The Giro d'Italia (Italian pronunciation: [ˈdʒiːro
diˈtaːlja]; English: Tour of Italy) is an annual
stage race
bicycle race primarily held in
Italy,
while also occasionally passing through nearby countries.[1]
The race was first organized in
1909 to increase sales of the newspaper
La Gazzetta dello Sport;[1][2]
however it is currently run by
RCS
Sport.[3][4]
The race has been held annually since its first edition in 1909, except
when it was stopped for the two
world
wars.[1]
As the Giro gained prominence and popularity the race was lengthened,
and the peloton expanded from primarily Italian participation to riders
from all over the world. The Giro is a
UCI World Tour event, which means that the teams that compete in the
race are mostly
UCI Proteams, with the exception of the teams that the organizers
can invite.[5][6]
Along with the
Tour de France and
Vuelta a España, the Giro makes up cycling's prestigious
three-week-long
Grand Tours.[1][7]
The Giro is usually held during late May and early June.[1]
While the route changes each year, the format of the race stays the
same, with the appearance of at least two time trials, the passage
through the mountains of the
Alps,[8]
including the
Dolomites,[9][10]
and the finish in the Italian city of
Milan.[11][12]
Like the other Grand Tours, the modern editions of the Giro d'Italia
normally consist of 21 day-long segments (stages) over a 23-day period
that includes 2 rest days.[1]
All of the stages are timed to the finish. After finishing the
riders' times are compounded with their previous stage times. The rider
with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the race and gets to don
the coveted
pink jersey.[1][13]
While the general classification gathers the most attention there are
other contests held within the Giro: the
points classification for the sprinters,[13]
the
mountains classification for the climbers,[13]
young rider classification for the riders under the age of 25,[13]
and the
team classification for the competing teams.[13]
The
2013 edition of the race was won by Italian rider
Vincenzo Nibali.
History
1908–1909: The idea and first race
The idea of the holding a bicycle race that navigated around Italy
was first suggested when
La Gazzetta dello Sport editor Tullo Morgagni sent a telegram to
both the paper's owner, Emilio Costamagna, and cycling editor, Armando
Cougnet, stating the need for an Italian tour.[14][15]
At the time La Gazzetta's rival,
Corriere della Sera was planning on holding a bicycle race of
its own, after the success they had gained from holding an automobile
race.[14][15][16]
Morgagni then decided to try and hold their race before Corriere
della Sera could hold theirs, but La Gazzetta lacked the
money.[15]
However, after the success La Gazzetta had with creating the
Giro di Lombardia and
Milan – San Remo, the owner Costamagna decided to go through with
the idea.[15][17]
Their bike race was announced on August 7, 1908 in the first page of
that day's edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport.[16]
The race was to be held in May of 1909.[16]
The idea of the race was inspired by the
Tour de France and the success that
L'Auto had gained from it.[2][17]
Since the organizers lacked the funds, 25,000
lira,[14]
needed to hold the race, they consulted Primo Bongrani, an accountant at
the bank Cassa di Risparmio and friend of the three organizers. Bongrani
proceeded to go around Italy asking for donations to help hold the race.[15]
Bongrani's efforts were largely successful, he had procured enough money
to cover the operating costs.[15]
The money that was to be given out as prizes came from a casino in
San Remo
after Francesco Sghirla, a former Gazzetta employee, encouraged
it to contribute to the race.[14][15]
Even Corriere, La Gazzetta's rival, gave 3,000 lire to the
race's fund.[14]
On 13 May 1909 at 02:53 am 127 riders started the first Giro d'Italia
at Loreto Place in
Milan.[2][16]
The race was split into eight stages covering 2,448 km (1,521 mi).[16]
A total of 49 riders finished, with Italian
Luigi Ganna winning.[16]
Ganna won three individual stages and the General Classification. Ganna
received 5325 lira as a winner’s prize, with the last rider in the
general classification receiving 300 lira.[16]
The Giro's director received only 150 lira a month, 150 lira fewer than
the last-placed rider.[16]
1910–1924: Italian domination
During these years, and up until 1950, the winners of the Giro
d'Italia were exclusively of Italian descent.[18]
The 1909 edition of the Giro was such a success that the organizers
added two more stages and over 500 km (311 mi) to the race.[19]
The organizers also restructured the point distributions to determine
the overall leader; the stage winner would get one point for finishing
first, second place would get two points, and so on up until the 51st
and up finishers, who would just receive 51 points.[19]
The first non-Italian stage winner,
Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq, came in the 1910 edition of the race; he
won the second stage of the race.[19]
After stage 2 had finished,
Carlo Galetti was the new leader of the Giro and he held that lead
to the Giro's finish in Milan.[19]
The
1911 Giro d'Italia was the first Giro to not have the start or
finish of the race in Milan.[20]
The start and finish for the race was in the Italian capital, Rome – in
order to celebrate Italy's 50th anniversary of unification.[20]
The 1911 edition also saw the first foreign rider to lead the race, the
Frenchmen
Lucien Petit-Breton, and the first repeat winner of the race,
Carlo Galetti.[20]
The
1912 Giro d'Italia saw some big changes to how the general
classification was to be run, while still being based around a point
system.[21]
The race was to be centered around the team instead of the individual,
meaning that the leader of the race would be a team instead of an
individual. Teams were allowed only four riders for each squad.[21][22]
The changes to the general classification was met with strong opposition
from the start.[21]
Fourteen teams lined up at the start in Milan.[21][22]
Team Atala, which consisted of
Luigi Ganna,
Carlo Galetti,
Eberardo Pavesi, and
Giovanni Micheletto, led the race from start to finish.[21][22]
Luigi Ganna was the only member of Team Atala that didn't finish the
race, he dropped out during the fifth stage. Galetti became the first
three time winner of the Giro d'Italia.[21]
Next year's race was the last Giro to be run with a points system.[23]
The Giro's peloton that year was completely Italian.[23]
The race saw the first appearance of
Costante Girardengo, who would win the sixth stage, and come to
dominate the Giro in the future.[23]
Carlo Oriani, who had just gotten out of serving the Italian
military in the
Italo-Turkish War, won the race by six points over the second place
finisher,
Eberardo Pavesi.[23]
The
1914 Giro d'Italia saw the calculation of the general classification
shift from a points system to a time based system.[24]
Riders would now have their finishing times for each stage totaled
together to determine the overall leader.[24]
Eighty-one riders entered the 1914 edition of the race, but only eight
of them finished the race completely.[24]
The grueling race was won by
Alfonso Calzolari, who won by almost two hours over the second place
finisher.[24]
A Giro was planned for 1915, but the plans were scrapped when Italy
entered
World War I.[24]
After the war ended, the race resumed in
1919.[1][25]
The 1919 edition of the race navigated through the ruined parts of
Northern Italy, which made it hard for the organizers.[25]
Costante Girardengo, the winner of the Giro that year, became the
first rider to lead the Giro from start to finish.[25]
In route to winning the Giro, Girardengo seven of the ten stages that
comprised that year's Giro.[2]
The Giro also witnessed its first foreign rider to place on the podium
in
Marcel Buysse.[25]
Buysse finished third overall, just a little over an hour slower than
Girardengo.[25]
Next year's Giro began with close to fifty riders and finished with just
ten of those fifty riders.[26]
The first stage of the
1920 Giro d'Italia briefly went into
Switzerland, which was the first time that the Giro had ever left
its home country of Italy.[26]
Girardengo, the winner of the previous year's Giro, was widely believed
to be the favorite, but the injuries sustained from crashes in the
second stage forced him to withdraw from the race.[26]
Gaetano Belloni capitalized on Girardengo's troubles, along with
Giuseppe Olivieri, the race leader after stage 1, and Carlo Galetti's
withdrawals in the second stage, to win the stage and take the lead.[26]
Belloni went on to win the Giro, proving to those who called him "the
Eternal Second" that he could win a race.[26]
Costante Girardengo won the first four stages of the
1921 Giro d'Italia and led the race through the first four days.[27]
During the fifth stage, Girardengo was involved in a crash, seeing that
Girardengo was in trouble, Belloni attacked.[27]
Girardengo chased for 60 km (37 mi) before calling it quits. Belloni was
then the new leader after stage 5's conclusion.[27]
Giovanni Brunero was the only rider close to Belloni at that point.[27]
Brunero attacked during the race's seventh stage to win the stage and
