From 1 to 21: the best Giro d'Italia stages in cycling history

Greetings cycling fans, can you believe we're now just a couple of days away from the Grande Partenza of another Giro d'Italia? The first men's Grand Tour of 2025 will kick off in Albania on Friday and we await three weeks of full gas racing, excitement, tension and storylines.

It's a race that has known more than its fair share of thrilling outcomes through its 108 year history. In a feature produced for 2024's Il Giro Sette magazine for the site, Mathieu Fraisse took us on a journey down memory lane, revisiting his pick of the top stages in Giro history, by number. One great stage, one unforgettable story, for each of the stage numbers, 1 to 21. To whet the appetite for what lies ahead, I've brought all these snapshots from across the years together, to create one almighty Giro for the ages.

Grab a drink, put your feet up, and enjoy this trip down into the Giro's illustrious past - I hope you enjoy the collection.

Thanks for reading - Katy.

Stage 1 | 2022 : Budapest - Visegrád (195km)

Every Giro should start with a bang, right? 

Let’s start this series with a throwback to not-so-long-ago: 2022. Hungary hosted the Grande Partenza in Budapest and the set for our first iconic win: Visegrád Royal Castle. An ascent of 5 kilometres at 5%, perfect ingredients for a puncheur-fest! 

Death, taxes and a Bais brother in the break. Pretty basic Giro stage action you would say, but the passion of Hungarian fans and the final ascent really made this one iconic and worth the wait. I promised you a bang, and here it comes!

Caleb Ewan’s train eventually caught the break; this type of finish really could suit the Pocket Rocket. Lawrence Naesen lit the first firework, quickly followed by Lennard Kämna with 2.5kms to go. The speed was too fast and this final ascent too hard for pure sprinters, like Cav, Démare or Dainese. 

Kämna was caught by the bunch under the Flamme Rouge. Ulissi, Villella, Cort Nielsen? Caleb Ewan had also survived! But look! On the right side of the road! 

IT’S A BIRD? IT’S A PLANE? No, it’s Mathieu van der Poel! A trademark combination of power and speed from the Flying Dutchman who takes the win on his Giro d’Italia debut. To top it off, Biniam Girmay takes second place on his first ever Grand Tour start! 

Stage 2 | 1968 : Campione d’Italia - Novara (129km)

The winner takes it all

This stage was won by a 23-year old Belgian you might have heard of: Eddy Merckx.

There is nothing iconic at all about the stage in itself, besides Merckx winning it, but from a historical point of view, it is iconic on so many levels.

Giro 1968 was the second time Eddy Merckx took on the race, having previously finished 9th and won 2 stages in 1967 on his Grand Tour debut (and Anquetil Giro farewell). Despite his young age, he had already won a number of one-day races but never a Grand Tour.

Funnily enough, this stage started in… Campione d’Italia! An omen? After winning this stage, Merckx went on to claim his first ever maglia rosa. He eventually wore it 76 more times during his career and won the Giro 5 times – a record!

Giro 1968 was really Merckx's first Grand Tour masterpiece. Not content with only winning the Giro and its iconic maglia rosa, he also claimed maglia azzurra (King of the Mountains) and ciclamino (sprints), really living it up to his nickname ‘The Cannibal’.

Back in 1968, this stage was just the win of a very talented young Belgian rider on his way to win his first Grand Tour ever. The rest… Well the rest is history!

Stage 3 | 2010 : Amsterdam - Middleburg (224km)

Wouter Weylandt, a tribute

This stage had echelons.

Evans, Cunego and Sastre lost 46 seconds. Wiggins lost 4 minutes. Simoni and Pozzovivo lost 8 minutes. Vinokourov took maglia rosa. And Wouter Weylandt won the sprint.

Stage 3 of 2010 Giro was the last World Tour win of Wouter before tragically passing away in the same race, a year later. He was only 26.

Sometimes, it’s not just about cycling anymore. It’s bigger than just a bunch of guys riding a bicycle for 200+ kilometres and who wins at the end. It’s about remembering people, how they impacted this sport and their stories. That’s what makes the beauty, and tragedy, of the sport we all love. 

Gone but not forgotten. Giro bib 108 for ever. Wouter Weylandt ❤️

Stage 4 | 2007 : Salerne - Montevergine di Mercogliano (159km)

There’s a new cool kid in town!

