Giro 2026: Preview stage 21 to Rome - Last-minute hit for Groenewegen and the Rockets?

The Giro d'Italia 2026 is coming to an end. All the classifications are settled, leaving only a celebratory ride to the Italian capital Rome and a final bunch sprint. Will Paul Magnier remain unbeatable? Or will Dylan Groenewegen crown the Giro for the Rose Rockets with a coveted stage win? WielerFlits looks ahead!

Route

After twenty stages full of sprint excitement, hilly terrain, and mountain spectacle, the Giro concludes with a stage for the fast men in the streets of Rome. Last year there was a special start of the final stage in Vatican City with the Pope as a special guest, but this year no such special encounter is on the route book.

After a neutralized start in Rome, the route first leads the riders towards the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Near the Fontana dello Zodiaco, a fountain close to Lido di Ostia, there is an intermediate sprint and in Ostia the peloton makes a U-turn to return back towards the center of Rome. During these early hours, it will traditionally be time for prosecco, photo moments, and socializing.

The race will kick into gear again when the peloton reaches the local circuit in Rome’s historic center. The final circuit is 9.5 kilometers long and will be ridden eight times. This route is identical to last year’s finale, when Olav Kooij sprinted to the stage win in the capital. Previously, Mark Cavendish, Tim Merlier, and Sam Bennett have also won here. The last straight stretch is seven hundred meters long, slightly uphill, and paved with ‘sampietrini’. These are small Roman cobblestones.

The circuit in the inner city passes by the Colosseum, the Imperial Fora, Lungotevere, Ara Pacis, Villa Borghese, Circus Maximus, the Baths of Caracalla, and Castel Sant’Angelo. As the riders pass Castel Sant’Angelo, they will also have a view of St. Peter’s Basilica.

Classifications

Favorites

The sprinters still in the race—there aren’t many left—have survived three weeks of hell, with the finale on Friday and Saturday. After two extremely tough mountain stages in the Dolomites, they get one last chance to summon tired yet fast legs to sprint for the stage on the Roman cobblestones.

Except for the sprint in Naples marred by a crash (won by Davide Ballerini, who has since abandoned), Paul Magnier has convincingly won all the bunch sprints in this Giro d'Italia. It is therefore no surprise that after the withdrawal of attacker and three-time stage winner Jhonatan Narváez last Friday, he will claim the points classification uncontested. As expected, he will also win the final sprint stage on Sunday in the purple jersey.

Based on pure speed, only two real rivals remain for the Frenchman. These are powerhouse Jonathan Milan and the Lion of Amsterdam, Dylan Groenewegen. The Italian from Lidl-Trek can still deliver his team their first stage win, despite having, after XDS Astana and Soudal-Quick-Step, achieved the most top-10 finishes in this Giro. Except for that sprint in Naples, Milan placed in the top four in all other sprints.

Groenewegen leans on a third place in the third stage and a sixth place in the fifteenth stage. The lead-outs of Unibet Rose Rockets have been effective, and in Rome there will at least be a fair finish without tricky corners that could cause crashes. Behind the three fastest sprinters, mainly power sprinters remain. Think of the somewhat disappointing Tobias Lund Andresen, the Ethan Vernon-relieved Corbin Strong, and Estonian champion Madis Mihkels.

Beyond them, it is really a search for sprinters who can shock here. There aren’t many left for that role, but we mention them anyway: Orluis Aular, Robert Donaldson, Sakarias Koller, Giovanni Lonardi, Matteo Malucelli, Luca Mozzato, Paul Penhoët, Jensen Plowright, Ben Turner, and Casper van Uden. Or will Alec Segaert’s late attack create another scenario than a papal sprint?

Weather

Sunny temperatures in Rome on Sunday, as expected. The mercury will rise up to thirty degrees Celsius, with not a cloud in the sky. The wind will blow at force three from the west-southwest.