2025 Giro d'Italia Women winner Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) was the first to comment on the route of the 2026 Corsa Rosa, immediately recognising the stage over the Colle delle Finestre as the queen stage and the day that will decide the final overall winner.
Longo Borghini was the guest of honour at the route presentation in Rome alongside men's Giro winner Simon Yates. She beat Marlen Reusser (Movistar) to the pink jersey by just 18 seconds in 2025 after distancing her on the key mountain stage to Monte Nerone. Sarah Gigante (AG Insurance-Soudal) was third at 1:11 and could surely be a contender in 2026.
Longo Borghini admitted that her 2025 winner's trophy was on top of her microwave until recently but is now in a special trophy cabinet. She indicated that she will return to defend her crown and target a third consecutive victory in 2026.
"Winning the 2025 Giro was so special because all my family were at the finish and so was my husband Jacopo. It wasn't easy to win again, so it was especially satisfying," Longo Borghini said.
The nine-day 2026 Giro Women starts in Cesenatico on Saturday, May 30 and ends in Saluzzo in Piemonte on Sunday, June 7, a new date that overlaps with the final weekend of the men's race but now avoids the men's Tour de France.
The Giro d'Italia Women route for 2026 will include an uphill time trial to Nevegal, a mountain stage in the Dolomites, the Colle delle Finestre and 12,000m of altitude gain but also sprint stages as the route heads east to west across northern Italy.
The 'cronoscalata' mountain time trial is over 12.7km from Belluno to Nevegal. It is followed by the 138km Dolomite stage to Santo Stefano di Cadore but Longo Borghini is convinced that stage 8 from Rivoli to Sestriere over the Colle delle Finestre will be decisive.
"I really like the route, especially the Sestriere finish with Colle delle Finestre climb. I've been up there many times during altitude training camps," she said.
"The Colle delle Finestre will decide the 2026 Giro Women, it was for the men this year and probably will be for the women in 2026. The dirt roads make it a special climb, it's also long and hard from the very start.
"The descent can be 'fun' too even if it's hard, while Sestriere is a special place for the stage finish."
Longo Borghini noticed the intensity of the 12.7km Belluno to Nevegal mountain time trial and the difficulty of the following day's stage in the Dolomites to Santo Stefano di Cadore. However, the 101km Colle delle Finestre stage is without doubt the Queen stage of the 2026 Giro Women.
"I'm not a pure climber, but I'm happy the Colle delle Finestre is in the Giro," she said.
"We needed an iconic climb like the Colle delle Finestre in the Giro Women. The Tour de France Femmes has the Ventoux, now we can take them on and show how special the Giro Women can be. I can't wait to ride it."
