Top 5 Giro d'Italia Stages In History

The Giro D’Italia has been infamous for drama and controversy for over 100 years. This Grand Tour cycling event draws hundreds of riders and spectators each year. We’re looking into Giro D'Italia history, and recounting the top 5 moments from previous races.

Table of Contents:

• History of the Giro D’Italia
• 5 Highlights of the Giro D’Italia

History of the Giro D’Italia

The Giro D’Italia, is a professional cycling race that started in 1909, takes place across Italy. The Giro comprises multiple stages ranging in difficulty, set across a number of regions of Italy throughout the race, with the route changing each year. The Giro D’Italia is one of 3 major races known as a Grand Tour, the other two being the Tour de France and Vuelta a España.

This year’s race is exploring the regions of Abruzzo, Campania, Marche, Lombardy, Trentino-South Tyrol, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, and Lazio. The final stage of the 2023 race is ending with a circuit race around Rome. Usually, the Grand Tours are held between May and September during the “cycling season”. The 2023 Giro D’Italia is taking place from the 6th - 28th May this year.

5 Highlights of Giro D’Italia History

The Giro is guaranteed to be packed full of excitement every year. We’ve picked 5 of the most iconic stages in its history to look back on.

1. Andy Hampsten’s Snowy March to Giro Victory 1988

The Day the Hardmen Cried: Stage 14 of the 1988 Giro D’Italia was no ordinary day. Featuring the mighty 20km-long Passo Di Gavia and a brutal snowstorm, it goes down in history as a seismic race.

American Andy Hampsten, riding for 7-Eleven, had his eye on the Maglia Rosa (pink jersey) and with it a steely determination to win. As he launched an attack on the lower slopes of the Gavia, he was followed by just one rider; Dutchman Erik Breukink. Battling blizzard conditions the pair rode on towards the summit, ice forming sheets on their backs and shins.

Behind them the Giro was in turmoil, riders were found crying at the roadside, and others climbed into team cars refusing to ride on. But Breukink and Hampsten – wearing his now famous signature ski hat and white Oakleys – were seemingly immune, riding hard to the finish in Bormio.

Though the Dutchman took the stage, Hampsten took the leader’s pink jersey, which he held all the way to the finish at Vittorio Veneto, where he walked into the Giro’s hall of fame.

2. Skulduggery on the Stelvio: Coppi & Koblet 1953

Fausto Coppi and Hugo Koblet were good friends, until the 1953 Giro after which they never spoke again. At the start of the penultimate stage, Italy’s Il Campionissimo was trailing the Swiss Pédaleur de Charme by almost two minutes.

Coppi was all but beaten and had already congratulated his rival on his race-winning performance. The stage passed over the mighty Passo dello Stelvio and at the start the pair made a deal – they wouldn't attack each other on the mountain.

However, as the gradient began to climb, Coppi powered away, leaving Koblet furious in his wake. The Italian put nearly three-and-a-half minutes into the Swiss rider, soloing over the Stelvio to take the stage and steal the overall race lead.

3. The Enduring Battle of Coppi & Bartali 1949

The Giro’s Golden Age: The rivalry between teammates and fellow Italians Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali is the stuff of legend. Bartali, nicknamed Gino the Pious and flamboyant Coppi, Fausto the Sinner, rarely saw eye to eye.

At 254 kms in length, the huge 17th stage of the 1949 Giro D’Italia was a monster and it remains one of the most famous rides in the race’s history. It was also the scene of one of Coppi and Bartali’s most memorable clashes.

This day of the Giro featured five major climbs, including the Col d'Izoard and the high east-west pass to the ski station of Montgenèvre. Coppi attacked on the first climb - Colle della Maddalena - staging a solo breakaway that would last 118 miles (190km) and that would put him in the pink jersey. Bartali, so furious with his team mate, chased him all the way, finishing just 12 minutes behind.

4. Pantani Rides Skyward 1999

Marco Pantani was undoubtedly the most thrilling climber of cycling's modern era, and despite his tragic death, his legend lives on. The 1999 Giro was a climbers’ race. Stage 15 ended on the mountain-top at Oropa after 160 km, but from the get go, Pantani (nicknamed “Il Pirata”) had a plan.

At the base of the main 10 km-long climb, Il Pirata unexpectedly slipped off the back of the main group with a mechanical. He lost nearly 30 seconds but wasn’t fazed; Pantani fixed the problem and calmly rode back to the group.

Catching Ivan Gotti first, around halfway up the climb, he flew skyward cutting a ruthless path through the riders ahead of him. Roberto Heras, Nicola Miceli and Laurent Jalabert. Jalabert said after the race, “If I hadn’t got out of the way, he’d have ridden right over me”. Pantani won the Giro D’Italia by 21 seconds, having destroyed his rivals both physically and mentally.

5. Cadel Evans Wins on the Strade Bianchi 2010

A Muddy Day in Hell: Not even a landslide would stop Australian Cadel Evans from taking victory in stage 7 of the 2010 Giro. Driving rain had turned the stage’s iconic gravel roads into a slippery race track and within a couple of minutes the riders were caked in mud.

Riding at a furious pace, the attacks and counter attacks kept coming but it was former mountain biker Evans, who called on his old off-road skills to win the seventh Giro stage. Coming into the finish Evans took a gamble and chanced his luck by leading out the sprint and betting that no one would be able to come around him.

He was right. Evans crossed the line in Montalcino after five hours’ racing, victorious with the rainbow stripes of his white world champion’s jersey obscured by dirt, but just one minute down on the Maglia Rosa.

Ride the Giro from Home

Experience the thrills of the Giro D’Italia from your home with an indoor bike trainer. You can train for the different stages of the Giro D’Italia, by completing climbing, sprinting, or endurance workouts on your Wattbike Atom smart bike.