Di Luca, Mazzoleni, Simoni, Cunego, Ricco, Bruseghin… La crème de la crème of Italian climbers is at the start of this 2007 Giro. 

And since 1997, Italians couldn’t be prouder of their local talents’ performances at their home Grand Tour: Il Giro is always won by an Italian rider! And if you’re tired of this Italian dominance, sorry to disappoint you but this year won’t be different as Di Luca eventually won the Maglia Rosa in Milan. 

But the main story is somewhere else. Stage 4 of 2007 Giro is iconic because it is the breakout race of a 22-year-old Luxembourgish rider who eventually went on to win the 2010 Tour de France and the 2009 Liège-Bastogne-Liège: Andy Schleck. 

While Italians were expecting a local battle between the names I previously mentioned, they were not expecting a lanky rider from CSC to join the fun on the slopes of Montevergine, even after an 8th place at Tour de Romandie earlier in the month.

After impressing everyone on this first mountain finish and while Italian riders were distributing stage wins between them (from the 9^th to the 17^th stage), Schleck never backed down and  eventually ended up 2nd of this Giro 2010, on his Grand Tour debut, winning the Maglia Blanca (best young rider)! The birth of a legend.

Stage 5 | 2015 : La Spezia – Abetone (152km)

Slovenian love story with the Giro

The first mountain finish in this Giro 2015. After 16 kilometres, the breakaway of the day was clear: Sylvain Chavanel, Silvan Dillier, Axel Domont, Serghei Tvetcov and Jan Polanc. They still had 5 minutes over the bunch before the last ascent of the day leading to Abetone. Would this be enough to hold back the GC contenders?

Chavanel launched the first attack but with 8 kilometres to go, Jan Polanc dealt the death blow to his breakaway companions. Undoubtedly the best climber of these 5, the Slovenian held back the return of the GC contenders, led by Astana, to claim his first professional victory. 

Why is it iconic? Polanc's relationship with the Giro is quite special. After claiming his first pro victory here, the Slovenian won again 2 years later, this time on the Etna slopes, in the same fashion: joining the breakaway and holding back the GC contenders. 2 years later (again!), he would even wear Maglia Rosa for 2 days!

Behind Polanc, this stage was the first battle among the favourites with Contador attacking with 5 kilometres to go and establishing dominance. Only Aru and Porte were able to follow that day. The Spaniard would go on to claim Maglia Rosa and wear it for the rest of this Giro, except for one day. 

Stage 5 was also the first act of Contador versus Astana during this Giro. The Kazakh team battled fiercely against Contador, led by Italian rider Fabio Aru who would eventually go on to win La Vuelta later that year, and his teammate and lieutenant Mikel Landa who had his breakthrough Grand Tour. Landistas will remember!

Stage 6 | 2004 : Spolète - Valmontone (164km)

“I am inevitable”

No, Thanos didn’t actually race the 2004 Giro but Petacchi did. And back in 2004, it would probably have taken a whole Avengers team to prevent the Italian sprinter from winning at the Giro!

During this edition, Ale-Jet went on to win stages 1, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15 and 20… Let me catch my breath… Yup, you read that correctly… 9 stage wins! It is obviously a Giro record.

Almost half of the 2004 Giro stages were in the bag for Petacchi, once in every two days you saw him on the victory podium. That’s a lot of fluffy toys. Only Robbie McEwen was able to contest Petacchi’s supremacy by winning one flat stage (5). And Petacchi didn’t even take part in this sprint. Crumbs. 

So why pick stage 6 among these nine? Because… Because… DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD IT IS TO PICK AN ICONIC STAGE 6? 😏 In the end, it’s just a sprint win among others, one among 48 others in Grand Tours for Petacchi, but it’s part of an historical feat that needed to be included in this iconic Giro series. Nothing less, nothing more!

Additionally to his nine stage wins, Petacchi would eventually also claim the Maglia Ciclamino awarded for winning the points classification, with a quite comfortable margin (YOU DON’T SAY!?), but also the most combative classification AND the Azzuri d’Italia classification for most points awarded to the top three finishers in each stage. That's a lot of honours for Petacchi, I hope he came to the Giro in a van (or with a huge backpack)!

Stage 7 | 2010: Carrare - Montalcino (222km)

Strade, muddy Strade

Among riders, experts and organizers, this is widely considered as one of the most demanding stages ever raced in the history of the Giro. A combination of terrible weather, unpaved white roads – the same ones seen at Strade Bianche – slopes over 10% and a fierce GC battle made it one of the most iconic stages of the Italian Grand Tour.

