One of the great attractions of any of the Grand Tours is the opportunity to see an entire country, whether France, Spain or Italy, revealed in its most attractive aspects. One can easily believe that the organizers of the Giro d’Italia, and their partners (including the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Italian Trade Agency and OpportunItaly) are better at promoting their country than the others. Il Bel Paese is a pretty easy sell. There is glorious scenery and that fabulous food. But each edition brings the Giro Express videos for both the men’s and women’s races. They take a deeper look at the towns and cities that mark the start and arrival of each stage.
The Giro Express project goes back several years. The host in 2022 was a Belgian speaking excellent Italian. The next year a lady from Abruzzo presented the videos. In 2024 it was Paralympic athlete Diego Gastaldi. Then in 2025 cycling championPaolo Bettini and actress Marianelli Bargilli served in this role. This year age group triathlete (and cancer survivor) Alessandra Fior is the presenter.
The format over the years has been similar, with the presenter cycling into the first town and meeting local dignitaries, usually the mayor, before visiting sites of economic, cultural or historical significance. For example, this year Signora Fior takes us to a yacht manufacturer, a shoe factory, a building aging Fontina cheeses, and a theatre named after the late fashion designer Valentino. We visit the beautiful Galleria in Milan, go up ski hills and into fishing ports. The Romans built underground cisterns; there isa town famous for its salt production, with another for chocolate. The newly restored Vigorelli velodrome makes an appearance.
On the subject of chocolate, Novi Ligure, where Stage 12 ended, likes to consider itself a sweet city. But not only does it produce luxury chocolate, but is associated with two Campionissimi of cycling: Fausto Coppi and Costante Giradengo.
The Giro d’Italia uploads these short videos, usually running ten minutes in length, a few hours before the stage begins. They serve to give the viewer the chance to see a lot more of Italy than the pro racers who tear through the landscape at 50 km/h, then get packed into the team bus and on to the next hotel. The production quality–lots of drone shots!–is excellent and the stories ttold are interesting. All in all a nice addition to the Giro experience.
The Giro d’Italia YouTube channel houses the playlist for the 2026 Giro Express stages here.
There are English captions. Also as in previous years a Giro Express series for the women’s race (the Giro d’Italia Donne) launches on May 30 this year. So an additional look at Italian highlights for another week here.
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