Giro d'Italia 2026 stage 6 preview, profiles, favourites & predictions - Will chaos rule again on rainy cobbled sprint in Napoli?

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 6, which is expected to start and finish at 13:00 and 16:45CET.

The first edition of the Corsa Rosa took place in 1909, won by Luigi Ganna that year. Italy has always been one of the most influential countries in professional cycling and the Giro provided, every year, the opportunity for the biggest riders to show off their abilities in all terrains. It is one of the races with the most history. Eddy Merckx, Alfredo Binda and Fausto Coppi have each won it five times and hold the record together.

These are riders that have marked different generations, but other generations have too been marked by the victories of Gino Bartali, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain and Marco Pantani, as examples. In recent decades less Italians have won it; with Vincenzo Nibali being its latest home winner back in 2016. The likes of Alberto Contador, Nairo Quintana, Tom Dumoulin and Chris Froome all marked their name in the Trofeo Senza Fine (the Giro's 'endless trophy'.

Tao Geoghegan Hart won the 'Covid edition' in 2020; Egan Bernal won it back in 2021; Jai Hindley took the win in 2022; In 2023 it was Primoz Roglic who beat Geraint Thomas in a dramatic final mountain time trial to win his first Giro; In 2024 Tadej Pogacar dominated the edition from start to finish whilst in 2025 it was Great Britain's Simon Yates who won the pink jersey after a brilliant attack on the final mountain stage which dethroned Isaac del Toro.

The Giro d'Italia returns to Napoli once again after a start in Paestum. A city that has hosted multiple finishes over the past few years, always for sprint stages. It does not come as a surprise, as it is one of the major southern cities in the country and one that has also had fantastic finales over the past few years.

This time around, the riders face no climbs on their way to the 'home' of Diego Maradona. The stage underwent late changes to ensure that the sprinters would have their way, and for a high-speed dramatic finale to be held on the Piazza del Piebiscito - a change in comparison to the sea-side avenue that has hosted the last sprints.

The pure sprinters can't afford to waste such an opportunity, on what is also the last day before the race truly reaches the mountains.

The riders will not be happy to learn that they will have to be facing the rain again. Although at first it might not be the case, it seems to be inevitable that when making their way to Napoli they will eventually find wet roads once again. I wouldn't be surprised to see the finale neutralized, as it will be somewhat technical, wet and with cobblestones too.

The sprinters will have a very tense finale, inevitably. The men who will be on the spotlight are those who were at the forefront in the Bulgarian stages. Paul Magnier is going to be the headliner, after winning the two stages, and with the sprint having an uphill gradient, it will definitely favour him.

But it won't just favour him, I would say Tobias Lund Andresen will also quite enjoy that, it will be well suited to him. Although you can't argue it will change the sprint fully, it's not a climb that makes a huge difference.

Hence the heavyweight pure sprinters such as Jonathan Milan and Dylan Groenewegen stand as good chances as they've had before. And do not neglect either, specially Milan, who does enjoy the cobblestones and has shown in Sofia to have a monstrous power output - only bad timing.

NSN have to be taken into consideration here, they continue to have a good leadout and I believe Ethan Vernon will love the finale; and the same can be said of Ben Turner who is on spectacular form. Orluis Aular is also in peak form as shown on stage 4, and although the climb is not hard enough for him to gain a real advantage, he can't be ignored.

Erlend Blikra, Giovanni Lonardi, Pascal Ackermann, Paul Penhoët, Casper van Uden and Madis Mihkels are also to be considered. Davide Ballerini and Matteo Malucelli are both options for Astana. Don't neglect other puncheurs with a strong sprint here such as stage winners Guillermo Thomas Silva and Jhonatan Narváez.

*** Paul Magnier, Tobias Lund Andresen, Jonathan Milan

** Dylan Groenewegen, Ben Turner, Ethan Vernon

* Orluis Aular, Madis Mihkels, Pascal Ackermann, Davide Ballerini, Matteo Malucelli, Jhonatan Narváez, Guillermo Thomas Silva

Pick: Paul Magnier

How: Regular bunch sprint.