take the overall lead by close to a minute.[27]
Brunero held that lead all the way to the finish in Milan.[27]
The
1922 Giro d'Italia saw some controversy amongst the general
classification contenders.[28]
In the race's first stage, Giovanni Brunero received an illegal wheel
change – Brunero took a wheel from his teammate Alfredo Sivocci – and
Brunero was ultimately penalized 25 minutes.[28]
Costante Girardengo and Gaetono Belloni, along with their respective
teams Maino and Bianchi, wanted Brunero to be expelled from the Giro for
the illegal wheel change.[28]
Both the Maino and Bianchi squads eventually withdrew from the Giro due
to their outrage with the organizer's decision to give Brunero a 25
minute penalty.[28]
Brunero went on to win the Giro d'Italia, his second one of his career.[28]
The
1923 Giro d'Italia was dominated by
Costante Girardengo, he won eight out of the ten stages that made up
that year's Giro.[29]
Girardengo wasn't able to distance himself too far from his stiffest
competition, he won the Giro by only thirty-seven seconds over the
second place finisher
Giovanni Brunero.[29]
This was Girardengo's second career win of the Giro d'Italia.[29]
Girardengo, Brunero, and
Gaetano Belloni didn't start the
1924 edition due to an argument over the start money.[30]
Their choice not to participate gave the other general classification
hopefuls a bigger chance to win the Giro.[30]
Giuseppe Enrici cemented his lead of the race, after his performance
during the horrid weather conditions in stage eight.[30]
This was Enrici's biggest win in his career. The 1924 edition of the
Giro also saw the only woman to ever compete in the history of the Giro
d'Italia,
Alfonsina Strada.[16][30]
She was eliminated from the race after the seventh stage, but the
organizers allowed her to race the stages still; however she wouldn't be
included in the general classification.[30]
Strada made it all the way to the Giro's finish in Milan; she finished
around twenty hours slower than the winner Enrici.[16][30]
1925–1935: The Binda years
The
1925 Giro d'Italia saw the emergence of a new star,
Alfredo Binda.[31]
Despite winning six stages of the Giro,
Costante Girardengo did not win the Giro.[31]
Binda gained the lead after the fifth stage, when he and a few other
general classification contenders attacked while Girardengo was
repairing a flat tire on his bike.[31]
Girardengo moved back up to second overall after the incident in stage
five, but he couldn't overpower Alfredo Binda.[31]
Next year's Giro had 204 riders start in Milan, but only 40 of those
riders made it back to the finish in Milan.[32]
In the first stage of the race, Alfredo Binda crashed and lost a great
deal of time.[32]
Binda then began to work for his teammate,
Giovanni Brunero.[32]
Binda won six of the stages in the race, while leading Brunero to his
record third Giro d'Italia victory.[32]
The
1927 Giro d'Italia was dominated by Alfredo Binda.[33]
On the way to his victory, Binda won a record twelve stages; a record
which still stands today.[2][33]
Alfredo Binda also led the Giro from start to finish, which had
previously only been done by Costante Girardengo (in 1919).[33]
The organizers made some changes to the race that year, the stage winner
now received a one minute time bonus and stages were now occasionally
run on consecutive days, where before they had at least one rest day
before each stage.[33]
Binda returned the
next year to win six of the twelve stages, along with the Giro
itself.[34]
Binda first captured the lead after the fourth stage, where he distanced
himself greatly from his competitors.[34]
Binda became the second person to win three Giro d'Italias in their
career.[34]
The Giro that year also saw a record number of participants at 298
riders, with 126 of those reaching the finish in Milan.[34]
In
1929 Alfredo Binda asserted his dominance once again.[35]
On the way to his third consecutive, and fourth career, Giro d'Italia
victory, Binda won a record eight consecutive stages.[35][36]
This Giro began in Rome, which was the second time that the Giro hadn't
began in Milan in the history of its running.[35]
When Binda came to the finish in Milan, he was booed by some of the
spectators, which bothered him greatly.[35]
The next year, Binda was paid 22,500 lire, the same amount of money the
winner of the Giro would get, not to participate in the Giro.[2][37]
Binda's absence left the field open for everyone else.[37]
The eventual winner,
Luigi Marchisio, gained the lead after winning the third stage of
the race and held it all the way to the finish in Milan.[37]
Marchisio held a slim fifty-two second lead for the last six stages of
the race to the finish in Milan. Marchisio became the youngest rider to
win the Giro at 21 years, 1 month, and 13 days; his record stood for ten
years before being broken by
Fausto Coppi.[37]
Alfredo Binda (right) was the first rider to win the
Giro d'Italia five times.
The famed race leader's
maglia rosa, pink jersey, was introduced in the
1931 edition of the Giro.[16][38]
The color pink was chosen for the leader's jersey since
La Gazzetta dello Sport printed its news on a pink paper.[16]
The maglia rosa was first worn by
Learco Guerra, who won the first stage of the race.[16][38]
Alfredo Binda returned to the Giro, only to retire while leading during
the sixth stage.[38]
The eventual winner,
Francesco Camusso, attacked during the eleventh stage to claim the
lead of the race.[38]
Binda came into the
1932 Giro d'Italia in bad form, so he decided to work for his
teammate
Antonio Pesenti.[39]
The German
Hermann Buse gained the lead of the Giro from the second stage to
the sixth stage, in doing so he became the first German to lead the
Giro.[39]
During the seventh stage of the race, Pesenti gained the lead of the
race by winning the stage by means of a solo attack.[39]
Pesenti held the lead to the end of the race.[39]
The
Mountains classification was introduced in the
1933 Giro d'Italia, along with the first
individual time trial.[40]
The organizers also expanded the Giro's total stage number to 17, it had
been around twelve the few preceding years.[40]
Alfredo Binda gained the lead after the second stage, but he lost it
to
Jef Demuysere after the fifth stage.[40]
Binda gained it back after the eighth stage, where he gained a six
minute lead over Demuysere.[40]
Binda won the next three stages, while further his lead over the rest of
the competition. Binda would go on to win the Giro by a twelve minute
margin over Demuysere.[40]
Along with winning the general classification, Binda also won the
inaugural mountains classification.[16][40]
By winning the Giro again, Binda became the first five-time winner of
the Giro d'Italia.[40]
Learco Guerra won ten of the seventeen stages that comprised the
1934 Giro d'Italia.[41]
Guerra's biggest challenge proved to be
Francesco Camusso, after Alfredo Binda abandoned the race after
being hit by a police motorcycle.[41][42]
Camusso gained the lead after his stage thirteen performance.[41]
Stage fourteen was a time trial, and Camusso was a pure climber; while
Guerra on the other hand was a quality time trialist.[41]
Guerra gained close to a four minute lead over Camusso.[41]
Guerra and Camusso battled all the way to Milan, but Guerra won by a
margin of fifty-one seconds over Camusso.[41]
The
1935 edition of the Giro saw some changes to how it was run; the
organizers removed the time bonuses for winning stages and the
organizers first added half stages, to this Giro.[43]
This Giro also saw the last participation of Alfredo Binda and the first
participation of
Gino Bartali; Bartali won his first stage in this Giro, he won stage
six.[43]
The eventual winner,
Vasco Bergamaschi, gained the lead briefly after the first stage.[43]
He later regained the lead after the sixth stage of the race.[43]
Bergamaschi originally came to the Giro to work for his teammate, the
great
Costante Girardengo.[43]
1936–1953: Bartali and Coppi battle for supremacy
Due to Italy's political stance at the time, the
1936 Giro d'Italia saw no foreign participation.[44]
The organizers of the race also included the first uphill
individual time trial in the Giro's history; the time trial went
20 km (12 mi) up to the summit of
Monte Terminillo.[44]
Gino Bartali took the lead of the race by attacking on the final
climb of the hilly ninth stage of the race.[44]
Bartali held that lead all the way to Milan.[2]
Along with the general classification, Bartali won his second
consecutive mountains classification title.[44]
For the
1937 Giro d'Italia the organizers decided to include the
Dolomites for the first time in the history of the Giro d'Italia.[2][45][46]
In addition to that, the organizers included the first
team time trial in the Giro's history.[46]
The team time trial lasted 62 km (39 mi) and was won by Legnano, the
team of the eventual winner Gino Bartali.[46]
Bartali displayed his dominance in the mountains and gained the lead
after the uphill stage 8a time trial.[46]
Bartali carried the maglia rosa all the way to Milan, winning his second
consecutive Giro d'Italia.[2][46]
Gino Bartali, the winner of the 1936 and 1937 Giro d'Italias, was
ordered by the Italian government to race the
Tour de France instead of the Giro in 1938.[47]
Giovanni Valetti, the eventual winner, took the lead of the
