Giro d'Italia 2026 stage 20 preview, profiles, favourites & predictions - One final Jonas Vingegaard victory on Piancavallo?

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 20, which is expected to start and finish at 11:50 and 17:20CET.

The final mountain stage of the race starts off completely flat and it's a day where the breakaway is unlikely to succeed, as when the race goes uphill, we're going straight into action. The start is flat and it's a stage that is not hard to control, with Visma looking to secure Jonas Vingegaard's pink jersey.

Following the 2024 format, the final climb will be ascended on two occasions, and this time around it is Piancavallo - which will correspond with a summit finish.

The climb is 14.5 kilometers long, averaging 7.8% - with the first half being steeper than what these numbers suggest. In any case, a brutal climb, which is summited the first time with 53 kilometers to go, and inbetween is mostly flat.

The stage is almost fully flat and so it is easy to control. For Visma, who have done it on several days, it would cost little to do it again. Whichever team wants to contribute can make a big difference in the outcome of the day, whilst a breakaway win will always be difficult because there is no terrain to gain time before the climbs, where the pace will inevitably be high.

Essentially a GC fight, but with the non-GC climbers this time around - with some who may attack the first climb, or over the top, because on the final climb they don't stand a chance if directly battling with the main men.

Jonas Vingegaard is the man to beat, but you can argue that he doesn't care much about another stage win, and may help Davide Piganzoli this time around. The Italian is a stronger climber than Afonso Eulálio and the gap of just over a minute can be shut down on this mountain. We could see that happen, although we can't say if Vingegaard will still try and win the stage or if the other climbers may even stand a chance.

The GC is unlikely to change towards the top, as Felix Gall and Jai Hindey have fallen to their respective positions where they'll be happy, and it's not easy to see Thymen Arensman jump back into the podium. If anything, Derek Gee may attack his fourth place, with Giulio Ciccone potentially helping him if he secures the KOM jersey on the first of the ascents.

Eulálio's battle to stay in white might be the main story of the day as it may be Visma's priority. The stage win, outside of the main climbers, is highly unlikely. But with an early attack on the first climb and an element of Vingegaard not fighting for the win, we could see someone like Ciccone, Einer Rubio, Jan Hirt, Giulio Pellizzari or Gregor Muhlberger fight for the stage win. Other climbs can too, it depends on how they recover from this fast race and also who has freedom.

*** Jonas Vingegaard

** Felix Gall, Jai Hindley

* Giulio Ciccone, Derek Gee, Thymen Arensman, Michael Storer, Einer Rubio, Giulio Pellizzari

Pick: Giulio Ciccone

How: Attack on the first ascent of Piancavallo, and then the strongest from the escapees on the final climb.