Giro dell'Emilia 2026 preview: route, startlist, and favorites
Giro dell'Emilia returns on October 3 around the San Luca climb in Bologna. The repeated steep ascents through the porticoes sort the field ruthlessly, with recent winners del Toro, Pogacar, and Roglic underlining the quality required.
Giro dell'Emilia 2026 centres on the San Luca climb, one of the most recognizable finishing features in Italian cycling. The 2-kilometer ascent averages around 10% and passes through the covered porticoes that line the hillside above Bologna. Riders tackle it multiple times on the closing circuits, and each repetition strips away more contenders.
The recent winners list reads like a who's who of stage-race contenders: Isaac del Toro (2025), Tadej Pogacar (2024), Primoz Roglic (2023), and Enric Mas (2022). This is not a race for opportunists or pure sprinters. The San Luca demands climbing power on steep gradient, acceleration out of the hairpins, and the endurance to repeat the effort across multiple laps.
Giro dell'Emilia also functions as a crucial form test before Il Lombardia, the final Monument of the season. Riders who perform well here are sending a signal about their autumn ambitions.