After roughly an hour of racing, the rain started to fall on the roads of Tuscany. You don't have to be an expert to solve a simple equation: rain + unpaved white roads = mud. And as if racing in mud wasn’t fun enough for the riders, let’s add the Poggio Civitella, a 12-kilometre climb with slopes over 10%. You probably already saw these iconic pictures of riders covered in mud and you definitely can’t tell which rider is from which team. Seven riders eventually got through this terrible last ascent: Vinokourov, Arroyo, Pinotti, Gadret, Garzelli, Evans and Cunego.

In this complete mayhem, two men were standing out: Vinokourov and Evans. Clearly the strongest riders from what was left of the favourites, unphased by the weather conditions they were going at each other on the Poggio Civitella. Are they really humans? I was just watching the race on TV and all I wanted was a nice hot cup of tea and a blanket. Them? Full gas in the mud and rain. 

But every race unfortunately only has one winner. And to make this stage even more iconic, who else but a World Champion to win it? With a loooong uphill sprint, Cadel Evans and his muddy rainbow stripes kit eventually took the stage in Montalcino, in front of Cunego and Vinokourov, the latter claiming Maglia Rosa. 

The Australian showcased his elite mountain biking skills in the Poggio Civitella. Mud and rain seemed like nothing to the World Champion. A savvy ride from Evans, his MTB background helped him to save energy in the trickier parts of this stage and he was clearly the strongest on the 700-metre ascent to the finish line. A rainbow through the rain and mud: a rare phenomenon! What do you call this? Oh yeah… iconic!

Stage 8 | 1928: Roma - Pistoia (323km)

The Italian Bros (but it’s not Mario & Luigi)

We’re going way back in time for this one. Almost a century ago, in 1928, to talk about one of the first road cycling legends: Alfredo Binda.

Binda is 26 years old and has already won two Giri and three Lombardia. But most importantly, he recently became the first professional road racing World Champion. It’s fair to say that Binda is a cycling superstar entering this 1928 Giro. 

Binda truly has no competition when healthy, and would eventually easily go on to win his third Giro, winning half of this edition's 12 stages. And the Piemontese rider, Domenico Piemontesi won 5 stages for himself. If you didn’t skip mathematics classes, you easily guessed that 6+5 = 11. Only one stage was won by another rider. And this is the story of this 8th stage.

And this stage was won by Binda. “BUT YOU SAID THE STAGE WAS WON BY ANOTHER RIDER?!”. Yes, yes it was! The 8th stage of the 1928 Giro was won by Albino Binda, Alfredo's younger brother. But the stage wouldn’t be iconic enough if Alfredo wouldn’t have finished 2nd, making this a unique family podium in Pistoia.

To top it off, the Binda Bros both finished in the Top 10 with Albino taking 8th spot in Milan. And this Giro had 298 starters (!) and 126 finishers. So 7 stages win, the overall win and two spots in the top 10 between the two brothers, the Binda family is REALLY good at this cycling thing! Binda Bros > Mario Bros 😏

Stage 9 | Giro 2017 : Montenero di Bisaccia – Blockhaus (149km)

Nairo, Dumo, Vincenzo or TiboPino?

The first mountain finish happened 5 days earlier at the Etna, on stage 4 where Jan Polanc won, but there was no GC battle, all favourites neutralizing themselves on the last ascent and all finishing in the same group. on the morning of stage 9, the Maglia Rosa is worn by Bob Jungels with all favourites 10 seconds behind him.

On this second mountain summit finish of 2017 Giro, one of the favourites could really make a statement by winning on top of the Blockhaus (13,6km at almost 9%). A battle for pink is expected after stage 4 anti-climax.

12 riders in the breakaway of the day, among them Tratnik, Pedersen, Rolland or LL Sanchez, but GC teams never left them with more than a 3’ gap. Movistar led the bunch for most of the stage, Quintana must have high ambitions today, this GC battle is happening!

The Blockhaus ascent quickly turned into a nightmare for Team Sky as Thomas and Landa were involved in a huge crash caused by a motorbike. The team lost all hopes to win the Giro here. Yates from GreenEdge is also down.

