Less than a week remains until the start of the Giro d’Italia – Grande Partenza Bulgaria 2026, the start of one of the three largest cycling tours in the world, the first three stages of which will pass from the Black Sea coast to the capital of Bulgaria.
The organization and accompanying events are large-scale in all five host cities, and all this requires a change in the organization of traffic and the closure of republican roads, main thoroughfares and several central streets in the cities.
In order to reduce the inconvenience to all citizens and guests of Bulgaria, the organizers are working directly with Google Maps and Waze, which will have the most up-to-date information during the three stages. In the event of any changes in the schedule or organization of traffic, these applications will be the first to reflect any update in real time.
An interactive map has also been prepared, where you can view the full route of the race and check which roads will be affected in each of the three stages. For the organization of traffic in Burgas, you can also refer to this map.
Which streets and roads will be closed?
Preliminary preparations
Sofia
May 7, 03:00 a.m. to May 11, 06:00 a.m. – entry and parking is prohibited on Nikolay Gyaurov Square
May 9, 15:00 p.m. – parking is prohibited at the Tsar Osvoboditel monument and on 15-ti Noemvri Street from Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd. to Oborishte Street
May 9, 19:00 p.m. to May 11, 06:00 a.m., entry of vehicles is prohibited on
○ Blvd. "Tsar Osvoboditel" between Vasil Levski Blvd. and G. S. Rakovski St.
○ Narodno Sabranie Sq.
○ 15-ti Novembre St.
○ The Arch Behind Alexander Nevski Sq.
○ 19-ti Februari St.
Stage 1 - May 8
The race starts in Nessebar at 2:00 PM, the finish is in Burgas between 5:00 PM and 5:20 PM.
At the start in Nessebar and at the finish in Burgas, traffic will be completely closed from 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM.
Nessebar
● 06:00 – traffic at the start in Nessebar is completely closed
● 10:50 – road I-9 is closed at Nessebar km 0
Intercity roads
● 11:03 – I-9 from Nessebar to Ravda is closed
● 11:09 – I-9 is closed at Ravda
● 11:14 – I-9 is closed at Aheloy
● 11:23 – I-9 is closed at Pomorie
● 11:34 – I-9 is closed at Burgas Airport
● 12:00 – I-9 is closed from the Malko Tarnovo turnoff onwards
● 12:00 – II-99 is closed at Rosen, Chernomorets, Sozopol and adjacent sections
Burgas
● 07:00 – Democracy Blvd. is closed from San Stefano Blvd. to Dunav St.
● 12:00 p.m. – parking is prohibited on Dimitar Brakalov St.
● 2:40 p.m. – first entry of the convoy into Burgas from the direction of Nessebar; Dimitar Dimov Blvd., 24th Black Sea Infantry Regiment, Demokratsiya, Bulair, Ivan Vazov, Industrialna, Sportna and Todor Aleksandrov Blvd. are closed
● 16:50 – second entry of the column from the direction of Sozopol along the same route
● 17:00 – finish on Demokratsiya Blvd. at the intersection with Adam Mitskevich St.
● 17:00 – complete closure of Dimitar Brakalov St.
Stage 2 – May 9
Departure from Burgas at 12:00, finish in Veliko Tarnovo between 17:00 and 17:30
At the start in Burgas and the finish in Veliko Tarnovo, traffic will be completely closed from 6:00 to 19:00.
Burgas
● 05:00 a.m. – parking is prohibited on “Slivnitsa”, “Mara Gidik”, “Levski”, “Probuda”, “Macedonia”, “Samuil” and “San Stefano”
● 07:00 a.m. – the same streets are completely closed
● 11:55 a.m. – start from “Troykata” Square; the route takes "Aleksandrovska", "Ivan Vazov", "Tsar Petar", "Hristo Botev", "Odrin", "Struga" and "Stefan Stambolov"
● 12:10 p.m. - the column passes through the Vetren district and leaves the municipality in the direction of Aytos and Sliven
● 1:00 p.m. - all closed streets open
Roads
● 09:10 a.m. - A1 Burgas km 0 is closed to the "Burgas West" junction
● 09:23 a.m. - I-6 is closed near Sadievo
● 09:32 a.m. – I-6 closes at Aytos
● 10:03 a.m. – I-6 closes at Karnobat
● 10:31 a.m. – I-6 closes at Lozenets
● 11:01 a.m. – III-6007 closes at Sliven entrance
● 11:13 a.m. – II-53 closes at Sliven
● 11:42 a.m. – II-53 closes at Byala Pass
● 12:07 p.m. – II-53 closes at Vratnik Pass
● 12:28 p.m. – II-53 closes at Maisko
● 12:50 p.m. – II-53 closes at Maryan
● 1:19 p.m. – II-53 closes at Mindya
● 1:38 p.m. – II-53 closes at Lyaskovets
● 1:49 p.m. – I-4 closes at Sheremetye
● 1:56 p.m. – III-514 closes at Tsarevets
Veliko Tarnovo
● 6:00 a.m. – traffic on the final stretch is completely closed
● 1:46 p.m. – the road closes at Lyaskovets Monastery
● 1:49 p.m. – I-4 closes at Sheremetye
● 1:52 p.m. – the road closes at St. Forest
● 1:56 p.m. – III-514 closes at Tsarevets
● 4:59 p.m. – finish of the race in Veliko Tarnovo
Stage 3 – May 10
Departure from Plovdiv at 1:15 p.m., finish in Sofia between 5:00 p.m. and 5:25 p.m.
