schedule.
Stage 01
Stage 02
Stage 03
NESSEBAR / НЕСЕБЪР – BURGAS / БУРГАС
Friday 8 May 2026
156km
900m elevation gain
A very fast and essentially flat stage tailor-made for sprinters. The first Maglia Rosa will almost certainly go to a fast man. The peloton rolls out from Nessebar and heads toward Burgas, with an initial pass through the town though not across the finish line yet. The route then loops around Lake Burgas and continues along the coast before returning to the finish city. After crossing the finish line for the first time, the riders will tackle an 11-km finishing circuit, setting up the final bunch sprint. The last straight is slightly uphill, perfect for a powerful, long-range sprint to claim the first pink jersey.
BURGAS / БУРГАС – VELIKO TARNOVO / ВЕЛИКО ТЪРНОВО
Saturday 9 May 2026
220km
2600 m elevation gain
A long, rolling stage. The riders start again from Burgas (previous day’s finish) and head across the mountainous region near Ruse, tackling two categorized climbs before entering the Veliko Tarnovo area. In the finale, the peloton faces the steep ascent to the Monastery of Lyaskovets – about 3.5 km at 7.5%, with the opening section featuring sustained double-digit gradients. From the top, a fast descent of just a few kilometers leads into the finish. Expect a reduced group or punchy finisher to seize the day.
PLOVDIV / ПЛОВДИВ – SOFIA / СОФИЯ
Sunday 10 May 2026
174km
1600 m elevation gain
Another day likely destined for a sprint, though the route features a long, steady climb midway: the Borovets Pass, tackled just before the well-known ski resort. After cresting the pass, the riders face about 70 km of descending or false-flat downhill terrain all the way into the Bulgarian capital. The final 7 km are dead straight – a pure drag race for the fast men on a perfectly flat run-in to the line.
