Giro 2026: preview of stage 18 to Pieve di Soligo - A very tricky finish

In the midst of the grueling final week, there is still room for a relatively flat stage. Although, flat? A tough little climb awaits in the finale, where the pure sprinters will definitely be dropped. The stage thus seems mainly suited for breakaway riders. WielerFlits looks ahead!

Route

The eighteenth stage is 168 kilometers long, running from Fai della Paganella to Pieve di Soligo in northern Italy. This stage takes the riders from the province of Trentino to the province of Treviso.

The start location, Fai della Paganella, just north of the city of Trento, is situated near Lake Molveno. From there, the route mainly heads east. Along the way, there are two categorized climbs that could still pose a challenge for pure sprinters, and early in the stage the terrain already rolls up and down.

Midway through the stage lies the third-category climb to Fastro, but the real finale will begin around Guia, 35 kilometers from the finish. There is an intermediate sprint and an uncategorized hill. After the descent, it is almost never flat, and then there is the steep Muro di Ca’ del Poggio (1.1 km at 12.1%) right in the finale.

This climb should not be confused with the much better-known Poggio di Sanremo, but still… A Poggio in the finale is guaranteed to add excitement. In the 2024 Giro d’Italia, this climb was also included in the route. Back then, it appeared in the penultimate stage to Bassano del Grappa, when the stage win went to Tadej Pogačar (his sixth in that Giro). At that time, the Muro di Ca’ del Poggio came early in the stage.

In this stage, the summit is just over ten kilometers from the finish in Pieve di Soligo, located in the heart of the Prosecco region. The finale is largely gently descending. It is up to the sprinters to limit the damage so they can return in time. But a bunch sprint? That will not happen, especially not this deep into the Giro d’Italia.

Classifications

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In principle, well-climbing sprinters have a chance in Pieve di Soligo. Of course, the Muro di Ca’ del Poggio (1.1 km at 12.1%) is a steep beast, but the ascent is also quite short. Explosive riders can get over it, after which there is still some time to fix any difficult situation. Still, there’s always an element of uncertainty. And which sprinters’ team has enough confidence to control the race all day?

Lidl-Trek, Soudal Quick-Step and Unibet Rose Rockets have on paper the fastest riders in their squads, respectively Jonathan Milan, Paul Magnier and Dylan Groenewegen, but the chance that they survive the Muro di Ca’ del Poggio seems quite small. None of them were part of the reduced peloton heading to Novi Ligure.

Decathlon CMA CGM would normally be able to rise to the challenge now that Tobias Lund Andresen has recovered from illness, but with Felix Gall in second place overall, they currently have other priorities. If it does come down to a sprint, the Dane is a dangerous contender. He has both the speed and the endurance.

Perhaps Movistar will again aim for a sprint from a reduced peloton, hoping that Orluis Aular can strike. After two failed attempts - the Spanish team twice dropped the fastest sprinters but Aular couldn’t finish the job afterwards - they will undoubtedly try a different approach this time. That leaves NSN Cycling. They have two sprinters, Ethan Vernon and Corbin Strong, who can handle a small climb.

In Novi Ligure, the card of Vernon was played, but this finale seems more suited to Strong, who is more of a puncher. Do you remember how the New Zealander was able to follow Tom Pidcock on a brutally steep finish in last year’s Arctic Race of Norway? If he is back to that form, NSN Cycling would do well to keep the group together.

However, this does require support from other teams, and it is uncertain if that support will be forthcoming. It is more likely that we will see another breakaway stage. In that case, we must write down Jhonatan Narváez. The Ecuadorian has already won three stages in this Giro and gets a good chance Thursday to complete his quartet. The tricky climb in the finale suits him perfectly and if a small group remains, Narváez also has a razor-sharp sprint. He could do very well in the fight for the purple points jersey.

Alberto Bettiol has already won this Giro as well. In the transitional stage to Verbania, he snuck away with the early break and then dropped everyone on the last climb. On that climb, he overtook Andreas Leknessund in the last two hundred meters, the rider who has accumulated many second places in this Giro. Is it ‘fourth time’s the charm’ for the Norwegian? We are also keeping an eye on his teammate Fredrik Dversnes Lavik, the surprising winner of the stage to Milan.

Another rider who has already won in this Giro: Guillermo Thomas Silva. The Uruguayan took the win on Bulgarian soil in stage two. Since then, he has also twice finished third and once fourth in stage results. His strong finishing kick, combined with his abilities as a puncheur, make Silva a dangerous contender.

Among the dangerous riders, we also count some Belgians. Mainly Toon Aerts, Alec Segaert, and Jasper Stuyven. The latter has shown his good form throughout the Giro, but most finales have been just a bit too tough for the experienced power of the Soudal Quick-Step rider. However, he should be perfectly suited for this stage. The same goes for Aerts, who has sprint speed as an extra weapon.

Finally, we also mention the names of Filippo Ganna, Diego Ulissi, Edoardo Zambanini, Madis Mihkels, Florian Stork, Alan Hatherly, Lorenzo Milesi, Gianmarco Garofoli, Giulio Ciccone, and Koen Bouwman.

Weather

The riders will probably stay dry on Thursday during the eighteenth stage. There might be a light shower in the afternoon at the finish in Pieve di Soligo, but it looks like the riders will already be finished by then. The majority of the stage should be sunny, dry, and warm. Temperatures will rise to 28 degrees Celsius in the afternoon. The wind (2 Beaufort) will come from the southeast.