With the Giro d'Italia just around the corner, it's puzzle time for many Fantasy Sports Fans. Everyone is looking for the ideal picks for their Fantasy team. In the Fantasy Giro Italia (Budget) the top 20 of each stage and the final classification score points. You also choose 5 substitutes who will step in as soon as a rider drops out of the Giro d'Italia. So it's just one entry and then 3 weeks of enjoying the tour and the game.
CyclingUpToDate, credits to wielrennenuptodate.nl, provides 10 tips based on Zweeler's budget game. All this knowledge is of course invaluable for the avid cycling Fantasy Sports Games fan who participates in several games during the Giro.
Go directly to the Fantasy Giro d'Italia to take a look. The game is not free and costs 25 euros per team. First prize is 1,000 euros with a total prize pool of 6,000 euros!
Go directly to the Fantasy Giro d'Italia to take a look. The game is not free and costs 25 euros per team. First prize is 1,000 euros with a total prize pool of 6,000 euros!
1) Florian Lipowitz - 3.4 million. The 23-year-old German from Bora-hansgrohe broke through last Tour de Romandie almost in the queen stage and a place on the final podium. Whether Lipowitz can show the same in his first Grand Tour is a big question, but for 3.4 million this is a risk-free choice. Even if a general classification is not in the cards, Lipowitz can score enough points for his value in stages with his climbing skills.
2) Jonathan Milan - 22.2 million. A year ago, Milan was one of the bargains in Zweeler's budget game, despite him often starting sprints in a bad position. His price has since risen considerably, but we have high hopes for the Italian powerhouse. Milan has possibly the best sprint train and if he is delivered up front it will be hard for any sprinter to beat him.
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3) Juan Pedro López - 11.8 million. In addition to Milan, Lidl-Trek has another potential top scorer this Giro. Juan Pedro López won the final classification of one of the preparation races, namely the Tour of the Alps. 'El Patron' lived up to his nickname, controlling attacks from strong men like Ben O'Connor and Romain Bardet. Lopez also shined once before in the Giro. In 2022, he finished second on Etna and then wore the pink jersey for 10 days.
4) Laurence Pithie - 15.8 million. Pithie's career is moving fast. The 21-year-old New Zealander is perhaps the revelation of this cycling season. With a first WorldTour victory in Australia and riding at the front in the top classics, Pithie is not likely to win a bunch sprint against a Tim Merlier or Olav Kooij, but he has the advantage of being one of the best puncheurs. And especially for breakaway riders, there are plenty of opportunities in this Giro which he could take advantage of.
5) Tobias Lund Andresen - 8.1 million. For the same reason, we can also commend Tobias Lund Andresen. The young Dane is Fabio Jakobsen's leadout man, but Jakobsen is widely known to have difficulty overcoming the climbs. So there is a very good chance that Jakobsen will get a maximum of four sprint opportunities, leaving plenty of stages for Lund Andresen to score. At least in the Tour of Turkey he impressed by winning three stages, so the form is good.
6) Danny van Poppel - 8.8 million. Van Poppel is one of the best leadouts in the peloton, but will have to play the role of sprinter himself in the next three weeks. Originally Sam Welsford was designated as Bora's sprinter, but the Australian was kept out of the selection due to disappointing form. Van Poppel, on the other hand, has shown good legs in recent months and should be able to score a lot of top five finishes.
7) Giulio Pellizzari - 4.7 million. Italy is yearning for a new star to win the Giro d'Italia. Perhaps Pellizzari will become just that in the future. Last year he competed with Isaac Del Toro for overall victory in the Tour de l'Avenir. This race can be seen as the Tour de France for U23s. In the run-up to this Giro, he showed himself with a second place in the third stage of the Tour of the Alps, behind the previously mentioned Lopez. What is good comes fast, especially in today's cycling where talent after talent breaks through.
8) Jan Hirt - 7.7 million. Soudal - Quick-Step starts this Giro without a real leader for the GC, but Hirt clearly has the potential to finish high. In 2022 he already finished sixth with a strong final week including a stage win. And also this edition the final week is especially important for the GC. Hirt started 2024 strongly with a second place in Oman and then worked as a domestique for his teammates in the UAE Tour and Catalunya. So don't pay too much attention to the results in these recent races.
9) Georg Steinhauser - 2.6 million. Steinhauser is one of the lesser known names in the peloton right now, but that may not last long. EF is starting a free-rider team where chasing stages via breakaways is the main goal. Steinhauser fits perfectly into that picture. The 22-year-old German has a nose for the right breakaway and has good climbing legs. Steinhauser is the son of former pro Tobias and the nephew of none other than Jan Ullrich.
10) Manuel Tarozzi - 1.3 million. In budget games, it is normal to look for cheap filler to round out the team. Tarozzi fits into that category. A rookie in the Giro who has often shown himself at the front this year. Six times he has been in an early breakaway and once with results. Early in the season he did a 1-2 with teammate Alessandro Tonelli in Valencia. One good breakaway in the next three weeks is enough to make Tarozzi profitable.
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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
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
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
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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🥇 21 stages, 21 medals. 🏆 Carved straight from the heart of the Trofeo Senza Fine. . 🥇 21 tappe, 21 medaglie. 🏆 Scolpite direttamente dal cuore del Trofeo Senza Fine. #GirodItalia
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