Giro 2026 Favourites stage 16: Explosive climbing face-off

First published on 6 May 2026

The opening is relatively calm, as the riders spend the first 20 kilometres in the Ticino valley. After that, the road gradually rises on a false flat towards a 4.7-kilometre climb at 5.6%, and after a false-flat descent the riders are faced with a 3-kilometre ramp at 8.5%.

Both climbs are part of a circuit, which the riders complete once more. They then descend for roughly 17 kilometres before gradually heading uphill again. The gradient steadily increases, and 800 metres after the bonus sprint in Faido the final climb begins. This ascent covers 11.7 kilometres at an average gradient of 7.9%.

The route invites speculation. In the flat opening phase, there will no doubt be a flurry of attacks, but will a breakaway find space or even be allowed to form on such a short stage? We are already deep into the Giro, and if a rider and his team has the race in an iron grip, the breakaway may well be given some leeway. But a scenario in which a group featuring GC contenders forms early on the circuit and then fights it out on the final climb is also far from impossible.

The race dynamics will depend in part on the standings; we will therefore continue to update this article during the Giro.

Favourites 16th stage 2026 Giro d'Italia

***Jonas Vingegaard, Giulio Pellizzari, Jay Vine
** Egan Bernal, Adam Yates, Thymen Arensman, Felix Gall, Enric Mas
* Wout Poels, Ben O'Connor, Giulio Ciccone, Damiano Caruso, Javier Romo

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Another interesting read: route 16th stage 2026 Giro d'Italia.