Lanterne Rouge Cycling Podcast Giro d'Italia 2026 Route Reaction
Dec 2, 2025
Patrick and Benji dive into the freshly revealed Giro d'Italia 2026 route, spotlighting its start in Bulgaria. They recap the highlights from 2025, discussing crashes and key moments that impact expectations. The duo explores the sprint prospects in early stages and analyzes a challenging uphill finish on stage 2. They react to the jaw-dropping 245km Blockhouse stage and debate the riders likely to dominate. With insights on major climbs and potential GC contenders like Almeida and Vingegaard, they rate the route's variety and overall appeal.
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Bulgarian Start Shapes The Route
- The 2026 Giro starts in Bulgaria then moves to mainland Italy with an extra early rest day to accommodate the transfer.
- Patrick Broe and Benji Naesen highlight this non-contiguous start as a major route characteristic that shapes stage planning.
Flat TT Vs Steep Mountaintops
- The route includes a long flat 40km time trial plus several steep mountaintop finishes.
- Hosts warn this mix favors explosively steep climbers over pure time-trial specialists for overall GC.
Early Long Mountain Test On Stage 7
- Stage 7 is an enormous 245km Blockhouse with big climbs and a steep final ascent.
- The hosts flag it as the first true mountaintop test that could create GC gaps early in the race.