1938 Giro d'Italia after the mountainous ninth stage.[47]
Valetti had a lead of a minute and a half after that stage, but he built
upon his lead as the Giro went on.[47]
He finished almost nine minutes ahead of the second place rider
Ezio Cecchi.[47]
The
1939 Giro d'Italia was a battle between Gino Bartali and Giovanni
Valetti.[48]
The race had been led primarily
Cino Cinelli early on; Cinelli lost the lead to Secondo Magni after
stage 9a.[48]
Magni lost the lead to Giovanni Valetti after the stage 9b individual
time trial.[48]
Valetti lost the lead to Gino Bartali in the fifteenth stage after he
had attacked on the
Passo Rolle.[48]
Bartali would lose the lead to Valetti after flatting multiple times and
crashing in the sixteenth stage.[48]
Valetti would go on to win his second consecutive Giro d'Italia, while
Bartali left the Giro with his fourth mountains classification title.[45][48]
Bartali came to the
1940 Giro d'Italia with a strong Legnano team and high ambitions to
win the overall crown.[49]
His hopes were derailed when he crashed in the race's second stage and
lost a good deal of time.[49]
Fausto Coppi was then promoted to the new team leader after
Bartali's misfortunes.[49]
Coppi took the lead after attacking on the
Abetone
in the race's eleventh stage.[49][50]
Coppi managed to keep the lead of the race all the way to the race's
finish in Milan, where he officially won his first Giro d'Italia.[49]
Coppi became the youngest rider to ever win the Giro at 20 years, 8
months and 25 days old, breaking the record that was held by
Luigi Marchisio.[51]
Bartali didn't leave the Giro empty handed, he won two stages near the
end of the race along with the mountains classification.[49]
World War II brought the Giro's annual running to a halt after the
1940 edition.[1][49]
Coppi was put into the Italy's services, he served in
Tunisia;
while Bartali went to the
Vatican after 1942 racing season.[52]
Benito Mussolini, Italy's dictator at the time, tried to keep the
bicycle races going while Italy was involved in the Second World War.[53]
The Giro consumed so much gasoline, food, and other supplies that it
would hurt Italy's efforts towards the war, so the Giro that people were
familiar with wasn't run.[53]
The government created a new "point series" Giro that would comprise the
major one day races that were run in Italy, where the riders would earn
points based on their placing in each race.[53]
Some of the notable races that comprised this "Giro" were the
Milan – San Remo and the
Giro di Lombardia.[53]
The new "point series" Giro was first won by Gino Bartali in 1942.[53]
The 1943 edition of the government's Giro was interrupted after Allie
forces landed in
Sicily
and after Mussolini was deposed.[53]
After Mussolini's reign ended, bicycle racing came to a complete stop in
Italy.[53]
The Giro resumed its annual running in
1946.[54]
The organizers added the black jersey, or the maglia nera, for
the last rider in the overall classification.[55]
Bartali and Coppi returned to the Giro, but this time they were on
separate teams.[54]
Coppi was put into difficulty in stage nine, where he lost a good deal
of time.[54]
During the twelfth stage of the race, the route was set to pass through
Pieris on the way to
Trieste.[54]
In Pieris, there were some Yugoslavs who threw stones at some armed
Italian guards.[54]
Gunfire erupted soon and the stage was ultimately cancelled, with close
to twenty riders being escorted to Trieste.[54]
There were also riots that took place in Trieste since
Yugoslavia and
Italy
both claimed that as part of their territory.[54]
Bartali first gained the lead after the thirteenth stage of the race.[54]
Bartali would hold that lead to the finish in Milan without winning a
single stage in the race.[2][54]
In addition to winning the general classification, Bartali won the
mountains classification.[54]
The
1947 Giro d'Italia was the first Giro to have all competing riders
be a part of a trade team, rather than some competing as independents.[56]
Although Fausto Coppi won the fourth stage, Bartali took the early lead
of the race as the two riders, along with
Aldo Ronconi, broke away on the ascent of the
Abetone
and raced into
Prato.[56]
Bartali held that lead until the sixteenth stage, where he lost the lead
to Fausto Coppi.[56]
During the sixteenth stage Bartali's chain dropped on the climb of the
Falzarego, Coppi saw this and attacked.[56]
The same misfortune struck Coppi on the descent of the Falzarego, which
allowed Bartali to rejoin him.[56]
Coppi attacked on the
Passo Pordoi, but this time Bartali could not keep up. Coppi went on
to win the stage and gain the overall lead, which he held all the way to
Milan.[56]
The
1948 Giro d'Italia featured the smallest margin of victory between
any competing riders in the history of the Giro d'Italia;
Fiorenzo Magni won by eleven seconds over
Ezio Cecchi.[57]
Magni set up his victory by being a part of the breakaway that succeeded
in the race's ninth stage.[57]
Magni gained close to thirteen minutes on the favorites of the race in
Bartali and Coppi.[57]
Ezio Cecchi briefly gained the lead of the race for two stages, but
Magni regained the lead after the seventeenth stage which saw the race
travel over the Pordoi Pass.[57]
Fausto Coppi and his team, Bianchi, suspected Magni to have received
help from the spectators; Magni was ultimately given a two minute
penalty.[57]
The penalty to Magni wasn't enough to prevent him from winning the race,
but he did so by the slimmest of margins.[57]
The Swiss rider
Hugo Koblet was the first foreign rider to win the Giro
d'Italia.
Fausto Coppi returned to the Giro in
1949 with aims to win again.[58]
After the ninth stage of the race, Coppi was close to ten minutes behind
the race leader
Adolfo Leoni.[58]
However, Coppi made up over nine minutes on the Leoni during the tenth
stage.[58]
One of the most iconic moments of the 1949 edition of the Giro was the
seventeenth stage.[50][58]
Coppi attacked off the start and was the first over the five major
climbs during the stage; he rode into stage's finish in
Pinerolo eleven minutes ahead of his rival
Gino Bartali.[58]
Coppi also gained the race lead after his stage seventeen performance.[58]
Coppi went on to win the Giro, bringing his total to three Giro d'Italia
victories.[58]
Coppi came into the
1950 Giro d'Italia as the prime favorite to win the general
classification; however, misfortune struck as he broke his pelvis in the
race's ninth stage.[18][59]
The race was led early on by the Swiss rider
Fritz Schär.[18]
Hugo Koblet attacked during the race's eighth stage to gain the
overall lead.[18]
Koblet attacked on the stage's major ascent, the Pian delle Fugazze.[18]
Koblet went on to win the stage, along with taking the lead of the race.[18]
Koblet kept the lead all the way to the Giro's finish in Milan and in
doing so he became the first foreigner to win the Giro d'Italia.[2][18]
In addition to the general classification, Koblet also won the mountains
classification.[18]
Almost three years after his first Giro d'Italia victory,
Fiorenzo Magni won the Giro d'Italia again.[60]
Magni's victory in the
1951 Giro d'Italia didn't come without strong opposition.[60]
Magni's major rival in the 1951 edition of the Giro was the Belgian
Rik Van Steenbergen, who performed very well in the Dolomites.[60]
Magni sealed his second Giro victory by descending down the final climb
of the eighteenth stage; to gain the overall lead of the race.[60]
The
1952 Giro d'Italia featured one of the first deaths, if not the
first, by a rider in the Giro; Orfeo Ponsin died after crashing into a
tree on the descent of the Merluzza.[61]
The eventual winner,
Fausto Coppi, first gained the lead after attacking on the
Passo Pordoi and riding the rest of the tenth stage by himself.[61]
Coppi won two stages after gaining the lead of the race, which further
cemented his lead in the race.[61]
The Swiss rider
Hugo Koblet gained the lead of the
1953 Giro d'Italia after the race's stage eight individual time
trial.[62]
Koblet defended the successfully lead from Fausto Coppi up until the
twentieth stage.[62]
The twentieth stage's major feature was that it contained the
Passo dello Stelvio.[62]
Koblet, who had overused
amphetamines the night before, seemed uneasy throughout the stage.[62]
While climbing the Stelvio, Nino Defilippis attacked and Koblet followed
but displayed signs of weakness.[62]
Coppi, after hearing about Koblet's drug use, attacked and passed Koblet
and Defilippis.[62]
Coppi went on to win the stage by a little over two minutes and he also
gained enough time over Koblet to take the lead of the race.[62]
Coppi went on to win the Giro d'Italia, bringing his total to a record
tying five Giro d'Italia victories.[62][63]
1954–1967: Italian supremacy challenged
The
1954 Giro d'Italia saw the Swiss rider
Carlo Clerici win the race and become the second non-Italian rider
to win the Giro.[64]
The tensions at the start were high as the organizers paid
Fausto Coppi a large sum to participate in the race, which angered
the peloton and ultimately led to the race being not highly contested.[64]
This was extremely evident on the race's twenty-first stage when the
riders took over nine hours to complete the 222 km (138 mi) stage.
