Giro 2026: these are the disappointments

Every year, many riders head to the Giro d'Italia with high expectations, set either by themselves or by the outside world. And every year there are also a number of participants who, for one reason or another, fail to meet those expectations. WielerFlits highlights the most notable disappointments of the 2026 Giro.

Giulio Pellizzari

If anyone could have challenged Jonas Vingegaard in this Giro, it was Giulio Pellizzari. Everyone agreed on that beforehand. But Pellizzari ultimately finished only 21st in the general classification, nearly an hour behind the Dane. The Italian started strongly, but after illness affected him at the end of the first week, he gradually fell back until he completely dropped out on the way to Carì.

Enric Mas

At 31 years old, Enric Mas made his debut in the Italian Grand Tour. With four podium finishes in his home race, the Vuelta a España, and two top-10 finishes in the Tour de France, Mas seemed to be one of the candidates for a top-5 finish. However, none of that materialized. In the first serious mountain stage to Blockhaus, the Movistar rider immediately faltered. A second place from an early breakaway behind Jhonatan Narváez was then his most significant (and only) highlight over the past three weeks.

Ben O'Connor

Ben O'Connor had a somewhat difficult season leading up to the Giro, but initially seemed to have found his form again in the first half. On Blockhaus he was among the better climbers and impressively finished fifth. After the long time trial, he was even fifth in the overall classification and appeared on track for a good final result. However, in the first Alpine stage to Pila his form showed cracks, and since then it was downhill only for O'Connor, who will ultimately finish the Giro in sixteenth place.

Jan Christen

The early withdrawal of team leader Adam Yates at UAE Emirates XRG seemed like the perfect opportunity for Christen to chase stage wins in a freer role. While his teammates Jhonatan Narváez and Igor Arrieta did exactly that, scoring three and one stage wins respectively, the Swiss rider ultimately had a rather lackluster Giro. He joined three early breakaways but failed to make an impact in any of those stages. His best final placing came already in stage two, with eighth place in a sprint from a reduced group.

António Morgado

Another talent from the Emirates stable who participated in this Giro was the Portuguese Morgado. It is quite possible this is the first time you are reading about his participation, as the 22-year-old rider had three very anonymous weeks. He never featured in an early breakaway and his best result was 24th place in stage six to Naples.

Casper van Uden

Van Uden had a difficult build-up to the Giro with only one victory: a stage in the Tour of Turkey. Because this win came shortly before the Giro, many hoped the Dutchman had found his form just in time. After three weeks, however, we can say these hopes were in vain. The sprinter from Picnic PostnNL managed only once to break into the top 10, specifically in stage six to Naples. He was therefore unable to follow up on his success from last year, when he did win a stage.

Tobias Lund Andresen

Andresen was considered one of the revelations of this spring, with three WorldTour wins and a second place in In Flanders Fields. He also started the Giro strong with a second place in the opening stage, but then the Dane’s performance faltered, especially after he fell ill midway through the race. He still had some distant top-10 finishes, but never came as close to victory as he did in the first stage.