He Giro d’Italia is already underway. There is still no road, no attacks, nor accounts with the mountain. That will arrive from May 8 to 31. The first was Burgas, the Bulgarian city that opened its arms to the 109th edition of the Corsa Rosa at the Open-air theater, the local performing arts theater. For the first time in its history, the race will start from Bulgaria, becoming the 15th Grande Partenza organized outside of Italy.
The event had regional costumes, live music and the parade of the 23 Giro squads, with Movistar as the only Spanish team. The best of each house, on stage. Several thousand fans saw up close some of the new features of this edition, starting with the clothing from Ineos and EF Education. The British debuted a gray jersey with Netcompany as the new sponsor. The Americans, faithful to their catalog of eccentricities, opted for the head of an alien on the front of the kit.
184 cyclists passed the stage, although only two know first-hand what it means to lift the Senza Fine trophy: Egan Bernal, winner in 2021, and Jai Hindley, champion in 2022. None was the most acclaimed in Burgas. That focus was shared between Filippo Ganna, the top favorite to win the only time trial of this edition, and Jonas Vingegaard, the runner everyone looks at when the pink jersey appears on the horizon. “It’s very nice to be in Bulgaria. Being here is special for me. I’m very excited to make this decision to run the Giro. I come with the ambition of winning the overall,” warned the Dane in the face of local delirium. His race towards the Triple Crown started with applause and with Ricchi e Poveri’s Sarà perché ti amo playing at the close of the event.
Vingegaard He debuts in the Giro after having won the Tour de France in 2022 and 2023 and LaVuelta in 2025. He also arrives with a spring of command: Paris-Nice and Volta a Catalunya. The Dane seeks to complete the full grand tours and face the first leg of the Giro-Tour double, the same one that Tadej Pogacar achieved in 2024. Even so, he did not want to buy the sole favorite sign. “I don’t think I’m the only favorite,” he responded in the presentation. “I think there are a lot of other strong runners here who have a chance, so I don’t think that statement is correct.” Even after the declines João Almeida, from the UAE Team Emirates-XRG, and Richard Carapaz, from EF Education-EasyPost, the Giro keeps names to fight for the podium. Egan Bernal, Felix Gall and Giulio Pellizzari They appear in that group that wants to discuss the road to Rome on May 31.
“I am extremely happy to be here to start the Giro, it is a dream come true, and I hope I can have a good race and see what the result is in Rome. I have done everything possible to be as well prepared as possible and, in my opinion, I have had a good preparation,” explained Vingegaard.
“I always dreamed of racing the Giro. It’s a special race; Italy is a special country for me. I really wanted to do it and have the opportunity to win the three grand tours.” The route seems designed for those who also want to run the Tour in July, with the toughest mountain stages concentrated in the last week. Before that, the Blockhaus, the high finish of the seventh stage, will serve as the first serious event. “There are many hard stages, and already some here in Bulgaria,” he added. “There are difficult stages throughout the Giro, so you have to be focused every day.”
Red Bull distributes gallons
Jay Hindley He also arrived in Burgas with a message. The Australian, winner of the Giro in 2022, confirmed that Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe will start with double leadership along with Giulio Pellizzari, winner of the Tour of the Alps and one of the runners who attracts the most attention at the start. “We are both here as leaders and we are both going for it,” Hindley said. “We have a very good team and I have a lot of confidence in the riders we have. We will try to race like this, with two men in the general classification for as long as possible, and we will see how it works.” The idea fits with the line set by Zak Dempster since his arrival as Red Bull sports boss: two leaders in the grand tours. In the Giro, Hindley and Pellizzari; in the Tour, Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz.
Hindley He turned 30 on Tuesday and faces the last year of his contract with Red Bull, a team he joined before the 2022 season. He was 17th in the Volta a Catalunya in March, then concentrated on Teide and passed through the Ardennes before the Giro. “I think the team has been pretty consistent this year,” he explained. “If you look at the stage races, there has more or less always been someone on the podium and we have gone with several riders to each race. I think it has worked quite well, so it is about managing that and managing the race tactics.”
For the Australian, having another man from the team in the group of favorites can change a career. “I think it’s always nice, honestly, to have numbers in the final part within a general group. It’s much better than being alone; having another rider with the jersey there is a great help. Having that superiority is a great benefit for the team, I would say.” His set-up, he said, is already done: “It was a solid preparation. I had a good training camp in Tenerife. I was a little sick after the Ardennes, but nothing too serious, and I’m ready to start.”
Enric Mas, leader of Movistar, also presented a candidacy before his debut in the Corsa Rosa. The Spaniard set the podium as his goal. “The work is done to try,” he told MARCA. “Let’s enjoy it. Everyone speaks very well to me, many people say that it is the most beautiful race of the entire year,” he added. although he admitted that there is “a little question” about how he arrives at a career that Burgas has already taken and that he will begin to roll with Vingegaard as a reference. The Giro is already here.
