One of road cycling’s most recognisable shoe brands has quietly made its return. As the 2026 Tour de France rolls through the Pyrenees this week, a familiar name is back on the feet of the WorldTour peloton: Giro. After several years of near-silence on the premium footwear front, the American brand has launched two flagship road shoes for 2026 — the lace-up Empire SLX II and the Boa-equipped Imperial II — reviving a lineage that helped define modern race shoes.
What Happened
Giro has released two new premium road shoes, marking the brand’s first serious push in the high-end race category in years. The headline act is the Empire SLX II, the first update to Giro’s iconic lace-up race shoe since 2019. Alongside it sits the Imperial II, a dial-closure shoe built around a new forged carbon outsole. Both are debuting in the professional peloton during the 2026 season, and eagle-eyed viewers will spot them at the Tour de France, where lace-ups in particular remain a stubbornly popular choice among pros such as young French climber Paul Seixas.
The launch was reported by outlets including road.cc, Cyclingnews, Cycling Weekly and BikeRadar, all of which framed it as a notable comeback for a brand that once dominated race-shoe fashion before going quiet on its top-tier models.
Meet the Empire SLX II
The Empire SLX II is the emotional centre of this launch. Giro’s lace-up Empire line built a cult following a decade ago by proving that laces — long dismissed as retro — could deliver a genuinely competitive, low-profile, evenly distributed fit. The SLX II keeps that philosophy but modernises the materials. It uses an all-new flat, knitted Synchwire upper that Giro says pairs the lowest weight in the range with high breathability and comfort, wrapping the foot without the pressure points that dials can create.
Laces also carry a quiet aerodynamic advantage: a clean, seamless upper with no protruding dials presents a smoother surface to the wind, which is part of why the style has never fully disappeared from the WorldTour. The trade-off, as always, is that you cannot micro-adjust tension mid-ride the way you can with a dial. The Empire SLX II is priced around £329.99.
And the Imperial II
For riders who prefer on-the-fly adjustability, the Imperial II is the dial-driven sibling. It uses a Boa Li2 closure system and, most significantly, a new forged carbon outsole that Giro claims improves stiffness by 20Nm over the previous generation. Stiffer soles transfer more of your pedal-stroke energy directly to the cranks with less flex loss, which is why outsole rigidity is one of the numbers serious riders obsess over. The Imperial II sits at the top of the range at around £399.99.
Between the two, Giro is effectively covering both halves of the premium market: the Empire SLX II for the traditionalists and aero-minded, the Imperial II for those who want a dial and maximum stiffness.
Why It Matters
Giro’s return reshapes the premium road-shoe conversation that has, in recent years, been dominated by Specialized, Shimano, Fizik and Sidi. A credible flagship from Giro gives riders more genuine choice at the top end, and it revives the lace-up-versus-dial debate that has quietly simmered in the peloton for a decade. The fact that the shoes are appearing at the Tour de France — cycling’s biggest shop window — is no accident. Grand Tour visibility sells shoes, and Giro is clearly betting that nostalgia plus modern materials is a winning combination.
It also signals a broader trend: as bikes, wheels and tyres inch ever closer to their aerodynamic limits, brands are hunting for marginal gains in the places riders once ignored — including the contact points between foot and pedal.
What This Means For You
You do not need a £400 race shoe to ride faster, but the launch is a useful prompt to think about your own setup. If you are still riding in shoes with a flexy sole, upgrading to a stiffer platform is one of the more noticeable comfort-and-power changes you can make — arguably more than another set of lightweight wheels. Before you spend anything, though, make sure your existing kit is dialled: a poorly positioned cleat will undo the benefit of any shoe. Our guide to setting up cycling cleats walks through float, fore-aft position and how to avoid knee pain, and it applies whether you buy Giro’s new shoes or keep what you have.
Deciding between laces and a dial comes down to how you ride. If your feet stay stable and you rarely adjust tension once you clip in, the Empire SLX II’s clean upper is hard to beat. If you like to loosen your shoes on long climbs and cinch them for sprints, a Boa dial like the Imperial II’s makes more sense. Either way, better power transfer is only useful if your pedalling is efficient — our breakdown of how to pedal efficiently explains how to make the most of a stiffer shoe. And if £330-plus is out of reach, remember that huge gains are available lower down the price ladder; our cycling on a budget guide shows where the money is best spent.
Key Takeaways
- Giro has revived its premium road-shoe line for 2026 with the lace-up Empire SLX II (~£329.99) and the Boa-dial Imperial II (~£399.99).
- The Empire SLX II is the first update to Giro’s flagship lace-up since 2019, with a new flat-knit Synchwire upper.
- The Imperial II adds a forged carbon outsole Giro claims is 20Nm stiffer for better power transfer.
- Both are debuting in the WorldTour peloton and can be spotted at the 2026 Tour de France.
- For most riders, correct cleat setup and a stiff-enough sole matter more than chasing the very top of the range.