With 8km to go, Jungels lost contact with the front group. There will be a new Maglia Rosa tonight! With 6km to go, Quintana launched the first attack among the favourites. Nibali and Pinot were able to follow this one. The gradients were reaching double-digits as the Colombian attacked for the 4th time, he was on fire! This time Pinot and The Shark couldn’t follow, while Dumoulin and Mollema were clawing their way back.

A great savvy ride from Dumoulin who wasn’t able to follow Quintana’s first attack but found his rhythm during this Blockhaus ascent. On the contrary, Nibali is paying for his efforts and starts losing the wheel of Pinot and Dumoulin.

Quintana is now well clear of the Dutch and the French. Another kick off the saddle from the Movistar climber, who went on to win this iconic stage 9 of 2017 Giro. Pinot took 2nd place and Dumoulin 3rd, 24 seconds back. Mollema 4th with a 40” gap and Nibali 5th, 59” after Quintana. 

Real statements from the Movistar team and Nairo Quintana, they showed their ambitions during the whole stage and delivered. Quintana is the new Maglia Rosa. The Colombian would eventually lose it to Tom Dumoulin after the rest day.

An epic battle between these two until the very last stage of the 2017 Giro, with TiboPino and the Shark of Messina joining the fun to spice things up a bit more. Quintana had reclaimed the Maglia Rosa after the 19th stage, even gaining more time during stage 20. Before the last stage, Quintana had a 53” gap over Dumoulin. The Dutch rider eventually won the Giro after the final Time Trial in Milan, finishing 2nd with and winning the Giro by 31” over Quintana. Heartbreak for all Nairo’s fans but pure joy for the Butterfly of Maastricht aficionados! 

Stage 10 | 2023 : Scandiano – Viareggio (196km)

Grand Tour Trilogy completed!

Shocker at the start of this stage! Remco Evenepoel, the Maglia Rosa and one of the main favourites for the overall Giro win, is forced to withdraw due to a positive Covid-19 test during the rest day. 

The Belgian had just reclaimed Maglia Rosa from Andreas Leknessund after the final stage of the first week, a Time Trial between Savignano sul Rubicone and Cesena. He had a 45+ seconds gap over his main rivals Geraint Thomas and Primož Roglič. But the race never stops and we’re back to racing with Geraint Thomas inheriting the lead and its legendary Maglia Rosa. 

If you asked me “what’s an iconic breakaway?”, I would probably include the four guys that took part in this Stage 10 breakaway: Magnus Cort Nielsen (EF), Alessandro De Marchi (Team Jayco-AlUla), one of the Bais bros, namely Davide (Eolo-Kometa) and the hero of 2023 Giro: Derek Gee (Israel Premier Tech). Could it get any better?

These four stuck together until Passo delle Radici where Davide Bais’ work was done after taking KOM points. The gap was reducing but Cort, Gee and De Marchi were not looking back. And rain started to fall on Tuscan roads. Luckily, we were not racing on Strade Bianche roads today.

Multiple crashes forced the peloton to take a more cautious approach in the chase of the three breakaway companions. Cort, Gee and De Marchi benefitted from this abysmal weather, and they still had 40 seconds under the 5-kilometre banner. That should be enough to fight for the win!

Cort Nielsen is obviously the fastest, Gee knows it, De Marchi knows it.
Unfortunately, Alessandro didn’t have the legs today and couldn’t launch an attack, but Derek Gee still had some left in the tank and tried to run out on his companions under the flamme rouge! 

But that was not enough to distance Cort Nielsen who came back on Gee’s wheels, to eventually go past him and to claim his first Giro stage and complete the Grand Tour tryptic : winning a stage at all three Grand Tours! Already a fan favourite, it was pure joy from cycling lovers to see Magnus win this one.

We were heartbroken for Derek Gee though, who had already finished 2nd on stage 8. He would eventually go on to finish 2nd twice more during this Giro with more than 900km in the breakaway, earning him the combativity award of this 2023 edition and the hearts of all cycling fans. 

This stage didn’t decide the outcome of the Giro, that’s for sure. But all the characters involved and side quests completed during this stage really made it one to remember! And I’m sure you still do today.

Stage 11 | 1977: Forlì - Mugello (103km)

Speedy Freddy

Disclaimer: if you’re a cycling purist, you’ll probably say that this stage was actually stage 8a of the 1977 Giro. But technically, it was the 11th time riders were racing. So we’ll take that!