Clerici attacked during the race's sixth stage and gained enough of a
time advantage over the rest of the peloton to last himself to the
race's conclusion.[64]
A strike erupted during the twenty-first stage over and led to a ten
hour walk.[64]
This was also the last edition that
Gino Bartali competed in; he finished his career at the Giro with
three overall and seven mountains classification victories.[64]
Gastone Nencini led a good amount of the Giro in
1955 before the eventual winner
Fiorenzo Magni took the lead away.[65]
Magni attacked with
Fausto Coppi during the race's twentieth stage after his fellow
competitors had to stop to change their tires; Magni gained over nine
minutes on Nencini.[65]
This was Magni's third and final career Giro d'Italia victory.[65]
The
1956 edition of the Giro was run as scheduled until the race's
twenty-first stage that stretched from
Merano
to the summit finish on Monte Bondone, a mountain in the
Dolomites.[66]
The stage was bitterly cold with temperatures reaching close to
−10 °C
(14 °F) which ultimately forced
over sixty riders to abandon the race, even the race leader
Pasquale Fornara.[66]
Charly Gaul attacked during the stage and went on to win it, while
also gaining enough time to take the lead and hold it until the race's
finish.[66]
After the Gaul crossed the stage's finish, he was taken to the hospital
since his jersey was stuck to his skin.[67]
By winning the Giro, Gaul became the first Luxembourgian rider to win
the Giro d'Italia.[66]
Charly Gaul was leading the
1957 Giro d'Italia during the eighteenth stage.[68]
When Gaul stopped to urinate during that stage, his fierce rival
Louison Bobet and general classification contenders
Gastone Nencini and
Miguel Poblet attacked.[68]
Gaul wound up losing the lead to Nencini; however, Gaul took out his
frustration by aiding Nencini with his bid to win the Giro that year so
that Bobet would not win the race.[68]
With Gaul's help, Nencini went on to win the Giro d'Italia by nineteen
seconds over Louison Bobet.[2][68]
Italian
Ercole Baldini took the lead of the
1958 Giro d'Italia after winning the race's mountainous, fifteenth
stage to Bosco Chiesanuova.[2][69]
Baldini went on to have arguably his best season where he won the
Men's Road Race at the World Championships and the
Italian Men's Road Race.[2][69]
This was also the last Giro that
Fausto Coppi participated in, before dying two years later.[69]
The
1959 Giro d'Italia featured
Jacques Anquetil and Charly Gaul vying for the overall title.[70]
Anquetil held the lead of the race going into the penultimate stage of
the race.[70]
Gaul stated openly that he was going to attack on the slopes of the
Piccolo San Bernardo leading Anquetil to mark him for most of the
stage.[70]
True to his word, Gaul attacked as the riders made their way up the
Piccolo San Bernardo.[70]
Anquetil, who had eaten poorly during the stage was unable to counter
his attacks.[70]
Gaul went on to win the stage and gain close to ten minutes on Anquetil,
which would be sufficient enough to win him the Giro d'Italia that year.[70]
The
1960 Giro d'Italia saw the first French rider,
Jacques Anquetil, win the Giro d'Italia.[2][71]
Anquetil captured the lead after dominating the lengthy stage 14 time
trial from
Seregno
to Lecco.[71]
Anquetil's lead was strained during the race's penultimate stage where
the riders crossed the
Gavia Pass.[71]
While on the ascent of the Gavia, Gastone Nencini attacked and Anquetil
could not counter due to suffering many bike issues.[71]
Overall, Anquetil's lead was reduced to twenty-eight seconds which was
enough to last to the remainder of the Giro.[71]
Arnaldo Pambianco captured his lone Giro victory after his efforts
in a breakaway on the
1961 edition's fourteenth stage gave him the race lead.[72]
The
1962 edition of the Giro d’Italia was marred by severe weather
conditions. The fourteenth stage was shortened following a violent storm
which prevented the climbing of the last two scheduled mountain passes
and moved the stage finish to the top of the Passo Rolle.
Angelino Soler won the race's sixteenth stage, with
Franco Balmamion finishing second on the stage and taking the race
lead. Balmamion successfully defended the lead all the way to the race's
finish in Milan. Balmamion repeated as champion the
next year after gaining the lead after the nineteenth stage that
contained six hard climbs.[73]
Jacques Anquetil took the race lead at the
1964 Giro d'Italia after the stage five
individual time trial and then held it all the way to the race's
conclusion in Milan.[2][74]
Anquetil then went on to win the
1964 Tour de France and became the second rider to win the Giro
d'Italia and the
Tour de France in the same calendar year.[74][75]
The
1965 Giro d'Italia was won by
Vittorio Adorni after he gained a large lead from the 58 km (36 mi)
individual time trial that comprised stage 13.[76]
This edition also saw the introduction of the
Cima Coppi in honor of
Fausto Coppi.[76]
The Cima Coppi awards more points towards the
mountains classification than any other climb in the Giro.[76]
Next year's race saw the introduction of the
points classification which was to awarded the most consistent high
finishing riders in the peloton, specifically the
sprinters.[16][77]
The classification was first won by Italian
Gianni Motta, who also won the race itself.[16][77]
Motta originally had come to ride for Jacques Anquetil, but after
Anquetil lost time early on, he rode for Motta.[77]
Motta then rode well through the mountains, gained the lead after the
race's fifteenth stage, and then held it to the end of the race.[77]
Felice Gimondi won the
1967 Giro d'Italia after attacking during the race's twenty first
stage.[78]
Gimondi attacked on the slopes of the
Tonale and then race leader Jacques Anquetil was not able to match
his move. Gimondi wound up gaining the overall lead by over three
minutes on Anquetil.[78]
Gimondi raced into Milan the next day en route to his first Giro
d'Italia victory.[78]
This edition of the Giro was also the first Giro d'Italia ridden by
Eddy Merckx, who won the twelfth and fourteenth stage.[78]
1968–1996: Foreign domination
Eddy Merckx won the Giro d'Italia a record five times in
his career.
The
1968 Giro d'Italia saw two important firsts: the first tests for
drug use and the first prologue.[79]
A total of eight riders tested positive during the Giro.[79]
Belgian
Eddy Merckx won his first Giro d'Italia after winning the twelfth
stage's finish atop the
Tre Cime di Lavaredo and also regaining the race lead.[79][80]
En route to the overall victory, Merckx won four stages.[79]
Merckx returned in
1969 and was leading the race after the sixteenth stage that ended
in Savona.[81]
Merckx tested positive for a banned substance after the stage and was
subsequently disqualified from the race; to this day Merckx still
proclaims his innocence.[81]
Felice Gimondi took the lead after Merckx's dismissal and held it
all the way to the race's conclusion.[81]
Merckx returned to
following year to satiate his sponsor.[82]
Merckx took the lead after stage five and never relinquished it; he
dominated the lengthy stage nine time trial.[82]
Merckx went on to win the
Tour de France and in doing so became the third rider to win two
Grand Tours in a single calendar year.[82]
Reigning champion Merckx decided to ride the
Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré instead.[83]
Felice Gimondi lost substantial time early on in the race to put him out
of contention, while fellow Italian and teammate
Gianni Motta tested positive for banned substances and was dismissed
from the Giro.[83]
Swedish cyclist
Gösta Pettersson gained the lead after the race's eighteenth stage
and held it all the way to the finish.[83]
Pettersson became the first Swedish cyclist to win a Grand Tour.[83]
Merckx returned to the Giro in
1972 and resumed his domination. He grabbed the lead after a long
solo attack during the race's seventh stage and never let go of the
lead.[84]
Merckx led the
1973 Giro d'Italia from start to finish; a feat that had not been
done since
Alfredo Binda did in
1927.[85]
José Manuel Fuente gained the lead early on in
1974 and held it all the way up to the Giro's fourteenth stage.[86]
Fuente had forgotten to eat properly during the fourteenth stage and
suffered because of it; he lost over ten minutes to Merckx.[86]
Merckx would go on to win his fifth and final Giro d'Italia, joining the
likes of Alfredo Binda and
Fausto Coppi as the only five-time winners of the Giro d'Italia.[86]
Merckx success continued on into the season as he won the
Tour de France and the
men's road race at the
World Championships and became the first rider to complete the
Triple Crown of Cycling – which consists of winning two Grand Tours
and the men's road race at the World Championships in one calendar year.[87]
With the absence of Merckx from the
1975 edition due to illness, the competition increased between the
other riders.[88]
Fausto Bertoglio and
Francisco Galdós battled during the latter half of the race.[88]
The final stage of the race had a summit finish on the
Passo dello Stelvio where Bertoglio fended off the attacks of Galdós
to seal his overall victory.[88]
Johan de Muynck was in the lead of the
1976 Giro d'Italia when he crashed during the twentieth stage.[89]
