Danny van Poppel misses Giro d'Italia, his main goal of the season

Danny van Poppel will not make an appearance in the 2026 Giro d'Italia next week. Last winter, the Dutch champion and his team Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe agreed that he would be allowed to chase his own chances in Italy, but this season has not gone well at all for the fast man from North Brabant. His German employer is therefore leaving him at home for the Giro.

With a fourth place in the second stage of the Santos Tour Down Under, Van Poppel seemed on track for a good season. As a lead-out man, he himself won four times last year: two mass sprints in the Tour of Hungary, the Dutch road race championship in a sprint against Dylan Groenewegen and Olav Kooij, and he soloed to victory in the final stage of the NIBC Tour of Holland. After that, Van Poppel and his team decided to take a different approach for 2026.

Van Poppel wanted to proudly wear the red-white-blue jersey in a Grand Tour. Since only the Giro remained before the next Dutch road race championship, he decided to ride that race instead of the Tour de France. But after that fourth place in the Tour Down Under, things just didn't click for Van Poppel anymore. With the Giro in mind, he had already decided to skip the Opening Weekend earlier on. On In de Leiderstrui, he now reveals that the Giro probably won’t happen either. He understands his team’s decision.

Now only working for top sprinters
“The team asked me if going back to sprinting myself was an option. My victory in the Dutch championship helped to make that decision quicker. I want to show off that red-white-blue jersey. For me, 2026 is a bridging year. There are about four to five world-class sprinters, so to speak. If I really feel someone is that much faster than me, we’ll go for it. Otherwise, not anymore,” he told WielerFlits in December.

“I’ve worked so hard over the past four years that I was a bit done with it,” Van Poppel said, referring – with all due respect – to second-tier sprinters like Sam Welsford and Sam Bennett. “That’s why I accepted the option the team offered me to start sprinting myself again. Last season, I was already able to win four times, including sprints against Dylan Groenewegen and Olav Kooij. The team has also invested in the sprint train, showing confidence. I’m really looking forward to it!” So, that will have to wait until possibly later this year.