2026 Milano-Torino preview - Who conquers Superga?

Last year, Isaac del Toro took a rocketing victory at Superga as the Mexican out-kicked Ben Tulett, which marked the first victory of his 2025 season.

The other editions in the 2020's have seen a variety of different types of winners. 

In 2024, Alberto Bettiol won in a different style of finish to Milano-Torino; then came Arvid De Kleijn in 2023 on a parcours built for the fast men, with Mark Cavendish successful the year prior in 2022. 

In 2021, the race finished on the climb to Superga, and Primoz Roglic was victorious for Jumbo-Visma, ahead of Adam Yates and Joao Almeida, with Arnaud Demare winning the flat 2020 edition.

With Primož Roglič (2021) and Diego Ulissi (2013), there are two ex-winners on the startlist.

Key information:

• Date - Wednesday, March 18
• Distance - 174 kilometres
• Start location - Rho
• Finish location - Torino (Superga)
• Start time (11:55 CET)
• Finish (15:41 CET)

In total, there are just two climbs on the 2026 Milano-Torino parcours with two ascents of the Superga. 

The climb is 4.9 kilometres, coming in at an average of 9.1% and peaking at gradients of over 11% in the last half of the climb. The first ascent of the Superga begins with 24 kilometres to go, before a quick descent, and then, almost immediately, the peloton will take on the climb once more.

Before the two ascents, the parcours is relatively flat as they depart the western Milan suburb of Rho heading towards Turin. 

Any riders attempting to go in the break will have to obtain a strong rouleur type, and even then, it will remain hard to see whether the break could last until the first ascent of the Superga.

The scenery atop the Superga is spectacular, with the finish in front of the Basilica di Superga, which has been seen numerous times before in stages of the Giro, most recently in 2024, when Tadej Pogacar conquered it.

Tom Pidock (Pinarello Q36.5) arrives in Milano-Torino after a rather unlucky Strade Bianche, which was plagued with bad luck. His early season showings, especially at the Ruta del Sol, where he took a strong victory on the final stage after an explosive attack. That explosivity he showed in that stage, particularly, will be crucial inside the final kilometre.

Giulio Pellizzari, Primož Roglič, and Finn-Fisher Black form a really strong trident forRed Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe. Pellizzari looks like he has taken an extra step over the winter in his second season at Red Bull after his performances at Tirreno-Adriatico. Roglič started his season off conservatively with a 5th place in Tirreno, but he has shown in the past that this type of race really suits him, having won this race in 2021, for example. Fisher Black is someone who is really good in these types of races, but he isn't the most consistent, so he is hard to read.

Tobias Halland Johannessen looks to have found his top shape again in Tirreno-Adriatico. The parcours also suits him perfectly, he'll be a tough one to beat here. He also has the support of his twin brother Anders again, who finished 6th here last year and also supported his brother Tobias perfectly in Tirreno. He flies a bit under the radar because his twin brother gets better results overall, but he is not to be underrated.

Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), meanwhile, has already taken victories and podium placements in 2026, including winning the AlUla Tour. He'll also be very keen to race for the victory here, as one doesn't get a lot of chances at UAE with their star line-up. Benoit Cosnefroy is also suited perfectly for this race, but it looks like he still lacks some form, although in the past, he showed he can get into form really quickly.

Riders to watch at the 2026 Milano-Torino include the U23 World Champion, Lorenzo Finn (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), and Cian Uijtdebroeks (Movistar), who arrives in Milano-Torino after abandoning the Volta Communitat Valenciana.

Also, Michael Storer is an interesting name here; he was growing towards his top form in the Tirreno, and really proved himself in one-day races last year. Paul Double is a rider who excels at these types of efforts, but he lacks references in one-day races, curious to see what he can do here. Alex Baudin also really likes a climb like the Superga, and he was also clearly growing to his top form in Paris-Nice, finishing 5th in the last stage and 9th in the general classification.

It will also be interesting to see how Derek Gee-West performs in his first one-day race for Lidl-Trek, after finishing seventh in the UAE Tour on his debut for the team.