Definition of Giro d'Italia

When one thinks of famous bike races, their mind instantly jumps to the Tour de France. However, their Italian neighbour also happens to have one of the three Grand Tours. The Giro d'Italia is a three-week race with a host of different classifications for the cyclists to compete for.

The race originated from a competition between two newspapers (La Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere della Sera), who were inspired by the success of the Tour de France. Eventually, La Gazzetta decided to go through with the race and raised the appropriate funds to launch the 2,448 km (1,521 mi) long journey. Italian Luigi Ganna ended as the winner of the general classification (lowest average time) and got 5325 lira as prize money.

In the modern day, the Giro d'Italia has a great many different classifications so that cyclists of all specialties can compete to win. As mentioned, the general classification is the cyclist who has the lowest average time, and they get a pink jersey. The mountains classification goes to the cyclist who can reach the top of the various mountains along the trail the quickest. There was no jersey originally, before changing to green and then blue after 2012. There are also young rider classifications (for those under 25) and team classifications, each with their own jersey and reward.

The race classically started in the home of La Gazzetta, Milan, but has since moved around. It has even started in foreign countries like San Marino, Denmark and Belgium. Now it bounces around cities who hope to get economic boons from the race.

The Giro d'Italia is one of the most famous bicycle races on the planet. Even with the temporary stoppage of top-tier cycling due to COVID, the Giro has gone ahead after an initial rescheduling once the proper safety protocols were in place.