"The Giro has always given me great memories" - Santiago Buitrago targets GC breakthrough in Italy
Cycling
Santiago Buitrago heads into the 2026 Giro d’Italia carrying greater responsibility than ever before. After already leaving his mark on the race with stage victories in both 2022 and 2023, the Colombian climber now arrives in Italy with ambitions that stretch far beyond hunting individual wins.
For the first time in his Giro career, the Bahrain - Victorious rider is expected to lead the team’s general classification campaign, with sports director Franco Pellizotti openly targeting a top-five finish in Rome.
Buitrago’s confidence is backed by a strong opening block of the season. The 26-year-old claimed victory at the Trofeo Laigueglia and also secured seventh place overall at the Tirreno-Adriatico, confirming the steady progression he has shown over the last two years in stage racing.
Speaking to CyclingPro ahead of the race, Buitrago made clear how much the Giro means to him personally.
“I’m happy to start my third Giro and very happy to come back”, Buitrago points out. “It’s a race that I honestly like a lot and I hope these three weeks will be full of positive things and that I can arrive in Rome with a good result.”
The Colombian explained that his entire first half of the season had been structured around arriving at the Giro in peak condition, especially with the goal of competing for the overall standings.
“This year I come with the idea of doing well in the general classification and we worked throughout this first part of the season to arrive in the best shape possible. I think we managed to do that.”
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Buitrago also pointed to the encouraging sensations he carried out of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, where he showed solid climbing form against many of the peloton’s biggest names. That performance has only reinforced the belief inside Bahrain - Victorious that he can emerge as one of the key outsiders for the podium battle.
“Let’s say we arrive in the best shape, we’ve had a good season and we come here with ambition, with the objective of doing really well,” he said. “The Giro has always given me great satisfaction, some of my best moments, and I hope this year it gives me another one.”
With proven climbing ability, growing experience in Grand Tours and a team fully committed to his GC ambitions, Buitrago enters the Giro as one of the riders capable of surprising the established favourites over three demanding weeks in Italy.
Carlos Silva is a writer for CyclingUpToDate.com, where he contributes race reports, interviews, analysis pieces, and live coverage of the international cycling calendar. Holding a degree in Sports from the Jean Piaget Institute, he combines academic knowledge of performance, training, and competition with hands-on journalism experience in professional cycling.
Throughout his career, Carlos has conducted interviews with leading figures in the sport, including Alberto Contador, Joaquim Rodríguez, Óscar Pereiro, João Almeida, Isaac del Toro, Derek Gee, John Degenkolb and Geraint Thomas. These conversations reflect direct engagement with Grand Tour winners, Classics specialists, and emerging talents.
He has provided on-site coverage at major events ranging from the Vuelta a España to the Tour de France, alongside stage races such as Vuelta a Andalucía, Volta ao Algarve, Volta a Portugal and O Gran Camiño. Covering the mythical climbs of the Giro d'Italia remains one of his professional ambitions.
Carlos is responsible for liveblog coverage of all major WorldTour races and beyond, including the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España. His reporting integrates verified data from ProCyclingStats to ensure statistical accuracy, contextual depth, and analytical precision.
A lifelong cycling enthusiast, he approaches storytelling across written, photographic, and video formats with a focus on credibility, tactical insight, and informed race interpretation.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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