The youngest, the oldest, and the 68 riders who are racing the Giro d'Italia for the first time in 2026
Cycling
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.
Youngest riders at the 2026 Giro d'Italia
| Order | Rider | Age |
| 1 | TURCONI Filippo | 20y + 200d |
| 2 | BELOKI Markel | 20y + 285d |
| 3 | GUALDI Simone | 21y + 22d |
| 4 | TSVETKOV Nikita | 21y + 83d |
| 5 | CHRISTEN Jan | 21y + 316d |
| 6 | PALETTI Luca | 21y + 337d |
| 7 | MAGNIER Paul | 22y + 24d |
| 8 | KULSET Johannes | 22y + 24d |
| 9 | REX Tim | 22y + 27d |
| 10 | MORGADO António | 22y + 100d |
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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.
Oldest riders at the 2026 Giro d'Italia
| Order | Rider | Age |
| 1 | POELS Wout | 38y + 219d |
| 2 | CARUSO Damiano | 38y + 208d |
| 3 | OLIVEIRA Nelson | 37y + 63d |
| 4 | DE LA CRUZ David | 37y + 2d |
| 5 | JUUL-JENSEN Christopher | 36y + 306d |
| 6 | ULISSI Diego | 36y + 297d |
| 7 | WARBASSE Larry | 35y + 314d |
| 8 | NAESEN Oliver | 35y + 234d |
| 9 | HIRT Jan | 35y + 107d |
| 10 | KELDERMAN Wilco | 35y + 44d |
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.
Debutants at the 2026 Giro d'Italia
| Order | Rider | Team | Age |
| 1 | TURCONI Filippo | Bardiani CSF 7 Saber | 20y + 200d |
| 2 | BELOKI Markel | EF Education - EasyPost | 20y + 285d |
| 3 | GUALDI Simone | Lotto Intermarché | 21y + 22d |
| 4 | TSVETKOV Nikita | Bardiani CSF 7 Saber | 21y + 83d |
| 5 | CHRISTEN Jan | UAE Team Emirates - XRG | 21y + 316d |
| 6 | PALETTI Luca | Bardiani CSF 7 Saber | 21y + 337d |
| 7 | KULSET Johannes | Uno-X Mobility | 22y + 24d |
| 8 | REX Tim | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 22y + 27d |
| 9 | MORGADO António | UAE Team Emirates - XRG | 22y + 100d |
| 10 | RACCAGNI NOVIERO Andrea | Soudal Quick-Step | 22y + 102d |
| 11 | CRESCIOLI Ludovico | Team Polti VisitMalta | 22y + 200d |
| 12 | RONDEL Mathys | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 22y + 227d |
| 13 | ROLLAND Brieuc | Groupama - FDJ United | 22y + 268d |
| 14 | GIDDINGS Joshua | Lotto Intermarché | 22y + 292d |
| 15 | KOPECKÝ Matyáš | Unibet Rose Rockets | 23y + 109d |
| 16 | SEGAERT Alec | Bahrain - Victorious | 23y + 112d |
| 17 | PEDERSEN Rasmus Søjberg | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 23y + 303d |
| 18 | CHRISTEN Fabio | Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | 23y + 313d |
| 19 | TEUTENBERG Tim Torn | Lidl - Trek | 23y + 323d |
| 20 | ROJAS Vicente | Bardiani CSF 7 Saber | 24y + 8d |
| 21 | DONALDSON Robert | Team Jayco AlUla | 24y + 30d |
| 22 | DE LIE Arnaud | Lotto Intermarché | 24y + 53d |
| 23 | STAUNE-MITTET Johannes | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 24y + 110d |
| 24 | SILVA Guillermo Thomas | XDS Astana Team | 24y + 129d |
| 25 | PENHOËT Paul | Groupama - FDJ United | 24y + 131d |
| 26 | LØLAND Sakarias Koller | Uno-X Mobility | 24y + 230d |
| 27 | HUENS Axel | Groupama - FDJ United | 24y + 245d |
| 28 | VAN DER LEE Jardi Christiaan | EF Education - EasyPost | 24y + 275d |
| 29 | VAN EETVELT Lennert | Lotto Intermarché | 24y + 295d |
| 30 | KENCH Josh | Groupama - FDJ United | 25y + 2d |
| 31 | VAN DEN BROEK Frank | Team Picnic PostNL | 25y + 131d |
| 32 | LÓPEZ Harold Martín | XDS Astana Team | 25y + 156d |
| 33 | HOLTER Ådne | Uno-X Mobility | 25y + 304d |
| 34 | KOPECKÝ Tomáš | Unibet Rose Rockets | 26y + 30d |
| 35 | VAN DIJKE Mick | Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe | 26y + 54d |
| 36 | FLYNN Sean | Team Picnic PostNL | 26y + 67d |
| 37 | KUBIŠ Lukáš | Unibet Rose Rockets | 26y + 97d |
| 38 | PESENTI Thomas | Team Polti VisitMalta | 26y + 204d |
| 39 | MIFSUD Andrea | Team Polti VisitMalta | 26y + 345d |
| 40 | PRICE-PEJTERSEN Johan | Alpecin - Premier Tech | 26y + 347d |
| 41 | NABERMAN Tim | Team Picnic PostNL | 26y + 362d |
| 42 | DE JONG Timo | Team Picnic PostNL | 27y + 41d |
| 43 | ROMO Javier | Movistar Team | 27y + 122d |
| 44 | GEENS Jonas | Alpecin - Premier Tech | 27y + 124d |
| 45 | STANNARD Robert | Bahrain - Victorious | 27y + 234d |
| 46 | RUTSCH Jonas | Lotto Intermarché | 28y + 104d |
| 47 | VERGALLITO Luca | Alpecin - Premier Tech | 28y + 236d |
| 48 | LARSEN Niklas | Unibet Rose Rockets | 29y + 47d |
| 49 | DVERSNES LAVIK Fredrik | Uno-X Mobility | 29y + 49d |
| 50 | JACOBS Johan | Groupama - FDJ United | 29y + 68d |
| 51 | BLIKRA Erlend | Uno-X Mobility | 29y + 117d |
| 52 | VINGEGAARD Jonas | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 29y + 149d |
| 53 | MENTEN Milan | Lotto Intermarché | 29y + 189d |
| 54 | DE VRIES Hartthijs | Unibet Rose Rockets | 29y + 301d |
| 55 | BASTIAENS Ayco | Soudal Quick-Step | 29y + 339d |
| 56 | PAASSCHENS Mathijs | Bahrain - Victorious | 30y + 51d |
| 57 | HATHERLY Alan | Team Jayco AlUla | 30y + 54d |
| 58 | GONZÁLEZ David | Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | 30y + 76d |
| 59 | BAX Sjoerd | Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | 30y + 122d |
| 60 | GARCÍA CORTINA Iván | Movistar Team | 30y + 169d |
| 61 | MAS Enric | Movistar Team | 31y + 121d |
| 62 | HOELGAARD Markus | Uno-X Mobility | 31y + 216d |
| 63 | VAN GESTEL Dries | Soudal Quick-Step | 31y + 220d |
| 64 | LIVYNS Arjen | XDS Astana Team | 31y + 249d |
| 65 | MALUCELLI Matteo | XDS Astana Team | 32y + 200d |
| 66 | AERTS Toon | Lotto Intermarché | 32y + 201d |
| 67 | REINDERS Elmar | Unibet Rose Rockets | 34y + 55d |
| 68 | NAESEN Oliver | Decathlon CMA CGM Team | 35y + 234d |

Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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