The youngest, the oldest, and the 68 riders who are racing the Giro d'Italia for the first time in 2026

The 2026 Giro d'Italia is giving way to many riders making their Grand Tour debut. Several will also be having their first three-week race experience; whilst the list of first-time Giro participants includes none other than Jonas Vingegaard.

The Giro will not have anyone below the age of 20 participating, unlike the Tour de France in which Paul Seixas is already a guarantee. Instead there are two 20-year olds beginning the Corsa Rosa:

One is Bardiani CSF 7 Saber's Filippo Turconi, the youngest in this edition; whilst EF Education-EasyPost'a Markel Beloki makes a close second.

Wout Poels is the oldest rider at the startlist, very closely followed by Damiano Caruso - both at 38 years of age. Amongst them they have 12 Giri and 46 Grand Tours in total, something which benefits both of their teams immensely due to their experience.

A whole 37% of the 2026 Giro d'Italia's peloton is also racing it for the first time this Friday, on Bulgarian roads! Will all of them make it to Italy, where the riders will begin a second phase of the race on Tuesday?

The previously mentioned Filippo Turconi is the youngest debutant in the race, one of 68 riders. This is a list that includes tremendous amounts of quality including the main favourite himself Jonas Vingegaard.

Jan Christen, António Morgado, Lennert van Eetvelt, Lukas Kubis, Enric Mas, Iván García Cortina and Toon Aerts are amongst those racing it for the first time. There is a good chance a stage win will come out of these riders, of course even putting Vingegaard aside.

Oliver Naeen, at 35 years of age, is the oldest debutant in the race; following a career where he has always prioritized the spring classics and combined them with the Tour de France.