“The Giro d’Italia cannot afford three days that people forget so quickly”: Was the Grande Partenza in Bulgaria a fiasco?

The 2026 Giro d’Italia Grande Partenza in Bulgaria is now in the books and, while the debate around international Grand Tour starts appears to be firmly embedded in modern cycling, the feeling left by the Balkan opening to the Corsa Rosa has divided opinion among fans and those following the race from inside the sport.

Juan Larra and Javier Rampe, writers for our Spanish language sister channel Ciclismoaldia, broke down what happened on Bulgarian roads and agreed on one central point: the model makes sense economically, but it raises plenty of doubts from a sporting and entertainment perspective.

For Larra, the discussion is not about denying the financial reality of modern cycling, but about finding a balance that does not harm the race.

“It is impossible for this not to happen. The Grand Tours need funding and countries pay a huge amount of money to host a start. The Tour does it, the Vuelta does it and the Giro does it too. The problem is everything it affects afterwards: routes designed to show off the country, uncomfortable transfers and a feeling of disconnection too early for the riders,” he explained.

The journalist focused particularly on the impact such a distant start from the race’s traditional heartland has on the riders. “It does not really matter that the organisation has to perform logistical juggling acts, but the riders do suffer. It slightly breaks the rhythm of the race and that is noticeable from the first day,” he added.

Rampe, for his part, stressed that the issue was not Bulgaria as a setting, but the type of stages the Grande Partenza ultimately produced.

“While fully understanding that RCS needs these economic agreements to sustain a three-week race, I think the weekend we have had has been quite poor from a sporting point of view. It lacked tension, it lacked excitement and practically everything was reduced to the final kilometres,” he said.

Rampe even compared this start with other recent Giro openings outside Italy and felt the Bulgarian edition offered less competitive substance. “The one in Albania had more going on, more movement and also a stronger line-up of sprinters. Here we have had stages that were too controlled and only specific incidents, such as Sunday’s big crash, altered the script a little,” he commented.

Even so, both writers picked out a few names who did add interest to the opening days of the race. Larra highlighted Paul Magnier’s development among the sprinters and the emergence of Uruguay’s Tomas Silva as one of the most eye-catching stories from the start of the Giro.

“They are the colourful notes this Grande Partenza leaves you with. Magnier is establishing himself against sprinters of a very high level and what Tomas Silva has done has been a fantastic surprise for Uruguayan cycling,” he noted.

Beyond the results, both Larra and Rampe believe the Giro needs to reflect on the format of these international starts. They do not question whether they will continue, because they are part of the modern economics of cycling, but they do believe the sporting spectacle needs to carry more weight in the design of the opening stages. “The Giro cannot afford to start with three days that people forget so quickly,” Rampe summed up.

Meanwhile, the peloton is now heading to Italy and the general feeling is that the race truly begins after the transfer. That conclusion only adds further fuel to the debate over whether these Grande Partenzas really benefit the Giro, or whether they end up taking it further away from its essence.

The other major story from the start of the Giro d’Italia has not been the Grande Partenza in Bulgaria, but the complete collapse of UAE Team Emirates-XRG because of withdrawals.

“Before it even started, you were already without Joao Almeida and now you are without three hugely important riders. Adam Yates, Jay Vine and Marc Soler. They are down to the bare bones,” Larra summarised.

Larra also explained that Adam Yates has been a long way from the level he showed alongside Tadej Pogacar at the 2023 Tour de France for some time now.

“Adam Yates stopped being reliable for the general classification one or two seasons ago. Since last year’s Giro he has not been sharp. That Tour with Pogacar was the peak of his career. We have never seen a Yates that strong,” he analysed.

The conversation also allowed room to lament the loss of Jay Vine, one of the names both considered most dangerous for this Giro because of the route and his profile.

“I feel sorry about Jay Vine because this Giro suited him very well. There is a very long time trial where he could have taken a lot of time and, with such a low level in the general classification, he was one of those outsiders who could have reached the finale still alive,” Larra commented.

Rampe agreed that the withdrawals completely reshape the team’s approach, although he believes the new situation could open opportunities for other riders in the Emirati squad.

“Beyond what Adam Yates might have done, the withdrawals give freedom to riders such as Jan Christen, Narvaez, Morgado or Arrieta. There are a lot of medium mountain stages and they can go hunting for victories,” he explained.

That said, both agreed that Jan Christen, identified by some as a possible internal alternative, still appears too raw to fight for a Grand Tour overall. “The other day he tried to follow Van Eetvelt and could not. He has a huge amount of class and can win stages, but for the general classification it looks very complicated,” they noted.