Giro 2026 Favourites stage 13: Ganna on home roads

fotobureau Cor VosStage 13 is fairly unremarkable until the finale. The 189-kilometre route features only 1,400 metres of climbing, but since much of it comes inside the final 20 kilometres, we can look forward to an exciting finale. Will it be the (late) attackers or (strong) sprinters? (Slideshow route/profile)

First published on 6 May 2026

The approach is virtually flat, and it is only after 165 kilometres that the first climb appears. This is already the opener of the finale, as the road climb for 2.4 kilometres at 5.5% to Bieno. In itself, the uphill should not trouble the sprinters, but the fact climb to Ungiasca comes immediately afterwards could prove troublesome. The second ascent rises for 4.7 kilometres at an average of 7.1%, although it is probably more accurate to describe it as 3.5 kilometres at 8.2%, as the opening section is hardly worth mentioning.

The climb to Ungiasca is likely to be too much for most sprinters. There is hardly any time to recover, as after passing through the village there are still 13.3 kilometres to the finish, roughly half of which is downhill.

The question is whether the breakaway will fight for the win, or whether there are riders in the pelotonwho feel confident enough in this finale to let their teams control the race. In that latter scenario, we are likely to get a sprint from a reduced bunch in the finish town of Verbania — or a late attacker going clear.

There is certainly one rider dreaming of that scenario: Filippo Ganna. The time trial specialist was born in Verbania almost 30 years ago and still lives there to this day.

Favourites 13th stage 2026 Giro d'Italia

*** Filippo Ganna, Kaden Groves, Jasper Stuyven, Jhonatan Narváez
** Iván García, Michael Valgren, Magnus Sheffield, Marc Soler, Andrea Vendrame
* Paul Magnier, Tobias Lund Andresen, Orluis Aular, Matteo Sobrero, Lukas Kubis, Jan Christen

Add an extra element of excitement to the Giro and enter our fantasy game with a guaranteed prize pool of €7,000.

Another interesting read: route 13th stage 2026 Giro d'Italia.