Muynck's injuries prevented him from performing well in the next day's
individual time trial.[89]
Felice Gimondi capitalized on Muynck's woes and took the lead on the
final day of racing and went on to win his second Giro d'Italia.[89]
This was the last Giro that Merckx raced; he finished eighth overall.[89]
Freddy Maertens and
Francesco Moser dominated the early portion of the
1977 Giro d'Italia.[90]
Belgian
Michel Pollentier took the lead from Moser when the race hit the
high mountains near the end of the race. Pollentier went on to win the
penultimate stage en route to his lone Grand Tour victory of his career.[90]
Johan de Muynck first grabbed the lead of the
1978 Giro d'Italia after escaping during the third stage and soloing
to victory.[91]
He then successfully defended his slim lead throughout the rest of the
race and won the Giro.[91]
The
1979 edition featured less climbing than normal and a total of five
time trials.[92]
Francesco Moser grabbed the early lead of the race after winning the
first two time trials of the race.[92]
Giuseppe Saronni took the lead after the third time trial which
ended in
San
Marino.[92]
Saronni then rode into Milan with over a two minute lead over Moser to
win the Giro.[92]
Bernard Hinault's Giro d'Italia was in
1980.[93]
Up until the twentieth stage, the race was being dominated by the
Italian competitors.[93]
During the twentieth stage, Hinault and teammate
Jean-René Bernaudeau distanced themselve from the general
classification contenders on the slopes of the
Passo dello Stelvio and rode into to
Sondrio
for the stage win.[93]
Bernaudeau won the stage, but Hinault took a sizable lead over the rest
of the field – which he then held to the race's conclusion in
Milan.[2][93]
The
1981 Giro d'Italia was hotly contested, with four riders being 30
seconds apart after twenty days of racing.[94]
Stage 20 saw the finish atop the
Tre Cime di Lavaredo.[94]
Giovanni Battaglin took the lead by a close to a minute over the
second place rider after doing well on the climb of the Lavaredo.[94]
Battaglin won the Giro after putting in a solid performance in the
race's final stage, an individual time trial.[94]
Bernard Hinault returned to the Giro in
1982.[95]
Hinault dominated the race with stage wins in every time trial stage and
stage wins atop the
Campitello Matese and the
Montecampione.[95]
Hinault would go on to win the
Tour de France that year as well and complete the coveted Giro-Tour
double.[95]
The
1983 Giro d'Italia featured few hard stages in the mountains and
four time trials.[96]
The winner of the race, Giuseppe Saronni, gained the lead after the
race's seventh stage that finished in
Salerno.[96]
From there, Saronni won two more stages and successfully guarded his
lead all the way to Milan to win his second Giro d'Italia.[96]
The
1984 Giro d'Italia was a battle between Italian Francesco Moser and
Frenchman
Laurent Fignon.[97]
Moser was leading the race up until the mountainous stage twentieth
stage that finished in
Arabba.[97]
Fignon took the lead after riding into Arabba over two minutes ahead of
Moser.[97]
Moser dashed through the course setting a blistering pace on the roads,
he won the stage and the Giro due to his performance in the final stage.[97]
Bernard Hinault raced the Giro again in
1985.[98]
The race was led early on by Italian
Roberto Visentini.[98]
However, after the stage twelve time trial, Hinault was in control of
the race.[98]
He would go on to win his third Giro d'Italia.[98]
Giuseppe Saronni led the
1986 Giro d'Italia for the majority of the race before losing it to
Roberto Visentini in the
Alps.[99]
Visentini then fought off attacks from the challengers in the
Dolomites en route to his overall victory.[99]
The
1987 edition was highlighted by the controversy between
Carrera Jeans-Vagabond's two general classification riders Roberto
Visentini and
Stephen Roche.[100]
Roche led the race early on but lost the lead to Visentini after
crashing during the thirteenth stage.[101]
Roche attacked on the race's mountainous fifteenth stage despite orders
from Carrera team management not to.[102]
Roche took the lead and wound up winning the Giro.[100]
Roche's success would not stop there during the 1987 season, he would go
on to win the
Tour de France and the
men's road race at the World Championships to complete the Triple
Crown of Cycling.[100]
The
1988 Giro d'Italia is remembered for the fourteenth stage that
contained very poor weather throughout the stage and most notably on the
slopes of the
Passo di Gavia.[103]
Franco Chioccioli led the race at the start of the fabled fourteenth
stage.[104]
On the slopes of the Gavia,
Andrew Hampsten and
Erik Breukink rode away from their fellow riders; Breukink would go
on to win the stage, but Hampsten would take the overall lead.[105]
Hampsten went on to win the race and became the first non-European to
win the Giro d'Italia.[106]
Dutchman Erik Breukink gained the lead of the
1989 Giro d'Italia after winning the stage 10 individual time trial.[107]
Breukink lost the lead after the fourteenth stage that contained five
major passes.[107]
The Frenchman Laurent Fignon took the lead of the race from Breukink and
then held it all the way to the finish in
Florence.[2][107]
This was also the year the
intergiro classification was introduced to the Giro d'Italia – the
calculation for the intergiro is similar to that of the general
classification, in each stage there is a midway point that the riders
pass through a point and where their time is stopped and then totaled up
after each stage.[13]
Jure Pavlič was the first winner of the intergiro classification.[108]
Gianni Bugno dominated the
1990 edition after gaining the lead after the first stage.[109]
Bugno led the race from start to finish – a feat that had only been done
three times before in the history of the Giro d'Italia.[109]
Franco Chioccioli reigned supreme at the
1991 Giro d'Italia.[110]
Chioccioli led the race for all but two stages.[110]
He cemented his lead and the eventual overall victory by winning the
seventeenth stage that contained a summit finish on the
Passo Pordoi and winning the penultimate stage which was an
individual time trial.[110]
Miguel Indurain became the first Spanish rider to win the Giro
d'Italia in
1992[111]
Indurain first gained the lead of the race after the hilly third stage
that led into
Arrezo and then held it all the way to the finish in Milan.[111]
He separated himself from his competitors during the race's two
individual time trials, both of which he won.[111]
Indurain would go on to ride the
Tour de France in July and win it, and in doing so completed the
rare Giro-Tour double.[111]
Indurain returned in
1993 to defend his crown.[112]
The only rider that could compete with Indurain was the Latvian
Piotr Ugrumov, who attacked Indurain repeatedly throughout the race.[112]
Indurain won two stages – both time trials – en route to his second Giro
d'Italia victory.[112]
He would go on to complete the Giro-Tour double for the second
consecutive year, a feat which had never been accomplished before.[112]
The
1994 Giro d'Italia saw Russian
Evgeni Berzin gain the overall lead after winning the fourth stage,
featuring a summit finish on Campitello Matese.[113]
Berzin consolidated his lead with victories in the race's final two time
trials en route to the overall victory. In doing so he spoiled
Indurain's hopes for a three peat.[113]
Tony Rominger came to the
1995 Giro d'Italia in great form.[114]
Rominger gained the lead after the stage two time trial and never gave
it up.[114]
His opposition came from the returning champion Berzin and teammate
Piotr Ugrumov who attacked each other repeatedly, which greatly hurt
their chances.[114]
In addition to the general classification, Rominger also won the points
and intergiro classifications.[114]
The
1996 Giro d'Italia celebrated the centenary of the founding of
La Gazzetta dello Sport by holding the first three stages in the
Greek capital of
Athens.[115]
Eventual winner
Pavel Tonkov first gained the race lead after the mountainous
thirteenth stage that ended in
Prato Nevoso.[115]
Tonkov lost his slim lead to the Spaniard
Abraham Olano for a two stage period, before regaining it after
stage 21, which contained five climbs of high severity.[115]
Tonkov rode into Milan the next day winner of the Giro d'Italia.[115]
1997–2007: Italians resume conquest
Pavel Tonkov returned to the Giro in
1997 with ambitions of repeating as winner.[116]
Tonkov first led the race after winning the stage three time trial and
up until the fourteenth stage's conclusion.[116]
During the fourteenth stage, Italian
Ivan Gotti attacked and soloed his way to the stage win in
Breuil-Cervinia and the race lead.[116]
Gotti extended his lead after performing well in the mountainous
nineteenth stage and went on two win the Giro three days later.[116]
Swiss rider
Alex Zülle was the first rider to lead the
1998 Giro d'Italia and he led for the most part of the race.[117]
Zülle was leading the race as it entered the
Dolomites.[117]
Italians
Giuseppe Guerini and
Marco Pantani were at the head of the race during the race's
mountainous seventeenth stage; the two riders worked together to get to
the stage finish in
Selva di Val Gardena.[117]
Guerini won the stage while Pantani took the overall lead.[117]
