No Zoncolan, but Pantani’s Piancavallo returns for Giro 2026

According to local newspaper Il Messaggero Veneto, stage 20 of the Giro will take place entirely in Friuli, starting in Gemona and concluding with two ascents of Piancavallo, which was first conquered by Marco Pantani in 1998. 

Piancavallo last featured as a summit finish on the Giro in 2020, when Tao Geoghegan Hart was first to the top after Jai Hindley delivered a break-out performance to split the race asunder on the ascent. Mikel Landa was the stage winner when the Giro visited in 2017.

The climb above Aviano is 14km long at an average gradient of 7.4%. Per Il Messaggero Veneto, the Giro would then descend to Barcis before circling around and tackling the climb to Piancavallo once again as a summit finish.

The newspaper reports that Mauro Vegni – in his final Giro as route designer – opted against the Zoncolan for the Friuli finale, worrying that the fearsome climb would lead to cautious racing in the third week. The Giro’s visit to Friuli will also mark the 50th anniversary of the devastating 1976 earthquake near Gemona.

The Zoncolan has not featured on the Giro since 2021, and it hasn’t been scaled from its more demanding Ovaro approach since Chris Froome won there in 2018. Friuli last provided the final mountain stage of the Giro in 2023, when Primoz Roglic snatched the pink jersey from Geraint Thomas in the most dramatic of circumstances.

A date has not yet been fixed for the presentation of the 2026 Giro, though Domestique understands that RCS Sport still hopes to unveil the route before the end of November.

Last month, RCS president Urbano Cairo indicated that the Grande Partenza would take place in Bulgaria, though no formal announcement has yet been made regarding the opening stages.

Initial rumours suggest the Giro’s first stage on Italian roads will be in Calabria on stage 4. Naples is all but certain to feature in the opening week, while it is expected that there will be a summit finish on the Blockhaus.

A time trial in Barolo wine country has also been touted, as well as possible summit finishes at Cervinia and at Carí in Switzerland, while it has been heavily rumoured that stage 19 will be a tappone in the Dolomites.

While Milan has confirmed its candidature to host the final stage of the Giro for the first time since 2021, Il Messaggero Veneto reports that the race will transfer from Piancavallo to Rome for the grand finale on May 31. 

Simon Yates won the 2025 Giro ahead of Isaac del Toro, but it is not yet clear which grandees of the peloton will line out in 2026. With Tadej Pogacar again likely to focus on the Spring Classics and the Tour de France, there has been mounting speculation that his rival Jonas Vingegaard will make his Giro debut in a bid to complete a full set of Grand Tour wins.

Speaking to Domestique last week, Visma | Lease a Bike directeur sportif Grischa Niermann acknowledged that Vingegaard would eventually ride the Giro, but he insisted that no decision has yet been made on the Dane’s 2026 programme.

“I think it’s no secret that it is certainly on his list that he would really like to win all three Grand Tours in his career, so it will happen somewhere – but I cannot guarantee you if it happens next year,” Niermann said.