Tour de France: It’s Not Just Ganna and Tiberi—All the Italians at the Start of the Grande Boucle

There are twelve Italian riders—barring any last-minute withdrawals or additions—who will take the start of the Tour de France, which begins on Saturday, July 4, with a 19.6-kilometer team time trial outside Italy, on the streets of Barcelona. Compared to the 2025 edition, there is one more Italian rider, but the numbers remain very low when compared to just a few years ago: for example, in 1996 there were as many as 61 Italian riders at the start of the Grande Boucle.

One of the most eagerly anticipated riders is inevitably Filippo Ganna: the Verbania native, who was extremely unlucky in 2025 (withdrawing as early as the first stage), makes no secret of his lofty ambitions, thanks in large part to the opening team time trial, in which he aims to lead Netcompany Ineos and perhaps even claim the yellow jersey. A difficult goal given the stiff competition, but not entirely impossible.

For the general classification, however, the focus remains on other riders: Italian fans are particularly eager to see how Antonio Tiberi performs, one of the key riders for Bahrain-Victorious—a team that has also included the veteran Damiano Caruso on its starting roster; by the start of the first stage, Caruso will be 38 years and 266 days old.

Tiberi is one of three Italians who will be competing for the Best Young Rider jersey: the others are Davide Piganzoli, riding for Team Visma-Lease a Bike (which also includes 30-year-old Edoardo Affini), and Lorenzo Germani of Groupama-FDJ United. Among Italy’s cycling veterans, meanwhile, two will be wearing the XDS Astana Team jersey: Simone Velasco and Davide Ballerini.

Also set to start are Marco Frigo (NSN Cycling Team), Stefano Oldani (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Mattia Cattaneo (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), and Matteo Trentin (Tudor Pro Cycling Team). Jonathan Milan, however, will not be there. He won two stages in 2025 and stood on the podium on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées to don the green jersey as points classification champion: The rider from Friuli had long since announced his decision, preferring to focus on other races in 2026, including the Giro d’Italia, where he won the final stage in Rome.