The Giro d’Italia Women, formerly known as the Giro Donne, will be organised by RCS Sport from 2024 (and for the following three years) in collaboration with the Italian Cycling Federation and under the patronage of the Ministry of Sport and Youth.

Since 1988, the Giro d’Italia Women has gradually become the most important and long-standing international event on the women’s cycling calendar.

Over the years, the race has criss-crossed the country from north to south and east to west, introducing the public and cycling enthusiasts to hidden corners and places off the beaten track, whilst also taking in the roads, climbs and most iconic locations of Italian cycling. The 2026 route will be no different.

The roll of honour is particularly prestigious, featuring the names of the finest female athletes of their era, and it will continue to be enriched by future winners of the same calibre. The first edition was won by Maria Canins, who kicked off the series of Italian triumphs: Bonanomi (1989), Fanini (1994) and Luperini (1995-1996-1997-1998-2008), who is also the last Italian to have won the Corsa Rosa. Foreign successes have seen waves of dominance from the top nations. Multiple victories have gone to Spain (Somarriba 1999-2000), Switzerland (Brandli 2001-2003-2005), Lithuania (Pucinskaite 2006-2007), the United States (Abbott 2010-2013, Guarnier 2016) and finally the Netherlands, which, with eleven victories, is the most successful nation in history. The winners are Vos (2011–2012–2014), Van der Breggen (2015–2017–2020–2021) and Van Vleuten (2018–2019–2022–2023).

The pioneering years (from the 1920s to the 1970s) and the niche years (the 1980s and 1990s) are long gone. Many of the World Tour and Continental teams are the equivalent of their male counterparts, confirming how women’s cycling has developed continuously and exponentially. The Giro d’Italia Women continues to drive this growth.