Pantani went on to win the Giro and subsequently the
1998 Tour de France, thus completing the rare feat of winning the
Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France in the same calendar year.[117]
Pantani returned to the Giro in
1999 while in peak physical form.[118]
Pantani gained the lead after the race's fourteenth stage and as the
race hit the high mountains, he extended his lead with three stage wins.[118]
On the morning of the twentieth stage, Pantani was dismissed from the
Giro after having
hematocrit levels above 50%.[118]
1997 victor Ivan Gotti, who was second place at the time, subsequently
took the lead and wound up winning the Giro for the second time in his
career.[118]
Francesco Casagrande took the lead in the
2000 Giro d'Italia after a long solo attack during the race's ninth
stage.[119]
Fatigue set in with Casagrande as the race wore on and on the
penultimate stage he lost the lead, and ultimately the Giro, to
Stefano Garzelli.[119]
Dario Frigo took the lead in the
2001 Giro d'Italia after the race's fourth stage.[120]
Frigo defended the lead until the thirteenth stage, when the race went
over some major passes in the
Dolomites.[120]
During the thirteenth stage,
Gilberto Simoni attacked and his labor bore fruits as he took the
race leader's maglia rosa when the stage was over.[120]
Frigo gained some time back in the stage fifteen time trial, but it
wasn't enough to ovecome Simoni's lead.[120]
Simoni went on to win the Giro d'Italia by a wide margin after Frigo's
withdrawal.[120][121]
Stefano Garzelli took the early lead after winning the
2002 Giro d'Italia's second stage, but soon tested positive for
probenecid – a banned substance – and was forced to leave the Giro.[122][123]
In the final major mountain stage of the race, stage seventeen,
Paolo Savoldelli attacked with around nine kilometers to go in the
stage and managed to take the lead and go on to win the Giro.[124][125]
Alessandro Petacchi was the first rider to lead the
2003 Giro d'Italia after winning the opening stage.[126]
Petacchi lost the lead to Stefano Garzelli after he won the stage seven
summit finish on the
Monte Terminillo.[127]
Garzelli then lost the lead to Gilberto Simoni after the tenth stage.[128]
Simoni went on to win the Giro after expanding his lead through stage
wins on the
Monte Zoncolan[129]
and the
Alpe di Pampeago[130][131]
The
2004 Giro d'Italia saw a battle between
Damiano Cunego,
Serhiy Honchar, and Gilberto Simoni.[132]
Simoni gained the lead after the third stage and held it to the seventh
stage where he lost it to Cunego.[133]
Cunego held the lead until the lengthy stage twelve individual time
trial when
Yaroslav Popovych took the lead.[134]
Cunego regained the lead after the sixteenth stage and went on to win
the race, while fellow Italian Alessandro Petacchi won nine out of the
21 stages.[132]
The
2005 Giro d'Italia saw the race lead change hands multiple times
within the first week of racing.[135]
Ivan Basso gained the lead after the eleventh stage, which finished
in
Zoldo Alto.[136]
Two days later, Paolo Savoldelli gained the lead after the thirteenth
stage that finish in
Urtijëi.[137]
Savoldelli went on to win his second Giro d'Italia while fending off the
attacks of Gilberto Simoni and
José Rujano.[138]
Ivan Basso won the
2006 Giro d'Italia in a convincing fashion.[139]
Basso gained the lead after winning the race's eighth stage that
featured a summit finish on the Passo Lanciano.[140]
He won two more stages after taking the lead of the race en route to his
overall victory.[139][141]
The race leader's pink jersey changed hands five times in the first
week of racing in the
2007 Giro d'Italia.
Andrea Noè took the lead away from
Marco Pinotti after the race's tenth stage.[142]
Noè lost the lead to Danilo Di Luca after he won the twelfth stage into
Briançon.[143]
Di Luca was not seriously challenged after taking the race lead in stage
12, and comfortably won the Giro in Milan with a two-minute gap over
Schleck in second.[144]
2008–2012: Recent years
The
2008 Giro d'Italia was led for many days by
Giovanni Visconti who had gained the lead after participating in a
breakaway.[145]
Eventual winner
Alberto Contador first took the lead of the race after the second
mountain stage, to
Marmolada, by finishing nearly fifteen minutes ahead of previous
race leader
Gabriele Bosisio – who had just gained the lead the stage before.[146]
In the race's final week, Contador faced stern challenges from Riccò and
defending Giro champion
Danilo Di Luca; however, their efforts bore no fruits as Contador
went on to win the race.[147]
Russian
Denis Menchov won the
2009 centennial edition of the Giro, after having taken the lead in
a long time trial in stage 12, and defended it vigorously against
attacks from his closest challenger,
Danilo Di Luca, during the mountain stages of the final week.[148]
Di Luca came in second, 41 seconds behind the winner, and won the
points classification. Subsequent to the Giro, both he and
third-place finisher
Franco Pellizotti became embroiled in doping scandals, were given
bans, and had their results stripped.[149][150]
The
2010 Giro d'Italia saw the lead change hands eight times during the
race. Spanish rider
David Arroyo was leading the race as it headed into the final
mountain stages of the race. Arroyo lost the race lead to
Ivan Basso after the nineteenth stage where he lost over three
minutes to Basso.[151]
Basso fended off attacks and performed adequately in the final time
trial to secure his second Giro d'Italia victory.[147]
Alberto Contador returned to the Giro in
2011 and was seen as the favorite for the overall victory on what
many saw as a very difficult course.[152][153]
Contador assumed the race lead after winning the ninth stage to
Mount Etna.[154]
Contador continued to increase his advantage by riding well in the
remaining stages and winning the stage 16 individual time trial, which
allowed him to win his second Giro d'Italia championship.[155]
Contador raced the 2011 Giro despite having an ongoing trial about his
possible use of
clenbuterol, a banned substance.[156]
On 6 February 2012 the
Court of Arbitration for Sport decided that Contador should lose his
2010 Tour de France title and his results since that race, which
included his Giro victory in May 2011, and receive a two-year ban.[157]
After Contador's conviction, runner up
Michele Scarponi was then delegated the overall victory.[158]
The
2012 Giro d'Italia saw a battle between Canadian
Ryder Hesjedal and Spaniard
Joaquim Rodríguez. Hesjedal first took the lead after finishing well
on the seventh stage that featured a summit finish to
Rocca di Cambio.[159]
Rodríguez snagged a narrow lead over Hesjedal after winning the tenth
stage into
Assisi.[160]
Hesjedal regained the lead after the mountainous fourteenth stage;[161]
however, Rodríguez took it back the next day.[162]
Rodríguez held that lead all the way to the final stage, which he came
into with a 31 second buffer over Hesjedal.[163]
Hesjedal rode and manage to finish with a time 47 seconds better than
Rodríguez, giving him the overall victory in the Giro.[164]
Classifications
A few riders from each to aim to win overall but there are three
further competitions to draw riders of all specialties: points,[13]
mountains,[13]
and a classification for young riders with general classification
aspirations.[13]
The oldest of the four classifications is the general classification.[1][13]
The leader of each aforementioned classifications wears a distinctive
jersey.[13]
If a rider leads more than one classification that awards, he wears the
jersey of the most prestigious classification.[13]
The abandoned jersey is worn by the rider who is second in the
competition.[13]
General
classification
Ryder Hesjedal, the winner of the 2012 Giro d'Italia,
wearing the maglia rosa and holding the winner's trophy in
Milan.
The most sought after classification in the Giro d'Italia is the
general classification.[1]
All of the stages are timed to the finish, after finishing the riders'
times are compounded with their previous stage times; so the rider with
the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the race.[1][13]
The leader is determined after each stage's conclusion. The leader of
the race also has the privilege to wear the race leader's pink jersey.[1][13]
The jersey is presented to the leader rider on a podium in the stage's
finishing town. If a rider is leading more than one classification that
awards a jersey, he will wear the maglia rosa since the general
classification is the most important one in the race. The lead can
change after each stage. The winner of the
2013 Giro d'Italia was
Vincenzo Nibali.
The color pink was chosen as the magazine that created the Giro,
La Gazzetta dello Sport, printed its newspapers on pink paper.[13][16]
The pink jersey was added to the race in the
1931 edition and it has since become a symbol of the Giro d'Italia.[1][16]
The first rider to wear the pink jersey was
Learco Guerra.[1][16]
Each team brings multiple pink jerseys in advance of the Giro in case
one of their riders becomes the overall leader of the race. Riders
usually try to make the extra effort to keep the jersey for as long as
possible in order to get more publicity for the team and the sponsor(s)
of the team.
