Giro d'Italia
 Stelvio Pass northern ramp, frequently visited by the Giro. | |
|---|---|
| Tour of Italy | |
| Local name | Giro d'Italia |
| Region | Italy |
| Date | May, sometimes until early June |
| Type | Stage Race (Grand Tour) |
| History | |
| First edition | 1909 |
| Number of editions | 89 (2006) |
| First winner | Luigi Ganna ( Italy) |
| Most wins | Alfredo Binda ( Italy), Fausto Coppi ( Italy) andEddy Merckx (  Belgium), (5) |
| Latest winner | Ivan Basso ( Italy) |
| Most career stage wins | Mario Cipollini ( Italy) (42) |
The Giro d'Italia, also simply known as the Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May or early June in and around Italy.
Contents |
History
The Giro was inspired by the Tour de France and, just as the French race was intended to boost circulation of L'Auto, so Emilio Camillo Costamagna, the editor of La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper, aimed to increase his circulation. The first Giro d'Italia started on May 13, 1909 at Milan with eight stages totalling 2448 kilometres. Luigi Ganna was the first winner.
Along with the Tour de France and the World Cycling Championship, the Giro d'Italia makes up the Triple Crown of Cycling. Along with the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España it is one of the three Grand Tours.
Jerseys
Whereas the overall leader of the Tour de France is awarded a yellow jersey (originally to correspond with L'Auto 's yellow pages), since 1931 the overall leader in the Giro sports the maglia rosa (pink jersey), which corresponds with La Gazzetta dello Sport 's pink newsprint. The "King of the Mountains" wears the maglia verde (green jersey). The leader of the points classification wears the maglia ciclamino (mauve jersey). The Giro d'Italia also has a daily competition called Intergiro, the leader of which is awarded the maglia azzurra (sky-blue jersey).
Italian Felice Gimondi holds the record for the most podium finishes: nine in total, consisting of three victories, two second places and four third place finishes.
Most wins
The following riders have won the most final jerseys:
Overall (maglia rosa)
- 5 wins: Alfredo Binda, Fausto Coppi, Eddy Merckx
- 3 wins: Giovanni Brunero, Gino Bartali, Fiorenzo Magni, Bernard Hinault, Felice Gimondi
King of the mountains (maglia verde)
- 7 wins: Gino Bartali
- 4 wins: José Manuel Fuente
- 3 wins: Claudio Chiappucci, Claudio Bortolotto, Franco Bitossi, Fausto Coppi
Points Competition (maglia ciclamino)
- 4 wins: Francesco Moser, Giuseppe Saronni
- 3 wins: Mario Cipollini, Roger De Vlaeminck, Johan Van der Velde
List of overall winners
See also
External links
- Giro d'Italia official website available (English,Italian,Spanish, German and French)
- Giro d'Italia daily online coverage (Italian)
- Giro d'Italia - Istria (Italian, English, German)
| Giro d'Italia |
| 1909 | 1910 | 1911 | 1912 | 1913 | 1914 | 1919 | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 | 1940 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
 Pink jersey |  Cyclamen jersey |  Green jersey | |
Categories
UCI ProTour | Cycle races | Cycle racing in Italy