WorldTour
A Giro story written in firsts
The Giro has shaped many of the team’s firsts, from its Grand Tour debut to its first overall victory. In 2026, the next chapter runs from Nessebar to Rome.
For Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe, the Giro d’Italia has never been just a race on the calendar. Across different names, different eras and different ambitions, the Corsa Rosa has marked some of the most important turning points in the team’s history: its first Grand Tour, its first leader’s jersey at a Grand Tour, and its first Grand Tour victory.
Between Nessebar and Rome this year lies a Giro shaped by contrast: early sprint chances, a long and flat individual time trial on the Tuscan coast, a demanding sequence through the Apennines and Aosta Valley, and a brutal final weekend in the Dolomites and Friuli.
For the team, this race carries its own history. The Giro was the first Grand Tour raced by the structure that would later become Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe, when Team NetApp lined up in 2012. Then a ProContinental team racing by invitation, it arrived at the Corsa Rosa before the structure had become a WorldTour presence, before the biggest victories had followed, and before the Giro itself would become so central to its story.
The team participates in its first Grand Tour, the 2012 Giro
© Getty Sport
Five years later, in 2017, Lukas Pöstlberger delivered a breakthrough that still stands as one of the defining days in the team’s history. On the opening stage in Sardinia, on a day expected to finish in a sprint, he found himself with a small gap in the final kilometres and committed fully. He stayed clear in Olbia, won the stage and pulled on pink. It was the team’s first ever leader’s jersey at a Grand Tour.
Lukas Pöstlberger wins Stage 1 of the 2017 Giro d'Italia
© Getty Sport
Since then, the Giro has continued to give the team moments that changed its scale and reputation. Sam Bennett won three stages in 2018. Pascal Ackermann took two stage victories and the points classification in 2019. That same year, Cesare Benedetti, one of the team’s most loyal and long-serving domestiques, claimed an emotional stage win in Pinerolo. Peter Sagan won from the break on stage 10 in 2020, then added another stage victory and the points classification in 2021. Lennard Kämna won on Mount Etna in 2022. Nico Denz claimed two stages in 2023, then added a third Giro stage victory in 2025.
And then there’s Jai Hindley. In 2022, the Australian rider won on Blockhaus, stayed in contention through three weeks of pressure, and took the maglia rosa on the penultimate mountain stage to Marmolada after a decisive move on Passo Fedaia. A day later in Verona, he defended that lead in the final time trial and became the first rider in the team’s history to win a Grand Tour overall.
Jai Hindley wins the 2022 Giro
© Getty Sport
That is why the Giro matters differently. It has been a race of arrivals, but also of transformations. A ProContinental invitation became a Grand Tour debut. A late attack became a first pink jersey. Sprint victories became proof of depth. A loyal domestique’s day in the break became one of the team’s most human wins. A project became a Grand Tour-winning team.
The 2026 route offers another demanding canvas. The first week moves quickly from Bulgaria to southern Italy, before the first major summit finish arrives on stage 7 at Blockhaus, where Hindley won in 2022. The following day, the race crosses into the steep, irregular roads of the Marche for the tappa dei muri to Fermo, before another summit finish at Corno alle Scale on stage 9. These days bring GC tension early, before the long stage 10 time trial has even begun.
The second half of the Giro continues north, with the race turning increasingly selective. Stage 14 finishes at Pila in the Aosta Valley. After the final rest day, stage 16 is held entirely in Switzerland, with a summit finish in Carì. Then the decisive final weekend arrives: stage 19 to Alleghe and Piani di Pezzè, over a succession of major climbs including the Passo Giau, before stage 20 to Piancavallo, where the final mountain verdict is expected to be delivered.
For Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe, the 2026 Giro begins with a route that demands the same qualities the race has so often tested in the team before: patience, control, resilience and the ability to take a moment when it appears. The Giro has already written several of the team’s firsts. This year, from Nessebar to Rome, it offers another chance to add to that history.