Eddy Merckx has worn the pink jersey for 77 stages, which is more
than any other rider in the history of the Giro d'Italia. Three riders
have won the general classification five times in their career:
Alfredo Binda,
Fausto Coppi, and Eddy Merckx.[165]
The general classification winner was not always determined by a time
system. In the
inaugural Giro d'Italia the organizers chose to have a points system
over a system based around elapsed time after the scandal that engulfed
the
1904 Tour de France.[15]
In addition to that, the organizers chose the point system since it
would be cheaper to count the placings of the riders rather than
clocking the riders during each stage.[15]
The race leader was calculated by adding up each rider's placings in
each stage and the rider with the lowest total was the leader; if a
rider placed second in the first stage and third in the second stage, he
would have five points total. The system was modified
a year later to give the riders who placed 51st or higher in a stage
51 points and keep the point distribution system the same for the riders
who placed 1st through 50th in a stage.[19]
The calculation remained unmodified until
1912 where the organizers chose to have the race be centered around
teams, while still keeping the point system.[21]
The
next year race organizers chose to revert to the system used in
1911.[23]
In
1914, the organizers shifted to the system used nowadays, where
riders would have their finishing times for each stage totaled together
to determine the overall leader.[24]
These are the time bonuses that the riders receive for crossing the
lines in the first few positions:[166]
| Type |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
 |
Flat finish |
20" |
12" |
8" |
| |
Intermediate Sprint |
6" |
4" |
2" |
Mountains
classification
The mountains classification is the second oldest jersey awarding
classification in the Giro d'Italia. The mountains classification was
added to the Giro d'Italia in
1933 Giro d'Italia and was first won by
Alfredo Binda.[16][40]
During mountain stages of the race, points are awarded to the rider who
is first to reach the top of each significant climb.[16]
Points are also awarded for riders who closely follow the leader up each
climb.[16]
The number of points awarded varies according to the hill
classification, which is determined by the steepness and length of that
particular hill.[13][16]
The climbers' jersey is worn by the rider who, at the start of each
stage, has the largest amount of climbing points.[16]
If a rider leads two or more of the categories, the climbers' jersey is
worn by the rider in second, or third, place in that contest.[13]
At the end of the Giro, the rider holding the most climbing points wins
the classification.[13]
In fact, some riders, particularly those who are neither sprinters nor
particularly good at time-trialing, may attempt only to win this
particular competition within the race. The Giro has three categories of
mountains. They range from category 4, the easiest, to category 1, the
hardest. There is also the
Cima Coppi, the highest point reached in a particular Giro,
which is worth more points than the race's other first-category climbs.[13]
Gino Bartali has won the mountains classification a record seven times.[165]
The classification awarded no jersey to the leader until the
1974 Giro d'Italia, when the organizers decided to award a green
jersey to the lead.[16]
The green jersey was used until
2012, when the classification's sponsor,
Banca Mediolanum, renewed its sponsorship for another four years and
desired the jersey to be blue rather than green.[167]
Stefano Pirazzi won the mountains classification at the 2013 Giro
d'Italia.
The point distribution for the mountains is as follows:[166]
| Type |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
6th |
7th |
 |
Cima Coppi |
21 |
15 |
9 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
GPM Arrival |
15 |
9 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
|
First Category |
15 |
9 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
|
Second Category |
9 |
5 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
 |
Third Category |
5 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
Fourth Category |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
Points
classification
The points classification is the third oldest of the four jersey
current awarding classifications in the Giro d'Italia. It was introduced
in the
1966 Giro d'Italia and was first won by
Gianni Motta.[16][77]
Points are given to the rider who is first to reach the end of, or
determined places during, any stage of the Giro. The red jersey is worn
by the rider who at the start of each stage, has the largest amount of
points.[16]
The rider whom at the end of the Giro, holds the most points, wins the
points competition. Each stage win, regardless of the stage's
categorization, awards 25 points, second place is worth 20 points, third
16, fourth 14, fifth 12, sixth 10, and one point less per place down the
line, to a single point for fifteenth. This means that a true sprinter
might not always win the points classification. The classification was
added to draw the participation of the sprinters. The classification has
been won four times by two riders:
Francesco Moser and
Giuseppe Saronni.[165]
The
2013 winner of the classification was
Mark Cavendish.
In addition, stages can have one or more intermediate sprints: 8, 6,
4, 3, 2, 1 points are awarded to the first six cyclists passing these
lines. These points also count toward the TV classification (Traguardo
Volante, or "flying sprint"), a separate award.
The first year the points classification was used, it had no jersey
that was given to the leader of the classification. In the
1967 Giro d'Italia, the red jersey was added for the leader of the
classification.[16]
However, in
1969 the red jersey was changed to a cyclamen (purple) colored
jersey.[13][16]
It remained that color until
2010 when the organizers chose to change the jersey back to the
color red; in a return to the original color scheme for the three minor
classifications, which reflected the colors of the Italian flag.[168]
The point distribution for the sprints are as follows:[166]
| Type |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
6th |
7th |
8th |
9th |
10th |
11th |
12th |
13th |
14th |
15th |
 |
Finish/Time Trial |
25 |
20 |
16 |
14 |
12 |
10 |
9 |
8 |
7 |
6 |
5 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
| |
Intermediate sprint |
8 |
6 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Young
rider classification
The Young rider classification is restricted to the riders that are
under the age of 25.[13][169]
The leader of the classification is determined the same way as the
general classification, with the riders' times being added up after each
stage and the eligible rider with lowest aggregate time is dubbed the
leader.[13][169]
This classification was added to the Giro d'Italia in the
1976 edition, with
Alfio Vandi being the first to win the classification after placing
seventh overall.[169]
The classification was not contested between the years of 1995 and 2006.[13]
The classification was reintroduced in the
2007, and has been in each Giro since.[13][169]
The Giro d'Italia awards a white jersey to the leader of the
classification.[169]
Evgeni Berzin is the only rider in the history of the Giro d'Italia
to win the young rider classification and the general classification in
the same year; Berzin won both classifications in
1994.[169]
Two riders have won the young rider classification twice in their
respective careers:
Vladimir Poulnikov and
Pavel Tonkov.[165]
In
2013 it was won by
Carlos Betancur.
Team
classifications
There are two team classifications that are contested at the Giro
d'Italia: the
Trofeo Fast Team and the Trofeo Super Team. The Trofeo
Fast Team is the older of the two as it was introduced in the
first Giro d'Italia. It was first won by
Atala. The Trofeo Fast Team is calculate by adding the times
of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added; the
leading team was the team with the lowest total time.[13]
The classification just called the team classification in each edition
until the organizers changed it to the Trofeo Fast Team for the
1994 Giro d'Italia.
Team
Sky won the Trofeo Fast Team classification in
2013.
The Trofeo Super Team was introduced at the
1993 Giro d'Italia as the team points classification. The name
Trofeo Super Team was adopted for the 1994 edition of the Giro and
been used ever since. The classification was first won by
Ariostea in 1993. The classification is a team points
classification, with the top 20 placed riders on each stage earning
points (20 for first place, 19 for second place and so on, down to a
single point for 20th) for their team.[13]
Movistar Team won the Trofeo Super Team classification in
2013.
Minor
classifications
Other less well-known classifications, whose leaders did not receive
a special jersey, are awarded during the Giro. These awards were based
on points earned throughout the three weeks of the tour.[13]
Each mass-start stage had one intermediate sprint, the Traguardo
Volante, or T.V. The T.V. gave bonus seconds towards the general
classification, points towards the regular points classification, and
also points towards the T.V. classification. This award was known by
various names in previous years, and was previously time-based.[13]
In
2013 this classification was renamed to the sprints classification
and was won by
Rafael Andriato.
Other awards include the Combativity classification, which was a
compilation of points gained for position on crossing intermediate
sprints, mountain passes and stage finishes.[13]
It was won by
Mark Cavendish in 2013. The Azzurri d'Italia classification is based
on finishing order; however, points were only awarded for the top three
finishers in each stage.[13]
It was also most recently won by Mark Cavendish. Additionally, the
Trofeo Fuga Pinarello rewarded riders who took part in a breakaway
at the head of the field, each rider in an escape of ten or fewer riders
getting one point for each kilometre that the group stayed clear.[13]
Vini Fantini-Selle Italia's Rafael Andriato was first in this
competition in 2013. Teams were given penalty points for minor technical
infringements.[13]
Cannondale won the Fair Play classification after only accumulating
twenty points in the 2013 edition.
