One of cycling’s oldest and most fascinating Classics reaches the milestone of 110 editions. The GranPiemonte 2026 promises to deliver a spectacular race, not only from a sporting perspective, but also in terms of its history and the emotions surrounding the event.
This year’s race will cover 181 km from Asti to Bra.
Asti, in particular, has hosted the start of the Giro del Piemonte/GranPiemonte four times, the first dating all the way back to 1907. Last year, Isaac Del Toro took the victory.
The opening 80 km are the toughest part of the race, featuring the climbs of Manera (4.8 km at 6.2%), Tre Cunei (8 km at 3.9%) and Roddino (5.5 km at 4.9%). From there, the major obstacles become fewer, although the roads remain constantly undulating.
With less than 50 km to go, the riders tackle the La Morra climb (7.1 km at 3.8%) for the first time, entering the 34.7 km finishing circuit, which they will complete once. The circuit passes just a few hundred metres from the finish in Bra before heading towards Cherasco, approached via the Strada Vecchia, and then back to La Morra for a second ascent with 14 km remaining. From there, the route descends towards Verduno, continues through Pollenzo, and then heads back towards the finish in Bra.
The final kilometres are flat until around 1.8 km to go. From there, the road begins to rise gently at around 2–3%, before the gradient increases to around 5% for one kilometre, with pitches of 8% shortly before the final kilometre. The road then flattens out again for the run to the finish.
If the GranPiemonte 2026 were a Grand Tour stage, it could well end in a sprint from a fairly large group: its 2,600 metres of elevation gain are spread across climbs that are not overly selective. But this is a Classic, and even the relatively gentle La Morra could provide the perfect launchpad for attacks.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG can play the cards of Isaac Del Toro and Brandon McNulty, while keeping Jhonatan Narváez in reserve for a possible sprint. A bunch finish would favour the likes of Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), Dorian Godon (Netcompany Ineos), Michael Matthews (Team Jayco AlUla), Orluis Aular (Movistar), Corbin Strong (NSN) and Matteo Trentin (Tudor), among others.
Those looking to anticipate the sprint could include Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ United), Mikkel Frølich Honoré (EF Education-EasyPost), Marc Hirschi (Tudor), Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), Alberto Bettiol and Simone Velasco (XDS Astana). Lorenzo Mark Finn (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) will also be on the start line.
GranPiemonte 2026, 181 km
Start: 12:00 p.m.
KM 0: 12:10 p.m.
Live coverage starts: 11:00 a.m.
Estimated finish: 4:30 p.m.
TV coverage: In Italy, the race will be broadcast on RAI, with streaming available on RaiPlay from 14:50. It will also be available on HBO Max and Discovery+, as well as on Eurosport channels.
