The 2026 season is almost underway as we eagerly anticipate the kangaroo selfies at the Tour Down Under.
Here are the five races I’m looking forward to the most…
Paris-Roubaix
Chris Auld
My favourite one-day race of the year. Combining bone-vibrating cobblestones, lashings of mud and an iconic finish in the Vélodrome André-Pétrieux, Paris-Roubaix never disappoints and always brings an element of fervent weather-app tracking in the build-up (I prefer a safer, dry Roubaix).
After whispers of his debut prompted by social media posts of recons, the men’s race brought Tadej Pogačar to the start line last season. He brought the fight to Mathieu van der Poel too, but came up short after overcooking a corner. He’ll be back to try again in 2026 though.
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot meanwhile skipped away on the only uphill stretch of the women’s race despite an earlier crash, catching and passing Emma Norsgaard to enjoy an undisturbed solo roll to the finish. There’s yet to be a repeat winner of women’s Roubaix.
In 2026 the men’s and women’s races will take place on the same day as opposed to the Paris-Roubaix weekend we’ve had the last few years. Let’s hope this day of double action isn’t negatively impacted by splitting the coverage.
Giro d’Italia
Zac Williams/ZW Photography
The first men’s Grand Tour of the season is a beautiful one indeed. Traipsing through the Italian countryside and soaring over towering climbs, riders stretch their legs and size one another up in the hunt for the dusty pink threads of the maglia rosa and the cascading swirl of the Trofeo Senza Fine.
With big names like Pogačar prioritising the Tour de France, the Giro can throw up some unexpected results that remind us why we love this sport.
It will be hard to match the enthralling finale of 2025 but this year might just produce a tantalising showdown as the peloton aims to stop Jonas Vinegaard joining the ranks of only a handful of men to have won all three Grand Tours. He has never raced the Giro, but like the 2025 Vuelta the Dane looks set to battle João Almeida for the title.
Milan-San Remo
Dario Belingheri/Getty Images
This will be the second year featuring two Milan-San Remos after the return of the woman’s race in 2025. The men will need to sketch a plan to avoid another Pogačar attack, and Pogačar himself will have to figure out how to see off Van der Poel. It might take a while to get going but Milan-San Remo at its peak is as good as it gets.
In year two for the women it’ll be all about dropping Lorena Weibes, but how on earth do you beat a woman that utterly dominated last season and has Lotte Kopecky for backup? TBC.
Tour de France Femmes
A.S.O./Thomas Maheux
The Tour de France Femmes has seen four different winners in four years. If this continues, it’ll be another thriller. If we sideline previous champs Demi Vollering, Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, a fair few contenders are waiting in the wings.
Movistar’s Marlen Reusser is an obvious choice. Having excelled in stage races last year, she was dealt a bad hand as despite almost winning the Giro, she was hit with illness both in Italy and at the Tour. Sarah Gigante is ready to make a breakthrough too. A super-strong climber with the 2025 Giro mountains classification in the bag, with some work on confidence descending she has the legs to beat just about anybody. And that’s without getting into the plethora of young talent rising through the women’s ranks.
Philadelphia Cycling Classic
Jonathan Devich
The Philadelphia Cycling Classic returns. Prior to its cancellation back in 2017, the race ran for 32 editions and saw some of the sport’s biggest names depart from near the famed Rocky steps at the Museum of Art and take on the Manayunk Wall and its 17% gradient.
For 2026, both the men and women will ride the Philadelphia Cycling Classic before heading to the Maryland Cycling Classic, which has extended from one to three days. Now, let’s bring back the Tour of California and Colorado Classic for a supersize American showdown.
