The 2026 Giro d'Italia Women was the 37th edition of the Giro d'Italia Women, a women's road cycling stage race in Italy. The race took place from 30 May to 7 June 2026.
Classification standings Legend Denotes the leader of the general classification Denotes the leader of the mountains classification Denotes the leader of the points classification Denotes the leader of the young rider classification
Stage 1 30 May 2026 — Cesenatico to Ravenna, The first stage was to Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region, with Lorena Wiebes () winning the stage in a sprint finish ahead of Elisa Balsamo (). Wiebes was later disqualified from the race as her bike was under the weight limit of . Balsamo was awarded the stage win instead, and therefore led the .
Stage 2 31 May 2026 — Roncade H-Farm to Caorle, The race moved to the Veneto region, with the second stage finishing in Caorle. Balsamo won the stage in a sprint finish, retaining her lead in the , with a 20 second lead over most of the peloton thanks to bonus seconds.
Stage 3 1 June 2026 — Bibione to Buja, The third stage was a hilly course, finishing in Buja in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. On the climbs, GC contenders split the peloton, with a smaller group heading to the finish. In the uphill sprint to the finish line, Balsamo won her third stage ahead of Lily Williams () and Femke Gerritse (). Balsamo maintained her lead in the , now around 30 seconds over most of the peloton.
Stage 4 2 June 2026 — Belluno to , (ITT) The fourth stage of the race was a individual time trial from Belluno to in the Veneto region. The uphill course included a climb with an average gradient of 8.2% and a maximum gradient of 14%. The fastest time of 31 minutes 38 minutes was set by Anna van der Breggen, with Marlen Reusser in second place, 1 minute 4 seconds behind. Demi Vollering finished third, six seconds slower. Van der Breggen therefore took the lead in the , with Balsamo falling to 56th overall. Van der Breggen last wore the maglia rosa of the leaders jersey on her way to victory at the 2021 edition of the race.
Stage 5 3 June 2026 — Longarone to Santo Stefano di Cadore, The fifth stage remained in the Veneto region, with a mountain stage in the Dolomites with 4 categorised climbs including the 1st category . On the last climb of the day, Vollering, van der Breggen, Antonia Niedermaier () and Isabella Holmgren () formed a group of four riders. By the top of the climb, they had an advantage of 40 seconds over Longo Borghini and Niamh Fisher-Black (), with Reusser 15 seconds further behind. Descending to the finish, the gap tightened however the group of four stayed away. Vollering took her first Giro d'Italia Women stage win by outsprinting van der Breggen and Niedermaier. Van der Breggen maintained her lead in the , with Vollering gaining 10 seconds to move to second overall. Reusser finished 53 seconds behind Vollering, falling to fifth overall – thereby elevating Niedermaier moved to third overall.
Stage 6 4 June 2026 — Ala to Brescello, The sixth stage of the race took riders south to Brescello in the Emilia-Romagna region on a flat route. Despite crosswinds on the stage, Balsamo won her fourth stage of the race in a sprint finish – further extending their lead in the points classification. Van der Breggen maintained her lead in the .
Stage 7 5 June 2026 — Sorbolo Mezzani to Salice Terme, The seventh stage was the longest of the race at in length, taking the riders westwards to Salice Terme in Lombardy, with one climb at Pietragavina located from the finish. With to go, a large crash involved van der Breggen and Reusser, however they returned to the peloton and did not lose any time. On the descent from the Pietragavina climb, the breakaway included Longo Borghini, who aimed to gain time from her rivals. At the finish, the breakaway held off the chasing peloton with Célia Gery () beating Lucinda Brand () and Chantal Pegolo () in a sprint finish. Longo Borghini gained five seconds, but remained over 2 minutes behind van der Breggen.
Stage 8 6 June 2026 — Rivoli to Sestriere Colle delle Finestre, The eighth stage of the race was considered to be the queen stage, originally planned to be from Rivoli to Sestriere in the Piedmont region. The stage would feature two climbs, the Colle delle Finestre ( in length with an average gradient of 9.2%, with the final of the climb on gravel roads) and the ascent to the finish at Sestriere.
On the climb to Colle delle Finestre, a group including Vollering, van der Breggen, Holmgren and Niedermaier slowly reduced the lead of the breakaway until they were at the front of the race. With of the climb remaining, organisers announced that the stage would be shortened for safety reasons, finishing around from the summit of the Colle delle Finestre. Organisers noted an "unstable sheet of ice that could fall onto the road" and that the top of the climb had previously been blocked by an avalanche. The stage would therefore be in length. As riders were made aware of the shortened route, Vollering attacked several times with only van der Breggen, Holmgren and Niedermaier able to follow with around to go. After a flurry of attacks, van der Breggen set the pace at the front approaching the finish – with Vollering attacking in the final to take the stage win ahead of Holmgren and Niedermaier. Van de Breggen maintained her lead in the , however bonus seconds meant that her lead over Vollering had been cut to 49 seconds.
Stage 9 7 June 2026 — Saluzzo to Saluzzo, The ninth stage of the race started and finished in Saluzzo in the Piedmont region. The course included three categorised climbs, followed by a "punchy finale" into the finish in Saluzzo.
Niedermaier attacked with around to go, followed by Longo Borghini and Fisher-Black. Niedermaier gained a substantial lead of over two minutes, thereby taking the virtual lead in the . On the Colletta di Brondello climb, Vollering attacked, distancing her rival van der Breggen and joining the group of Niedermaier, Longo Borghini and Fisher-Black with around remaining. Vollering had a lead over van der Breggen of over a minute, thereby taking the virtual lead. As the group of four pushed towards the finish, van der Breggen continued to lose time. Approaching the finish, Vollering knew overall victory had been secured, so let the other three riders fight for the win – with Longo Borghini beating a long sprint by Fisher-Black to take the stage win. Van der Breggen finished the stage 2 minutes 23 seconds behind Vollering, and therefore fell to third overall behind Niedermaier.
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