The Giro d’Italia starts from Bulgaria today, finishing 21 stages later with a trip from Rome to the coast, then laps of a circuit through the Italian capital.
On the way, the race takes in three stages in Bulgaria, a journey up most of the length of Italy, the usual crop of climbing stages later in the race and a smattering of stages that are almost completely flat. Check out our stage-by-stage route guide for full details.
As usual, there are some big numbers embedded in there, while the Giro’s history, stretching back to the first edition in 1909, provides fertile ground for record hunters. Here’s our guide to the numbers behind the 2026 Giro d’Italia.
165.1
The average stage length in this year’s Giro d’Italia in kilometres – that’s just over 100 miles and adds up to a total of 3,468km over the 21 stages. On Friday 15 May, Stage 7 covers 244km, the longest stage in this year’s Giro, finishing with a sting in its tail – the 13km climb to Blockhaus.
48.7
The number of kilometres of vertical elevation gain over the course of the race, with 5km of that packed into 151km on Stage 19 on Friday 29 May, from Feltre to Alleghe, the most uphill stage in this year’s race.
200
The altitude gain in metres on the flattest non-time trial stage in this year’s race, the 157km Stage 15 from Voghera to Milan on Sunday 24 May, when the route traverses the Po valley plain. The 42km Stage 10 time trial on Tuesday 19 May has only 40m of elevation gain.
8
The number of starts on foreign soil since 2010 – almost half of the 17 editions. In that time, the Giro has travelled to Denmark, the UK, Israel, Hungary, Albania, Bulgaria and the Netherlands – twice. The organisers clearly like their trips abroad, although that’s eclipsed by the Tour de France’s 10 starts outside France over the same time period. The Vuelta a Espana is more stay-at-home and has managed to get overseas just only times since 2010.
4
The number of stages of this year’s race that don’t take place in Italy. Beside the initial three stages in Bulgaria, there’s a sneaky trip to Switzerland on Tuesday, 26 May for Stage 16, which starts, ends and takes place entirely in Italy’s northern neighbour.
117
The number of years since the Giro was first run, back in May 1909, when Luigi Ganna took the title. Since then, including this year's race, there have been 109 editions, because the Giro was not run during the First and Second World Wars. The maglia rosa was introduced in 1931, taking its colour from the paper on which the Gazzetta dello Sport is published.
3
The number of riders to have won the race five times: Alfredo Binda in the 1920s and 30s; Fausto Coppi in the 1940s and 50s and Eddy Merckx in the 1960s and 70s. The last rider to win multiple editions was Vincenzo Nibali, who took the 2013 and 2016 titles. The cyclist perhaps most closely associated with the Giro, Marco Pantani, won only once, in 1998.
650 million
The estimated global audience for the Giro d’Italia, according to the organisers. That’s spread across 200 countries and five continents. Notable exceptions are Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Check out our guide to how to watch the 2026 Giro d’Italia for options for UK, US, Canadian and Aussie viewers.
