Giro dell’Emilia Donne takes place on Saturday 3 October 2026, with the women racing from Ferrara to the steep finish at the Santuario di San Luca above Bologna. The race starts at 10:15 local time, 09:15 in the UK, and is expected to finish shortly after 13:00 in Italy, around midday BST.
For UK viewers, this is an unusually compact morning watch. The women start half an hour before the men’s Giro dell’Emilia, but their shorter route means the decisive San Luca finale arrives before the men’s race reaches its own conclusion. The main thing to remember in 2026 is the change to the British streaming setup: TNT Sports remains the reference cycling broadcaster, while HBO Max has replaced Discovery+ as the streaming home of TNT Sports in the UK.
The race is officially Giro dell’Emilia Internazionale Donne Elite and carries UCI 1.Pro status. It is not a Women’s WorldTour event, but its position in the Italian autumn calendar and the San Luca finish regularly attract riders capable of winning at the highest level.
How to watch Giro dell’Emilia Donne 2026 in the UK
UK cycling coverage in 2026 is centred on TNT Sports and HBO Max. HBO Max launched in Britain earlier this year and took over the streaming role previously associated with Discovery+ for TNT Sports content. If you have watched Italian cycling through Discovery+ in previous seasons, HBO Max is now the platform to check.
Giro dell’Emilia Donne is part of the European autumn racing package rather than a standalone British free-to-air event. Check the TNT Sports television schedule and HBO Max cycling listings before Saturday morning for the final UK broadcast window. The men’s and women’s races take place on the same day, which can affect how the coverage is presented across the linear channels and streaming service.
Italian coverage is also scheduled around the two races, with Rai Sport carrying the Giro dell’Emilia programme. UK viewers should use the authorised British service rather than relying on the Italian stream, which can be geographically restricted.
The relatively early finish makes the women’s race easy to miss if you assume it will occupy the usual mid-afternoon European cycling slot. This is one to find in the listings before breakfast rather than switching on at 14:00 and discovering San Luca has already decided the result.
Photo Credit: GettyUK start and finish times
The women leave Ferrara at 10:15 CEST on Saturday. Italy is one hour ahead of Britain while the UK remains on British Summer Time, giving a UK race start of 09:15 BST. The men’s race follows from the same Ferrara start area at 10:45 local time.
The expected women’s finish is approximately 13:05 to 13:23 CEST, or 12:05 to 12:23 BST. Race speed, weather and the way the bunch approaches Bologna will determine the exact time, so allow some margin if you are joining specifically for the finale.
Television pictures may begin later than the official race start. For viewers interested primarily in the decisive section, the final hour should cover the transition from the flatter approach into Bologna and the climbing around San Luca. If the full broadcast is available, the opening kilometres from Ferrara provide useful context because 2026 is the first edition to begin from the city.
What the 2026 route means for the race
The 2026 race moves from Ferrara towards Bologna before the familiar finish on the Colle di San Luca. The opening terrain is much flatter than the finale, so teams with a genuine San Luca contender have little reason to panic if an early move establishes a manageable advantage. The tactical pressure rises sharply once the race reaches the Bologna hills.
San Luca is the defining feature. The road climbs beside the famous portico towards the sanctuary, with the Curva delle Orfanelle among the best-known points on the ascent and gradients reaching around 20 per cent at their steepest. Positioning before the climb matters because losing places at the bottom forces riders to spend energy overtaking just as the gradient begins to bite.
The women’s race uses San Luca twice in 2026. That changes the finale from a single uphill effort into a more tactical contest. The first ascent can reduce the group and expose riders who are already close to their limit, while the second provides the finishing climb. A rider does not necessarily need to attack on the first passage to benefit from it. A hard pace can do enough damage to leave only a small group capable of contesting the final ascent.
Our Giro dell’Emilia Donne 2026 route guide goes into the course in greater detail, including the new Ferrara start and the double San Luca finale.
Why San Luca produces such a specific race
The climb is short enough that pure climbers cannot simply settle into a long mountain rhythm, but steep enough to punish anyone who arrives poorly positioned or slightly below their best. The repeated changes in gradient reward riders who can produce hard accelerations while already under considerable load. That makes Giro dell’Emilia Donne particularly suitable for punchy climbers and Ardennes-style riders.
There is also little opportunity to recover once the final ascent begins. On a longer climb, a rider can sometimes absorb an acceleration and gradually return. San Luca is more abrupt. A gap of a few bike lengths on the steepest section can be enough to settle the race because the finish comes before a dropped rider has time to rebuild momentum.
The race’s previous winners reflect that demand. Elisa Longo Borghini has won the event four times, while Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig has also taken multiple victories. Kimberley Le Court won the 2025 edition. For the longer story of how the women’s race developed, see our history of Giro dell’Emilia Donne.
For viewers who are new to the race, the beginner’s guide to Giro dell’Emilia Donne 2026 explains the race format, San Luca and where the event fits into the late-season calendar.
How to plan your Saturday viewing
The official women’s start is 09:15 BST and the expected finish is around 12:05 to 12:23 BST. That makes the race a morning event for UK viewers even though it is taking place in Italy. If the live broadcast begins after the start, use the HBO Max or TNT Sports event listing for the exact on-air time rather than assuming coverage starts with the flag drop.
Anyone watching both races should be able to move directly from the women’s finish into the men’s Giro dell’Emilia coverage. The shared start city and San Luca finish make the two events feel like a single day of racing, but the women’s result should be settled well before the men’s finale.
If you need to watch on replay, go directly to the event page where possible. The result will circulate quickly once the riders reach San Luca, and the compact morning schedule means spoilers can appear on cycling sites and social media before many UK viewers have realised the race has finished.
The essential UK timings are therefore straightforward: Saturday 3 October, 09:15 BST official start and an expected finish shortly after 12:00 BST. Check TNT Sports and HBO Max for the confirmed live window on the morning of the race, with the final two ascents of San Luca the section to prioritise if you cannot watch everything.
