The Giro d’Italia organisers have announced the 23 squads for this year’s race, which starts on May 8 in Nessebar, Bulgaria and finishes in Rome on May 31, most notably granting a Grand Tour debut to Unibet Rose Rockets.

The 18 WorldTour squads automatically qualify for the event, but the five teams from the ProTeam league had yet to be revealed by the Giro, the last of the three Grand Tours to publish their full line-up for 2026.

You may like

The stand-out name amongst the Giro’s three wildcards is undoubtedly Unibet Rose Rockets. Despite having multiple Grand Tour stage winners in their line-up, Unibet were not selected by the Tour de France last month for the 2026 Grande Boucle – a decision which brought mixed reactions – with Spanish team Caja Rural-Seguros RGA getting the nod instead.

“We are very grateful for the opportunity to ride our first Grand Tour. The Giro d’Italia is one of the most iconic races in cycling, and to be there with the Unibet Rose Rockets is a milestone for our entire project,” team founder Bas Tietema said.

GIRO D’ITALIAAAA!!! 😍🇮🇹🍕 We’ve received a wildcard for the @giroditalia. Andiamo! 🥰 pic.twitter.com/r2aKkxEcHLFebruary 20, 2026

Several-time Grand Tour stage winner Dylan Groenewegen will be key in the sprints, whilst Wout Poels has the chance to complete the set of Grand Tour stage victories. Victor Lafay is another strong new signing for 2026 who should be able to compete in the hardest stages, so the team have plenty of opportunities for success beyond traditional breakaways, even if they don’t have an out-and-out GC rider.

“We are not going to the Giro just to participate: we are going there to compete,” Tietema affirmed. “Our clear objective is to win a stage, and naturally the first stage stands out as a sprint opportunity with the pink jersey at stake. From day one, we want to be visible, race offensively and make an impact.”