In this week’s episode of The Cycling Podcast, Daniel Friebe is joined by Brian Nygaard and Michele Pelacci as we run the rule over the men's 2026 Giro d’Italia just presented in Rome.

The ‘Corsa Rosa’ will start from Eastern Europe for the second year in a row. After Albania this year, next May it’ll be Bulgaria’s turn to host Italy’s national tour - at a hefty price. In part three of the episode, we hear from Eurosport’s Bulgarian reporter Simeon Kichukov about what the Giro should expect from Bulgaria and his homeland from the race. We then ‘revisit’ Albania - checking in with their national coach, Mejdin Malhani - to find out what legacy, if any, the Giro has left there.

There’s also discussion about which GC contenders might actually be tempted to throw their hat into the ring. Should Jonas Vingegaard seize this chance to complete a Grand Slam of Grand Tours? One of our hosts this week certainly believes so…

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The Cycling Podcast was founded in 2013 by Richard Moore, Daniel Friebe and Lionel Birnie.

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