Round two of the stage race championship arrives just one day after the start of round one, and it’s another staple of the Spring cycling calendar. The start list is trickling in slowly but surely, so be prepared for a last minute tinkering session in the morning before the deadline slams shut. At the time of writing, there are still 6 teams yet to announce, so I’ll try and edit this later on when it’s all complete. This promises to be another interesting race with many possibilities for a whole array of different riders, so let’s get into it.
The Route
Just like in Paris-Nice, this race favours the puncheurs. There are no big summit finishes this year, instead we have a wealth of medium stages that should provide the opportunities for the overall victory. Unlike in Paris-Nice, we kick off here with the usual individual time trial with the same course as last year. It’s a pan flat there-and-back course that suits the specialists, and we’ll get to those later. It looks like there are two probable sprint stages on the cards, with the possibility of maybe a third depending on how it’s raced, but don’t count on it. And on taking a closer look, even that is harder than it looks, so go with only two sprint stages for now. The remaining three stages are definitely ones for the overall, with a smorgasbord of short steep climbs to create the gaps. The finale of stage 6 is where the race will be decided and this is the climb.
The Riders
Overall Contenders
Isaac Del Toro is the overwhelming favourite for this and that’s shown in his 24 credit price tag. He won’t lose time in the time trial and the harder stages are made for him. He has won the UAE Tour and podiumed Strade Bianche so far this year, so the form is on his side. Fighting him for the top honours are Antonio Tiberi and Matteo Jorgenson at 20 credits and both have had promising starts to the season. If I had to give the edge to one of them, it’d be Tiberi. Under these guys and the last of the expensive guys is 36 year old Primož Roglič at 18 credits. This is the start of his 2026 season, so his form is unknown, but the last time he raced here, was 2023 and he won. He had a disappointing 2025 after crashing a million times at the Giro and he never really got back to top form. I hope he’s back to competing for wins, if only for one last year.
Under these top four riders, you’ll find the other contenders for the overall for 12 credits and below. Filippo Ganna is available for 16 credits after his podium finish last year, but this route is a lot worse for him, and even though he’s favourite for the time trial, not many are expecting a repeat of his 2025 performance. Instead, you’re looking at Santiago Buitrago, Giulio Ciccone, Giulio Pellizzari, Michael Storer, and Jan Christen at 12 credits. I’d give the edge to Pellizzari and Christen, perhaps Buitrago too because they’re all in some decent form. All three have potential team leaders, but they may still be interested in their own races. At 10 credits, you have the likes of Jai Hindley, Thymen Arensman, Ilan Van Wilder and a few others of interest, but I wouldn’t say with any certainty that they’d be contenders based on the route and rider form. Someone else who’s calling me is Mathieu van der Poel for 12 credits. I don’t know whether he’s interested in the overall, but there are a few stages that suit him, and on his day he could do really well.
Sprinters
There are few more serious sprinters coming here over Paris-Nice, and with the possibility of two sprints and maybe a third, taking a sprinter or two is more of a good plan. I wouldn’t recommend taking Wout Van Aert for 16 credits, his form is too patchy at the moment, and you’d imagine he’d be more invested in Jorgenson’s overall chances than his own. So top dog is actually Jonathan Milan for 14 credits. His climbing form so far this year isn’t fantastic, so I’d say he’ll be favourite for one of the sprint stages, but not the other. His main competition comes from Paul Magnier at 12 credits who is also on good form and his climbing form might be better than Milan. Jasper Philipsen is also here are 12 credits, but hasn’t shown superb form yet this year so it’s difficult to know how he’ll go here. At 10 credits there are Tobias Lund Andresen and Pavel Bittner and it’s definitely Lund Andresen who’s shown the better form this year.
The Budget Picks
Amongst the single digit cost riders are a whole range of sprint hopefuls, break potentials, and stage hunters to consider. I don’t see many outside bets for overall contention, but you never know, maybe you’ll get lucky. For 8 credits there are Kogut, Strong, Hayter, Van Poppel, Crescioli, Lonardi, and Mozzato. For 6 credits there are Rolland, Pinarello, Kron, Garcia Cortina, and a whole host of Italian break hopefuls, but it’s hard to pick out just one. At 4 credits it’d be guys like Tolio and Calzoni, but it’d very much be hit and hope for anyone down here.
So overall here, with the number of good potential scorers in the middle tier of the price ladder, I wouldn’t be looking to go too top heavy. The lack of anyone I’m super keen on for 6 or 4 credits makes this a super interesting race, fantasy wise, and I’m very much undecided on how to play it. A reminder of the league code for those who haven’t yet joined: 649949130
See you on the leader boards!
The Pelotonian 