21st century Giro d'Italia foreign Grande Partenzas - From the Netherlands to Bulgaria

The 2002 Grande Partenza was a multi-country affair, beginning in Groningen, Netherlands, where Juan Carlos Domínguez was victorious in the prologue. From here, the race travelled to Germany for stage 1, where there was no stopping Mario Cipollini from winning the sprint finish. 

Stage 2 began in Germany, in Cologne, but finished on Belgian soil in Ans. Stefano Garzelli won from a small group sprint, but the Italian would later be stripped of all results from this edition of the Giro.

Cipollini doubled up with wins on stage 3, this time in a different country, Luxembourg. Finally, the Italian was dethroned on stage 4, the final to finish on foreign soil, as Robbie McEwen sprinted to victory in Strasbourg, France.

The 2006 Grande Partenza took the Giro to Belgium, honouring the 50th anniversary of the Marcinelle mining disaster, where many of the victims were Italian. 

Kicking off with a prologue in Seraing, it was the defending champion Paolo Savoldelli who stole an early march, taking the stage win and maglia rosa. 

Stage 1 was destined for the sprinters, and Robbie McEwen pounced on that opportunity to take victory in Charleroi. The following day saw German rider Stefan Schumacher enjoy one of his best days on a bike, winning the stage in Namur and also moving into the race lead. It would be the first of two stages that Schumacher would win in the 2006 edition.

The 2010 Grande Partenza saw the Giro return to the Netherlands, beginning with a wet and technical individual time trial in Amsterdam. It was Bradley Wiggins who dominated the opening day, powering through the drizzling rain to secure a historic victory for the newly formed Team Sky and claim the first maglia rosa of the race.

However, the race leader's luck quickly turned as the peloton faced two treacherous road stages marred by constant crashes and North Sea crosswinds. On Stage 2, a massive pile-up in the final kilometres shattered the field, allowing Tyler Farrar to sprint to victory while Wiggins was caught behind the carnage. The time loss was enough for world champion Cadel Evans to snatch the pink jersey by a single second.

Crosswind chaos ensued on stage 3, and Wiggins suffered another crash on stage, while Evans also found himself caught out, losing the pink jersey. In the end, it was the late Wouter Weylandt who won the stage in a reduced sprint, while Alexander Vinokourov was the highest placed rider inside the front group, moving into the maglia rosa.

The 2012 Grande Partenza saw the Giro head north to Denmark, with the opening three days centred around the Jutland peninsula. The race kicked off in Herning with an individual time trial, where American Taylor Phinney lived up to his billing as a prologue specialist. 

Phinney’s time in pink was nearly derailed the following day in Herning. The American suffered a crash with 8km remaining, and upon remounting realised his chain was dropped. However, Phinney remained composed and would return to the peloton to save his pink jersey.

The Danish start concluded in Horsens with another day for the fast men. However, there was a significant crash in the finale, which saw riders including Cavendish and Phinney involved as Matthew Goss navigated the chaos to win. Italian sprinter Roberto Ferrari was later disqualified for an irregular sprint. 

Phinney would be able to finish the stage to defend his maglia rosa, but he had certainly been tested during his time as race leader in Denmark.

The 2014 Grande Partenza saw the Giro travel to Belfast for an opening weekend defined by roaring crowds and notoriously fickle Irish weather. The race began with what would prove to be a dramatic team time trial through the rain-slicked streets of Belfast. 

There were incidents aplenty, most notably when four Garmin-Sharp riders crashed, including Dan Martin, who was forced to abandon. It was Orica GreenEDGE who claimed the victory with Canadian veteran Svein Tuft pulling on the iconic maglia rosa.

Having dominated the Tour de France sprints in 2013, Marcel Kittel arrived in Northern Ireland with a bang, winning both stages 2 and 3 in sprints, and the German wouldn’t even start when the race arrived in Italy on stage 4, having fallen sick.

The Netherlands hosted the 2016 Grande Partenza, marking the third time the Giro began on Dutch soil. The race opened with an individual time trial in Apeldoorn, where home favourite Tom Dumoulin delighted the local crowds by powering to victory and securing the first maglia rosa.

It was by the finest of margins as Dumoulin pipped Primož Roglič to the post by just hundredths of a second. 

The following two stages in the Netherlands weren’t as close as Marcel Kittel swept up both in style. Following the 2014 edition, this meant that Kittel had won all four road stages he had contested in the Giro at this point.

The 2018 Grande Partenza made history as the first time a Grand Tour started outside of Europe, with the race beginning in Jerusalem, Israel. 

The opening time trial saw defending champion Tom Dumoulin lay down an early marker by taking the victory. In contrast, Chris Froome suffered a crash in his recon, in what would be the start of a very rocky ride for Froome in the 2018 edition, but one that would ultimately end in glory in Rome.

Elia Viviani would shine in the sprints that followed, winning stages 2 and 3 en route to the points classification at the end of the race. Meanwhile, Rohan Dennis moved into the race lead after some clever riding to secure bonus seconds at an intermediate sprint.

Hungary hosted the Grande Partenza in 2022, beginning with a punchy hilltop finish in Visegrád. It was Mathieu van der Poel who rocketed his way to victory ahead of Biniam Girmay, while one of the pre-stage favourites, Caleb Ewan, crashed just metres from the finish. 

The Dutchman would successfully defend his maglia rosa on a tricky race against the clock on stage 2, finishing just 2 seconds behind Simon Yates, who stormed to the stage win. 

Things got even better for British fans on stage 3 as Mark Cavendish sprinted to victory on his return to the Italian Grand Tour. It marked his first Giro since 2013, where he won five stages, and moved his total tally of stage wins at the race to 16. Cavendish would add one more the following year, before making history at the Tour de France and then retiring in 2024.

Albania hosted the most recent Grande Partenza of the Giro last year, beginning in the coastal town of Durrës on the opening stage, and concluding in the capital Tirana. 

It was Mads Pedersen who powered down the home straight to win the opening sprint and move into the maglia rosa. The former World Champion would lose the race lead the following day after Josh Tarling pipped Primož Roglič to individual time trial glory, by fractions of a second. 

A nice consolation for Roglič was moving into the maglia rosa. However, such was Pedersen’s form at last year’s Giro, the Dane sprinted to his second of four stage victories, meaning he led overall once more as the race departed Albania.

For the first time since 1974, the Giro will start on foreign soil for the second consecutive edition. Bulgaria will host the Grande Partenza for 2026, with the opening stage presenting a golden opportunity for the sprinters to duke it out for the maglia rosa in Burgas.

The second stage is likely to cause the sprinters some problems as the route heads inland towards Veliko Tarnovo, featuring three categorised climbs in the second half.

Stage 3 features a challenging ascent up the Borovec Pass inside the final 100km, but the rest of the stage is flat on the run-in to the capital, Sofia, where the sprinters could have one last opportunity to shine in Bulgaria.