Giro 2026 Favourites stage 8: Intriguing finale for attackers

fotobureau Cor VosStage 8 of the Giro d’Italia is a race with two faces. Flat in the first part, with climbs in the second. The finale takes place on the steep cobbled streets of Fermo’s historic city centre. (Slideshow route/profile)

First published on 4 May 2026

From the start, the riders tackle a 10-kilometre false flat before spending dozens of kilometres on the flat along the Adriatic coast. The second half of the stage looks very different, featuring a punishing sequence of six climbs within 60 kilometres.

That decisive section begins with a 9.9-kilometre climb at 3.6% to the hilltop village of Montefiore dell’Aso. Straight after the descent, the road rises again for 4.7 kilometres at 5.7% to Monterubbiano. The downhill is followed by two short climbs in quick succession: the first 3.3 kilometres at 4.9% and the second 700 metres at 11.6%. At the top of the latter, the riders are already in the finish town of Fermo, but they still have over 25 kilometres to go.

For starters, the riders plunge down towards the Adriatic coast, and as soon as the route turns inland again, the Muro di Capodarco appears: a 2.5-kilometre climb at 6.3%, including a section of 18% just below the summit. Once over the top, there are still 6.9 kilometres to the finish, with the key moves coming in the final 3.7 kilometres. The road first ramps up for 700 metres at 14.3%, before easing into a rolling run-in to the flamme rouge. The riders then climb through the final kilometre at around 6% on the narrow cobbled streets of central Fermo, with the last 100 metres featuring a ramp of 10%.

This certainly is a finale to look forward to! We expect a fierce battle for the breakaway, with the attackers likely given free rein to fight for the stage win in Fermo

Favourites 8th stage 2026 Giro d'Italia

*** Filippo Ganna, Magnus Sheffield, Simone Velasco, Alec Segaert
** Filippo Zana, Juan Pedro López, Michael Valgren, Andrea Vendrame
* Victor Campenaerts, Frank van den Broek, Gianni Moscon, Andreas Leknessund

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Another interesting read: route 8th stage 2026 Giro d'Italia.