OFFICIAL | Unibet Rose Rockets set for 2026 Giro d'Italia debut; Tom Pidcock and Julian Alaphilippe's teams confirmed whilst Cofidis skips

The 2026 Giro d'Italia is gaining shape more and more. After the route was revealed earlier this winter, we now know the 23 teams that will take to the start in Bulgaria later on in May. Four wildcards looked virtually assured whilst the fifth has been given to Unibet Rose Rockets, who missed out on getting an invite to the Tour de France.

The Giro will be taking place from the 8th to the 31st of May and will be the stage for a battle between Jonas Vingegaard and João Almeida for the pink jersey, as has happened at last year's Vuelta a España. The first Grand Tour of the season is not going to have Cofidis at the start as the French team voluntarily gave up their automatic wildcard. They have a packed schedule and put more focus on the French cup which has a very busy schedule in May, as well as preparing other riders for the Tour de France.

The Giro will have Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team and Tudor Pro Cycling Team in the Corsa Rosa; as the two Swiss teams, amongst the ProTeams, have scored the most UCI points in 2025. Tom Pidcock is likely not aiming for the Corsa Rosa but if he wishes to add it to his plans, it is possible. Last year's queen stage winner Chris Harper is likely to be at the start however. Tudor have Stefan Küng, Marc Hirschi and Julian Alaphilippe as riders who could be big figures in the three-week race.

With Solution Tech NIPPO Rali not being in the Top30 of UCI point top scoring team, they could not be given a wildcard for this year's Grand Tours. The other two Italian teams - Bardiani CSF 7 Saber and Team Polti VisitMalta - have been invited as the two Italian ProTeams who could receive the invite.

Since last year, five teams can be invited to the Grand Tours. It is heavily hinted that the Giro was preparing to invite one of the Spanish teams, but after Caja Rural - Seguros RGA's surprise invite to the Tour de France, plans have changed. Unibet Rose Rockets, the only team in the Top30 that didn't yet have a wildcard for a three-week race, received the last of which. The likes of Dylan Groenewegen, Lukas Kubis, Wout Poels and Victor Lafay may well be heading to the Giro next spring.