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Italy 30 May – 07 Jun 2026 Class 2.WWT – Stages – UCI Women’s WorldTour
Website www.giroditaliawomen.it
Data powered by FirstCycling.com
The official program and route for the 2026 Giro d’Italia Women (2.WWT) spans 9 stages covering over 1,150 kilometers. Organised by RCS Sport, this edition is notably tough, featuring an uphill individual time trial and a highly anticipated showdown on the iconic, gravel-topped slopes of the Colle delle Finestre.
2026 Race Overview
- Dates: 30 May – 7 June 2026
- Total Distance: ~1,153.7 km to 1,177.7 km (depending on final route updates)
- Total Elevation Gain: Over 12,000 meters
- Stages: 9 (3 Flat, 2 Hilly, 3 Mountain, 1 Uphill Individual Time Trial)
Official Stage Schedule
| Stage | Date | Route | Distance | Stage Type |
| Stage 1 | Sat, 30 May | Cesenatico ➡️ Ravenna | 139 km | Flat Stage |
| Stage 2 | Sun, 31 May | Roncade ➡️ Caorle | 156 km | Flat Stage |
| Stage 3 | Mon, 1 June | Bibione ➡️ Buja | 156 km | Hilly Stage |
| Stage 4 | Tue, 2 June | Belluno ➡️ Nevegal | 12.7 km | Individual Time Trial (Uphill) |
| Stage 5 | Wed, 3 June | Longarone ➡️ Santo Stefano di Cadore | 146 km | Mountain Stage |
| Stage 6 | Thu, 4 June | Ala ➡️ Brescello | 160 km | Flat Stage |
| Stage 7 | Fri, 5 June | Sorbolo Mezzani ➡️ Salice Terme | 159 km | Hilly Stage |
| Stage 8 | Sat, 6 June | Rivoli ➡️ Sestriere | 105 km | Mountain Stage |
| Stage 9 | Sun, 7 June | Saluzzo ➡️ Saluzzo | 145 km | Mountain Stage |
Key Highlights of the 2026 Route
Cima Alfonsina Strada: The first rider to crest the summit of the Colle delle Finestre (the highest point of the race at 2,178 m) will earn this special prize, named in honor of the historic pioneer who raced the men’s Giro d’Italia in 1924.
The Early Sprinter Days: The race starts with flat opportunities through the Emilia-Romagna and Veneto regions, giving the pure sprinters an early chance at the Maglia Rosa.
Stage 4 Tudor ITT: A brutal, short 12.7 km race against the clock that tilts upward into Nevegal, forcing the General Classification (GC) favorites to show their form early.
The Mighty Colle delle Finestre (Stage 8): This is the crown jewel of the 2026 edition. The peloton will face the legendary 18.5 km climb featuring a punishing 9.2% average gradient, with the final 8 km entirely on gravel roads.
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
The Giro d’Italia Women (classified by the UCI as a 2.WWT event) is the longest-running, most prestigious, and historically significant stage race in women’s professional road cycling. While other major multi-stage races on the women’s calendar have vanished, changed formats, or only recently been revived, the Italian race has endured for decades as the sport’s definitive “Grand Tour.”
Its history is a story of incredible athletic feats, structural instability, and an evolution that mirrors the growth of modern women’s cycling.
1. The Early Years and Origins (1988–1990s)
The race was born in 1988 as the Giro d’Italia Femminile, created to give women their own demanding, multi-stage platform in Italy.
- The Inaugural Champion: The first edition was won by Italian legend Maria Canins, who had already won the women’s Tour de France (Tour de France Féminin) in 1985 and 1986. Her victory immediately gave the new event elite sporting credibility.
- Early Instability: Despite its early success, the infrastructure of women’s cycling in the late 80s and early 90s was fragile. The race faced financial difficulties and was not held in 1991 or 1992 before returning in 1993.
- A Poignant Victory: In 1994, one of Italy’s brightest rising talents, Michela Fanini, won the overall title. Tragically, she passed away in a car accident later that year at just 21 years old. Her legacy remains deeply woven into Italian cycling history.
2. The Fabiana Luperini Era: A Climbing Dynasty
In the mid-to-late 1990s, the Giro found its first true dynasty rider in Fabiana Luperini. Known as “The Pantani of women’s cycling” for her fierce climbing ability, the Italian dominated the race.
- Luperini won four consecutive editions from 1995 to 1998.
- She returned a decade later in 2008 to capture a historic fifth title.
- Her dominance permanently defined the Giro’s identity as a brutal, mountain-heavy race where true climbers had to prove themselves on iconic Italian passes.
3. Name Changes and Global Stars (2000s–2010s)
As the race changed hands between various organizers, it went through several high-profile identity shifts, famously being known as the Giro Donne and later the Giro Rosa (2013–2020).
During this era, international stars began aggressively targeting the race, expanding its reach far beyond Italy:
- Nicole Brändli (SUI): Dominated the early 2000s with overall victories in 2001, 2003, and 2005.
- Marianne Vos (NED): Widely considered the greatest cyclist of all time, Vos left an indelible mark on the Giro, winning the GC in 2011, 2012, and 2014, while racking up a record-shattering 30+ individual stage wins over her career.
- Mara Abbott (USA): Became the first American to win the race in 2010 (repeating in 2013), cementing her status as one of the finest pure climbers the sport had ever seen.
4. The Dutch Golden Era (2015–2023)
The late 2010s and early 2020s were characterized by an absolute stranglehold on the Maglia Rosa (Pink Jersey) by two Dutch superstars who took women’s cycling to unprecedented professional heights:
- Anna van der Breggen: Won the race four times (2015, 2017, 2020, 2021), matching her unmatched tactical brilliance with flawless time-trialing and climbing.
- Annemiek van Vleuten: Captured four titles of her own (2018, 2019, 2022, 2023), routinely destroying the peloton with historic, long-range solo mountain attacks on iconic climbs like the Mortirolo and Monte Zoncolan.
5. The Modern Era: RCS Sport & The Giro d’Italia Women
Despite its immense prestige, the race occasionally suffered from administrative issues, famously being downgraded from the UCI Women’s WorldTour (WWT) to 2.Pro status in 2021 due to a failure to provide mandatory live television coverage.
Realizing the race needed world-class backing to thrive in the modern era, a massive shift occurred:
- RCS Sport Takeover: In 2024, RCS Sport—the organizers of the men’s Giro d’Italia—took over management of the event on a multi-year contract, rebranding it officially to the Giro d’Italia Women.
- Italian Revival: Italy’s own Elisa Longo Borghini broke a 16-year home-soil drought by winning an incredibly dramatic 2024 edition by just one second over Lotte Kopecky, before successfully defending her crown in 2025.
- Honorary Traditions: The race instituted the “Cima Alfonsina Strada” prize for the first rider over the highest peak of the race, paying tribute to Alfonsina Strada—the pioneering woman who famously defied conventions to race against the men in the 1924 Giro d’Italia.
Today, with guaranteed live TV coverage, equalizing prize purses, and a permanent move to a high-profile June calendar slot, the Giro d’Italia Women stands stronger than ever as a cornerstone of the UCI Women’s WorldTour.