At the start in Plovdiv and at the finish in Sofia, traffic will be completely closed from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Plovdiv
● 6:00 a.m. – traffic at the start is completely closed
● 10:05 a.m. – I-8 closes at start
Roads
● 10:31 a.m. – I-8 closes at Stamboliyski
● 10:44 a.m. – I-8 closes at Malo Konare
● 10:53 a.m. – I-8 closes at Pazardzhik
● 11:03 a.m. – I-8 closes at Zvanichevo
● 11:16 a.m. – I-8 closes at Septemvri
● 11:29 a.m. – I-8 closes at Belovo
● 11:34 a.m. – I-8 closes at Momina Klisura
● 11:53 a.m. – II-82 closes at Kostenets
● 12:04 p.m. – II-82 closes at Dolna Banya
● 12:16 p.m. – II-82 closes at Raduil
● 12:37 p.m. – II-82 closes at Borovets (passage)
● 12:52 p.m. - II-82 closes at Samokov
● 1:11 p.m. - II-82 closes at Iskar Dam
● 1:27 p.m. - II-82 closes at Dolni Pasarel
● 1:46 p.m. - II-82 closes at Pancharevo
Pancharevo
● Before 2:00 p.m. - spectators will be able to use the parking lot of the Kokalyane Hydroelectric Power Plant. There will also be a separate parking lot for campers at the parking lot on Gaudi Street and Samokovsko Shose.
● 2:00 p.m. - traffic closure along the entire Samokovsko Shose
After 2:00 p.m., those wishing to reach the observation areas can do so on foot or by bicycle, as entering or crossing the competition route is not permitted.
Sofia
● 00:00 – 04:30 – technical works on the route
● from 04:00 – staying and parking is prohibited on
o Oborishte Street between Alexander Nevski Square and Vasil Levski Blvd.
o 11th August Street between Moskovska Street and Alexander Nevski Square
o Dunav Street between Moskovska Street and Alexander Nevski Square
o Moskovska Street between Gina Kuncheva Square and G. S. Rakovski Street
● 06:00 to 23:00 – traffic is closed on
o Oborishte Street between Alexander Nevski Square and Vasil Levski Blvd.
o Alexander Nevski Square in the part north of Oborishte Street
o "Dunav" between "Moskovska" Str. and "Alexander Nevsky" Sq.
o "11th August" Str. between "Moskovska" Str. and "Alexander Nevsky" Sq.
o "11th August" Str. "Moskovska" between "Gina Kuncheva" Square and "G. S. Rakovski" Street
● 06:00 to 22:00 - Gen. Gurko Street is closed between "Vasil Levski" Blvd. and "Evlogi and Hristo Georgievi" Blvd.
● 12:00 to 22:00 - traffic is closed on
o "Vasil Levski" Blvd. from "Tsar Osvoboditel" Blvd. to "Gen. Gurko" Street
o "Evlogi and Hristo Georgievi" Blvd. from "Gen. Gurko" Blvd. to "Tsar Osvoboditel" Blvd. (in both directions)
o "Tsar Osvoboditel" Blvd. from "Vasil Levski" Blvd. to "Evlogi and Hristo Georgievi" Blvd.
o "Tsarigradsko Shose" Blvd. from "Evlogi and Hristo Georgievi" Blvd. to "Dimitar Peshev" Street
o St. "Samokovsko Shose" (road II-82) from the junction for the village of Gorni Okol (km 49+250) to "Copenhagen" Blvd.
● May 10, 9:00 PM to May 11, 6:00 AM - only public transport will operate on "Gen. Gurko" St.
