2026 Giro d'Italia Stage 8 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 8 of the 2026 Giro d'Italia! Our live profile and commentary are below, followed by a preview of the technical aspects of the route.
Course Preview
Stage 8 of the Giro takes the riders from Chieti to Fermo. The 159-kilometre route runs along the Adriatic coast until the last 60 kilometres, when it's set to ignite the fireworks with a series of short climbs.
Chieti is one of the oldest cities in Italy, which is no small feat in a country so steeped in history. The first traces of urban settlement date back some 7,000 years. In Roman times, the city was known as Teate, named after Thetis, mother of Achilles, who, according to legend, founded the city.
It will be the fifteenth time that Chieti hosts a Giro stage start, the most recent being in 2009. The race went to the Blockhaus, where Franco Pellizotti soloed to victory. This time, we'll see a scenario unfold in which punchers and attackers are expected to shine.
From Chieti, the peloton quickly reaches the Adriatic Sea and follows the coast all the way north to Cupra Marittima, where they turn inland. Soon after, they find themselves on the slopes of the hill topped by Montefiore dell’Aso. Following the descent, the road kicks up again immediately towards Monterubbiano, a 4.7-kilometre climb at 5.8%.
Following the downhill, the road climbs 3.3 kilometres at 4.9% to Fermo, and shortly afterwards an uncompromising wall adds 540 metres at 11.1% to the mix.
In other words, the peloton has already reached Fermo, but 25 kilometres still remain. A steady descent leads to Lido di Fermo on the coast, after which the road climbs 4.3 kilometres at 5.3% to Capodarco, where the likes of Jai Hindley, Einer Rubio and Filippo Zana won the GP Capodarco in their early twenties - in 2016, 2018 and 2019 respectively.
The riders pass through Capodarco with only 7 kilometres to go, roughly half of which is downhill. The finishing climb then serves up something of a rollercoaster. The opening section rises by 12.6% before easing off, then kicking back up to 6.1% after the flamme rouge. To make things even trickier, the finale plays out on the narrow, cobbled streets of Fermo’s old town.
It's been a while since the Giro last finished in this hilltop town above the coast. In 1972, Gianni Motta claimed victory here, while the 2022 Tirreno–Adriatico featured a finish in Fermo after the exact same finale as this year. Back then, Warren Barguil triumphed from the breakaway, with Xandro Meurisse and Simone Velasco settling for second and third.
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