Stage 11 was the last stage won by Freddy Maertens in this 1977 Giro edition. Stage 11… Last win… Okay, he was an excellent overall rider so he may have won like two or three stages, right? Stage 11 was the 7th win of Freddy Martens in this 1977 Giro. Yup, seven stages won of 11 stages completed. Pretty impressive right?

Even more impressive, Freddy Maertens was no stranger to such feats. Having won eight stages at the Tour de France the year before, he would eventually go on to win 13 (THIRTEEN!) stages at La Vuelta later in the year. To top it off, he would win the GC, leading the race its entirety and never finish outside the top 8 in every stage (except for the 14th). Save some for the others, Freddy!

After such a demonstration, Maertens’ goal was to win the Giro. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to do so and maintain his winning streak due to a broken wrist sustained during a severe crash on stage 12. Maertens was such an important rider that after his abandon, his team, Flandria, thought about going home! Purely and simple: no leader, no race! 

Maertens persuaded them to keep racing even without him. And Maertens had good intuition: his leadout man, Marc Demeyer, went on to win two stages but most importantly, Michel Pollentier, his second leadout and mountain lieutenant, eventually won the Giro! Everything happens for a reason it seems, and sometimes it’s for the best!

On paper, this stage was just another sprint win for Freddy Maertens, but in the end it is part of an incredible winning streak and the start of a Cinderella story for one of his teammates, Michel Pollentier. So, pretty iconic right? 

Stage 12 | 1967 : Caserta - Blockhaus (206km)

A day of firsts

1967, the Giro d’Italia’s 50th anniversary. May 31st. The Giro d’Italia peloton is getting ready to tackle a mythical mountain for the first time: the Blockhaus. Considered for a long time as an impregnable eagle’s nest in the heart of the Abruzzo region, it is now part of the legend of the Giro.

Local fan favourite, Vito Taccone, launched the first attack among the favourites with 50 kilometres to go. Unfortunately for the “Abruzzo chamois”, weather conditions worsened and it became too hard for a lone rider to keep pushing on the terrible slopes of the Blockhaus. Taccone quickly ran out of gas not long after the start of the last ascent.

What was left of the peloton eventually caught him with 13 kilometres to go. Among them, the Maglia Rosa Perez Francés, Anquetil, Motta, Gimondi, Adorni, Schiavon and Zilioli. It was only stage 12 and the Blockhaus had never been scaled before. With a lot of unknowns, the favourites marked each other for most of the ascent. 

With the finish line almost in sight, the aptly named Italo Zilioli launched the first attack, accompanied by Schiavon. They thought if they made that extra effort, they could battle each other for the win. But a 22-year old rider would eventually fly past them to claim his first ever Giro win on his first ever Grand Tour start.

This young rider from Belgium would win another stage two days later and finish 9th overall in Milan. Yeah, you already probably guessed it… Stage 12 of 1967 Giro d’Italia was the birth of the Eddy Merckx legend at Grand Tours.

A day of firsts, but also a Giro of lasts. Giro 1967 was Jacques Anquetil’s last ever Grand Tour. After five Tour de France wins, two Giri and one Vuelta, “Maître Jacques” decided to bring his GT career to an end after a sour ending to this 1967 Giro. Anquetil felt this Giro was robbed from him by Gimondi, who dealt the final blow thanks to a car who propelled him to the win on the penultimate stage. Anquetil then suffered from depression. He would still go on to race for two more seasons, but without taking part in any Grand Tours. He retired in 1969.

Stage 13 | 2001 : Montebelluna - Passo Pordoi (225km) and 2002 : Chieti - San Giacomo (155km) 

From Tlaxcala to Maglia Azurra

Isaac del Toro recently put Mexico back on the cycling map. While the young UAE prospect has a promising future, let’s rewind it back a bit on Mexico cycling history. 

If you’re over 40 or very passionate about cycling history, you probably remember Raúl Alcalá, the first Mexican rider to race the Tour de France, winning 2 stages and finishing 5 times in a Grand Tour top 10. He also won the Mexico Time Trial Championship in 2010. At 46 years old.

But there is one rider the Giro streets won’t forget: Julio Alberto Pérez Cuapio. His name probably doesn’t ring a bell, but let me tell you the story of this legendary Giro rider.

