, with the points classification likely to begin taking shape before the major mountain tests arrive.
For more detail on the route itself, our Giro d’Italia 2026 full route guide breaks down all 21 stages, including the key summit finishes, time trials and sprint opportunities.
Men’s Giro d’Italia 2026 teams
The men’s Giro d’Italia 2026 start list features 18 WorldTour teams, two ProTeams qualified by ranking and three wildcard selections. That gives the race the usual Grand Tour mix of GC leaders, pure sprinters, breakaway specialists, mountain domestiques and young riders looking for a first major result on a three-week stage.
The confirmed teams are:
- Alpecin-Premier Tech
- Bahrain Victorious
- Bardiani CSF 7 Saber
- Decathlon CMA CGM Team
- EF Education-EasyPost
- Groupama-FDJ United
- Lidl-Trek
- Lotto Intermarché
- Movistar Team
- Netcompany Ineos Cycling Team
- NSN Cycling Team
- Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
- Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe
- Soudal Quick-Step
- Team Jayco AlUla
- Team Picnic PostNL
- Team Polti VisitMalta
- Team Visma | Lease a Bike
- Tudor Pro Cycling Team
- UAE Team Emirates XRG
- Unibet Rose Rockets
- Uno-X Mobility
- XDS Astana Team
What stands out from the Men’s Giro d’Italia 2026 start list?
The clearest starting point is the GC battle. Vingegaard arrives as the obvious reference point, and Team Visma | Lease a Bike will be expected to control the race whenever the mountains begin to bite. That does not make the race simple. The Giro usually rewards patience, depth and recovery as much as raw climbing strength, and this year’s route still leaves space for rivals to attack the race in different ways.
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe have one of the most interesting line-ups because Giulio Pellizzari gives the race a home contender with a genuine mountain profile, while Jai Hindley and Aleksandr Vlasov add more Grand Tour depth. That makes them one of the teams most likely to test Visma rather than simply follow.
Team Jayco AlUla also arrive with clear GC interest through Ben O’Connor, while Netcompany Ineos Cycling Team have Thymen Arensman and Egan Bernal among their options. Tudor Pro Cycling Team bring Michael Storer, Decathlon CMA CGM Team have Felix Gall, and UAE Team Emirates XRG should still be active even without Tadej Pogačar as the central figure.
The sprint field could be just as important in the first half of the race. Lidl-Trek will expect Jonathan Milan to be one of the fastest riders in the race, while Kaden Groves gives Alpecin-Premier Tech a major card for the flat and rolling finishes. Dylan Groenewegen, Ethan Vernon, Tobias Lund Andresen and Paul Magnier add further depth to the fast-finishing field.
For UK viewers, our guide to watching the Giro d’Italia 2026 in the UK covers the main broadcast and streaming options.
Why the start list matters
A Grand Tour start list is more than a roll call. It helps show how the race is likely to be ridden. The men’s Giro d’Italia 2026 has enough sprint strength for the flat stages to be tightly controlled, but it also has enough uncertainty in the GC field to encourage aggressive racing once the race reaches the tougher terrain.
The invited and second-tier teams add another layer. Bardiani CSF 7 Saber and Team Polti VisitMalta should be central to the breakaway story, particularly on medium mountain days and transitional stages. Tudor Pro Cycling Team have higher GC ambitions through Storer, while Unibet Rose Rockets and Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team add more stage-hunting options.
That mix should produce a race where the first week is not just a slow build-up. The opening stages in Bulgaria could immediately matter for the sprinters and the first pink jersey, while the later mountain days should decide whether Vingegaard can impose control or whether the Giro becomes more open.
Men’s Giro d’Italia 2026 full start list
Data powered by FirstCycling.com