Defunct
classifications
In
1946 the
maglia nera (black jersey) was introduced and awarded the cyclist
who was last in the general classification.[55]
Riders sometimes deliberately wasted time in order to become last
overall and so wear the black jersey.[55]
The classification was short lived, as it was last contested in the
1951 Giro d'Italia.[55]
The classification was won twice by Luigi Malabrocca, who won the
classification in 1946 and
1947. The last winner of the maglia nera was Giovanni Pinarello.
The
intergiro classification was introduced in
1989 and first won by Yugoslavian Jure Pavlič.[16][170]
In each stage there would be a point, before the finish, where the
riders would be timed until they crossed the line.[16]
The times from each stage would then be added together for each rider to
determine the leader of the classification. The leader of the
classification was awarded a blue jersey.[171]
The classification was run each year since its addition until
2005.[170]
The last winner of the classification was
Stefano Zanini.
Fabrizio Guidi won the classification three times, the most by any
rider. Guidi won the classification in
1996,
1999, and
2000.[170]
There was also a
combination classification that was introduced in the
1985 Giro d'Italia and was first won by
Urs Freuler.[172]
The classification was discontinued after the
1988 Giro d'Italia. For the 1988 edition of the Giro, the
classification awarded a blue jersey.[173]
However, the classification was reintroduced for the
2006 Giro d'Italia and was won by
Paolo Savoldelli.[174]
The classification was not brought back in the
2007 Giro d'Italia.
Types of stages
A
stage is a unit of the race that covers a portion of the Giro
d'Italia's route in one day. Nowadays the Giro d'Italia contains either
twenty-one stages or twenty stages and a prologue, with a prologue being
an individual time trial under 8 km (5 mi) in length.[166][175]
There are three types of stages that are used in the Giro d'Italia: the
mass-start stages, individual time trials, and team time trials.[166][176]
The mass-start stages make up most of the twenty-one racing days of each
year's Giro d'Italia.[176]
Individual time trials are used at least twice per each edition of the
Giro d'Italia. The team time trials, on the other hand, are used once
per each race if they are included by the organizers.[166][176]
Italian
Mario Cipollini's 42 stage victories are the most in the history of
the Giro d'Italia, while
Alfredo Binda has the second most with 41.[177][178]
Mass-start stages
Most of the stages in the race are usually mass-start stages, with
the whole peloton starting together.[166]
Mass-start stages begin in different towns with a send off to gain
publicity, the riders ride without racing.[166]
The riders then ride a few kilometers around the stage's start town
before reaching kilometer zero, where the race director then waves a
flag to start the stage's racing.[166]
Once the flag is waved there are usually attacks by the riders to form a
breakaway.
Riders are permitted to touch, but not push or nudge, each other. The
first to cross the line wins. On flat stages or stages with low hills,
which generally predominate in the first week, this leads to spectacular
mass sprints.
All riders in a group finish in the same time as the lead rider,
which helps avoid dangerous mass sprints.[166]
It is not unusual for the entire field to finish in a group, taking time
to cross the line but being credited with the same time. When riders
fall or crash within the final 3 kilometers of a stage with a flat
finish, they are awarded the same time as the group they were in before
they crashed.[166]
This change encourages riders to sprint to the finish for points awards
without fear of losing time to the group. The final kilometer of racing
is indicated by a red banner on an arch that also reads "Arrivo."[166]
Time bonuses were awarded in the Giro for finishing high in the
stages, in the first three positions. The stage's first placed rider
receives twenty seconds, second placed twelve seconds, and the third
placed rider receives six seconds.[166]
Mountains stages
The Giro d'Italia is known for its steep and difficult climbs. Each
race features a few stages that contain many climbs of high severity.
The race traditionally passes through the
Alps and
the
Dolomites. The first Alpine pass included was the
Sestriere in
1911.[20]
The Dolomites were first included in the Giro in
1937, when the race crossed over the
Rolle Pass and the
Passo
di Costalunga.[45][46]
Some of the most famous mountains used in the Giro are the
Passo dello Stelvio,[179]
Passo Pordoi, and the
Passo di Gavia. Since
1965 the highest point in the Giro d'Italia has been dubbed the
Cima Coppi in honor of the great Italian climber
Fausto Coppi.[76]
Stages in the mountains often cause major shifts in the general
classification. On ordinary stages, most riders stay in the peloton to
the finish; however during mountain stages, it is not uncommon for
riders to lose 30 minutes or to be eliminated after finishing outside
the time limit.[166]
Individual
time trials
Riders in a time trial compete individually against the clock.[166][176]
If the first stage of the Giro is a time trial, then order is determined
by a draw to establish the team's sequence.[166]
Once the team's order is chosen, then the teams can choose the starting
order.[166]
If the incumbent winner of the Giro d'Italia is participation, he will
start last.[166]
The riders are given staggered start times between one and three
minutes.[166]
Once the first stage has been run and the general classification
standing has been established, the riders' start order is determined by
the inverse standings of the general classification, with the highest
ranked person going last and the lowest ranked person going first.[166]
The first time trial was in the
1933 Giro d'Italia; it was between Bologna and Ferrara, and
stretched 62 km (39 mi).[40]
The first time trial was won by
Alfredo Binda.[40]
The first stage in modern Giros is often a short trial, a prologue,
to decide who wears pink on the opening day. To be classified as a
prologue, the time trial must be shorter than 8 km (5 mi) in length.[175][176]
The first prologue occurred in the
1968 Giro d'Italia.[79]
The route stretched 5.7 km (4 mi) around the streets of
Campione d'Italia and was won by the Frenchman
Charly Grosskost.[79]
The riders raced the course in an unusual format, with the riders racing
in ten groups of thirteen and the time not being counted towards their
overall time.[79]
There are usually two or three time trials, with
team time trials being included in the tally, in each modern edition
of the Giro d'Italia. The final time trial has sometimes been the final
stage, more recently often the penultimate stage.
Team time trial
A team time trial (TTT) is a race against the clock in which each
team rides alone.[176]
The order for the team time trial is determined by the inversed order of
the team classification, except for the race leader's team who is always
the last to start.[166]
The teams' start times are staggered by five minutes.[166][176]
The riders work together in the team time trial by taking turns at the
front, to lift the pace and break the wind for their teammates to save
them energy.[176]
The time is that of the fifth rider of each team: riders more than a
bike-length behind their team's fifth rider are awarded their own times.[166][176]
The TTT has been criticized for favoring strong teams and handicapping
strong riders in weak teams. The most recent team time trial in the Giro
was in the
2013 edition, which was won by
Team
Sky.[180]
The team time trial has been used often in the Giro d'Italia, in fact
it has been used 20 times in the history of the Giro.[181][182]
The first team time trial occurred in the
1937 Giro d'Italia.[46]
The course was 60 km (37 mi) in length and stretched from
Viareggio to
Marina di Massa.[46][183]
The first team time trial was won by the Italian team, Legnano.[46][182][183]
Stage towns
Each stage begins and ends in a city. Most stages have different
start cities and end cities, while some stages have the same starting
and ending location. Milan has hosted the most stage starts and finishes
with 137 since the race traditionally finishes in Milan. In addition to
that, the race used to begin in Milan during the race's early existence.
Milan has
hosted the most starts and finishes for Giro d'Italia stages, with
Rome being
a close second and many towns having hosted over 25 stages.[177]
The
start and finish of the Giro
For nearly half a century, the Giro started and finished by Milan,
the city where the headquarters of the Gazzetta dello Sport were
located.[11][12]
The first time the race didn't start or finish in Milan was in
1911, where the start and finish were moved to
Rome to
celebrate the 50th anniversary of Italy's unification.[20]
With the occasional exception, the start and finish in Milan was the
standard for the Giro d'Italia. However since
1960 the place of departure has changed each year. Some years (1965,
1966, 1968, 1970, 1973, 1975, 1981–1989) the finish was also changed,
but in
1990 the traditional finish in Milan was restored.[184]
In
2009, to commemorate the
centennial of the event, the finish took place in Rome.[185][186]
The Italian capital, Rome, had already been the location of the final
stage of the
1911 and
1950 editions of the Giro d'Italia.[20][60]
The
2010 edition ended in
Verona,
as happened in the
1981 and
1984 editions.[187]
The Giro takes place mainly in Italy, but some stages have departure
or conclusion locations in other countries, especially in neighboring
countries such as San Marino, France, Monaco, Switzerland, Austria, and
Slovenia.[188][189]
Some stages have been held in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany (2002
and
2006), and Greece (1996).[188]
The 2012 edition of the Giro started in Denmark, with stages in
Herning
and
Horsens.[188][190]
Starts outside
Italy
The Giro d'Italia has started ten times outside of
Italy in
its history. The first time the race began outside Italy was in
1965 where the race started in
San
Marino.[191]
The most recent start outside Italy was in
2012 when the race started in
Denmark.[166]
The race stayed in Denmark for three stages before being transferred
onto Italian soil.[166][192]
See also