Julio is the archetype of the ‘00s South American climber: poor descender, irregular, but also capable of fireworks on a good day. Luckily for him (and for us), most of his good days were at the Giro d’Italia and two of them were on stage 13 of the Italian Grand Tour, in 2001 and 2002! 13 is a lucky number for him, it seems.

In 2001, with Passo Rolle, Passo Fedaia and a finish on top of Passo Pordoi on the menu, the Mexican rider won a Dantesque stage after more than 7 hours on the bike. He was fast and he was furious, no one could compete with Julio that day, except Gilberto Simoni, the final winner of the 2001 Giro who took Maglia Rosa after this stage. Not bad company, eh?

The next year, Julio was back at the Giro in the iconic orange kit from the Panaria team. In a hilly stage finishing in San Giacomo, the Mexican countered Cadel Evans' attack in the final kilometres to take the second Giro win of his career. 

Last but not least, Julio would eventually win another stage, three days later, once again featuring Passo Fedaia and Passo Pordoi, in tremendous fashion. Not a fan of early breakaways, he decided to ride aggressively in the GC contenders’ group with 50 kilometres to go. Imposing a high tempo, none of them could follow. Julio won the stage and took the King of the Mountains jersey, which he would keep until the finish in MIlan.

But it is perhaps Julio’s last feat of arms at the Giro that best emphasises the rider he was. On Stage 17 of the 2006 Giro, driving rain is falling on the Dolomites and the Passo Furcia. Julio, 58th on General Classification and for no apparent reason, decided to go to the front of the peloton and pace hard. 

So hard that, as kilometres went by, all the main favourites were dropped by the Mexican climber: Savoldelli, Pellizotti, Simoni, Piepoli, Gadret… Only Basso resisted in some way. Pérez Cuapio eventually ran out of gas and was distanced in the last kilometres of the ascent but this daring Mexican climber in a neon orange raincoat definitely lit up the stage!

All for fun and the love of this sport, that was Julio Alberto Pérez Cuapio!

Stage 14 | 1988: Chiesa in Valmalenco – Bormio (120km)

Riders on the storm

If there was an award for most legendary Giro stage this one would probably win it. It was June 1988 but felt like March 1930. This is a story you might have heard or read a hundred times, but it’s so iconic it’s worth telling one more time. This was the Giro 1988 stage 14 mayhem.

Riders awoke to a thick blizzard in Chiesa in Valmalenco. With the start approaching, weather was deteriorating and rumours of heavy snowfalls on top of the Gavia started to spread. Giro’s race technical director, and former winner, Francesco Moser advised to cancel the stage but Vincenzo Torriani, the race director, ultimately had the last word: “The show should go on and the riders should suffer through.” Alright, boss.

Anyway the stage started, with buckets of cold rain falling, and we were just 200m above sea-level, you could easily imagine how it would have looked 2400+ meters higher with temperatures lowering. But roads are rideable, so Torriani didn’t mind. The pace was… Gruppetto-like. After the Aprica, riders were negotiating amongst themselves over whether or not they should race the Gavia. Andy Hampsten and the 7-Eleven team convinced the peloton to keep on racing despite the weather conditions.

And for a reason. The team from Colorado is undoubtedly the most prepared team for this type of weather. Their directeur sportif, Mike Neel, sent their soigneurs to the nearest ski shop: wool hats, neoprene gloves, lanolin wax, ski masks, neck and leg warmers… 

Hot drinks were also packed in their cars. It was kind of logical you might say, but oddly 7-Eleven was the only team to do so. Also, their leader, Andy Hampsten, is 5th on GC before the stage. From North Dakota and used to racing in this kind of demanding weather, this stage, with 16% slopes, suited his climbing strengths. He knew he could overthrow the Giro.

It was assumed by most that whoever arrived first on top of the Gavia should win the stage. So Dutch rider Johan van der Welde tried his luck alone, and luck is what he would need. Behind him, Hampsten attacked and blew the favourites group up. Only the best survived: Choccioli, Breukink, Bernard and Zimmerman were holding up the wheel of the American. Unpaved roads, snow, mud… And now a snowstorm! It’s total mayhem, riders are everywhere. But the worst part is yet to come.

In short sleeves and shorts, an amazing ride from van der Welde who actually reached the summit first. But the finish line is at the bottom of the Gavia. The temperature is below 0 degrees. Van der Welde is only handed a rain jacket and a race cap and sent into the descent… He was so freaked out, he started then turned around and went back to his team car! 

