Giro d'Italia 2026 stage 13 preview, profiles, favourites & predictions - New GC fight or full breakaway day as the race reaches the Alps?

The 2026 Giro d'Italia will take place from the 8th to the 31st of May. It is the first Grand Tour of the season, and there are 21 stages that will take the riders through many of Italy's iconic cities, the mythical Alps, and many treacherous stages - each one can end the climber's chances of winning. We preview stage 13, which is expected to start and finish at 12:55 and 17:00CET.

Another tricky stage, with a completely flat profile all the way until the final kilometers. The stage doesn't seem to be designed for any type of rider in particular. Again it is too hard for the sprinters whilst seemingly not hard enough to create differences for the GC.

A breakaway day, but also one that is easy to control... We could see interesting dynamics on this 13th day which is held from Alessandria into Verbania, crossing the Po valley and entering the Alps in a gentle manner.

The first 165 kilometers, four hours of racing, will be done on mostly pan-flat roads with nothing to note. The riders head north in what is a transition stage, where it's easy to control a breakaway group. But who will want to do so?

There are two climbs to note then, before the stage finale. One is 2.4 kilometers long at 5.8% and ends with 31 kilometers to go; and the second is 4.7Km at 7% which ends with 13 kilometers to go. The first half of the final climb has a Red Bull Kilometer, whilst the second half averages almost 10%, and so we could see an all-out GC battle on more explosive terrain.

It's a tricky finale, but attacks are quite possible anywhere. There is a descent and a few flat kilometers, meaning teams do have reasons to have men in front and then potentially try to benefit from their presence tactically in the final flat kilometers to extend their gap.

it is another day that on paper, is for the breakaway, but features a pan-flat start. There's no climbing whatsoever, and no clear points where a group may go up the road, meaning that we can get hours of action; and we can get a group with plenty 'random' riders who find themselves in the lucky move.

Hence, a hard day to predict. GC-wise, it is a treacherous day, and the GC teams will position their leaders into the final climbs and descents. Yes, if there is the intention, with a rider like Felix Gall perhaps to attack the race, then we can see gaps. But on the eve of one of the queen stages, I don't believe so.

There is reason for teams to place riders in front, it could be a tactical finale, but I just don't see it happen. The stage is also overall quite easy on paper and there shouldn't be too much fatigue reaching the finale.

Hence, the breakaway day will fit all kinds of riders really. Climbers can potentially make the difference in that finale; puncheurs are the best fit; and rouleurs/cobbled classics specialists have enough space to attack before the climbs themselves and then potentially survive. So the list of contenders is actually huge.

Don't exclude a repeated win for UAE, Jhonatan Narváez will ultimately be the best suited man to the finale (even in a peloton finish) whilst Jan Christen, Igor Arrieta and Mikkel Bjerg also stand their chances.

Michael Valgren, Rémi Cavagna, Giulio Ciccone, Matteo Sobrero, Enric Mas, Lorenzo Milesi, Filippo Ganna, Ben Turner, Corbin Strong, David de la Cruz, Aleksandr Vlasov, Andrea Raccagni, Gianmarco Garofoli, Florian Stork, Johannes Kulset, Andreas Leknessund, Christian Scaroni, Diego Ulissi and Guillermo Thomas Silva all have their own chances.

The obvious danger men are Ciccone and Scaroni who have the climbing power and explosivity to be a major threat in the finale. Rouleur such as Milesi and Leknessund can benefit from early attacks and defend themselves quite well uphill; whilst riders such as Turner and Strong, on their best day, can do climbs like these with the best. His climbing legs are not on point, but with a finale at home, Filippo Ganna will also be highly motivated to win this stage and his power definitely helps his chances of being in the breakaway.

*** Jhonatan Narváez, Giulio Ciccone, Christian Scaroni

** Jan Christen, Guillermo Thomas Silva, Filippo Ganna

* Igor Arrieta, Mikkel Bjerg, Michael Valgren, Enric Mas, Lorenzo Milesi, Ben Turner, Aleksandr Vlasov, Andreas Leknessund, Diego Ulissi

Pick: Giulio Ciccone

How: Solo breakaway win.