Hampsten was second up the Gavia, where his team car was waiting with hot beverages, dry clothes and equipment for a terrible descent. Again, 7-Eleven was the only team to do this. This small “break” allowed Breukink to catch him a few seconds later. These two head down the descent in a thick blizzard; they can’t see more than 50 metres ahead. Hampsten’s gears have frozen and he’s stuck with the 53x14. Both have ice on their shins! Unreal. At this point they’re just pedalling to keep themselves warm and finish this damned race.

Hampsten eventually slowed down with 8km to go, not even taking off his rain jacket as the snow started to stop, allowing Breukink to open a 7-second gap he would eventually keep until the end to win the stage. But it was more about finishing as fast as possible than celebrating a win. No time cut-offs for all the riders finishing this day, obviously. They all went down as legends of the Giro!

Remember Van der Welde, the first rider up the Gavia? He finished 45 minutes later! Also a special nod to Danish rider Jesper Worre as it was his birthday. He finished 40 minutes down, but celebrated with hands in the air nonetheless. One hell of a birthday!

Stage 15 | 1999: Racconigi - Oropa (143km)

Il Pirata dell’Oropa

Marco Pantani just claimed the Maglia Rosa from Laurent Jalabert, the day before in Borgo San Dalmazzo. Riders are tackling the Oropa to finish stage 15 of this 1999 Giro and Pantani is looking to definitely assert dominance on this edition. 

If we just look at numbers, the Oropa is not THAT iconic before the stage: 11.7km at 6.7%, a Giro climb among many others. But with this stage, the Oropa would go down in history as a legendary climb.

Nothing much to say about the stage before the Oropa though. But it was worth the wait. As the main group started the climb, Pantani had a mechanical incident! He was quickly helped by a neutral mechanic but lost 45 seconds on his rivals. 

Jalabert, Gotti, Savoldelli and Simoni, to name a few, realised the Maglia Rosa was not in the front group anymore and jumped on the occasion to make the stage harder, while Pantani’s team, Mercatone Uno, stopped to wait for his leader. Despite the incident, Pantani kept a clear head and didn’t panic even with his rivals up the road, letting his teammates set him up for one hell of a comeback.

In less than 6 kilometres, Il Pirata caught and flew past 48 riders! Only French Champion Laurent Jalabert was still up the road. Was the road really going up for Pantani? Il Pirata is out of the saddle and flying up the mountain! Jalabert keeps on looking over his shoulder wondering: “what is this pink rocket coming at me?”

With 3 kilometres to go, Pantani eventually caught Jalabert and attacked him straight after! The outcome is certain now: Pantani is clearly the strongest of this Giro. Il Pirata went on to win this stage with a 21-second gap over Jalabert and over 35 seconds on Simoni and Gotti.

Crossing the finishing line, Pantani didn’t even celebrate: “I thought I hadn’t caught them all”. Yes you did Marco, in tremendous fashion.

Stage 16 | 2014: Ponte di Legno – Val Martello (136km)

It was all a big misunderstanding!

Ponte di Legno, Lombardia, the morning after the Giro 2014’s final rest day. Rigoberto Uran is wearing Maglia Rosa. He claimed it five days ago by winning the Barolo time trial and has a one-minute gap over Cadel Evans, second on the podium, and almost two minutes over Rafal Majka, in third.

Riders are ready to tackle the last week of this Giro, and with a big one: the Queen Stage. On the menu today? Gavia, Stelvio and to top things off, a final climb of 22.3km with slopes approaching 14%: Val Martello. Your legs are hurting just by looking at the stage profile.

It’s raining in Ponte di Legno and possibly snowing up there as the temperatures are quite low, riders are in for an epic day on the bike. The visibility is becoming worse as the peloton is climbing the Gavia. Snow is starting to appear on the side of the roads as some riders are trying to attack, while the rain keeps on falling.

We finally have a breakaway! On the Stelvio, Vuillermoz, Cataldo and Pellizotti are up front with almost three minutes on the main peloton. They are joined by seven more riders on the ascent. As we are approaching the top, the peloton is clawing back the breakaway but the weather conditions are still worsening. Rumours on race radio: the  stage might be neutralised on the descent.

Cataldo attacked at the front, taking the Giro Cima Coppi! Race organizers apparently announced a car will help set the pace on the descent due to weather conditions, but it didn’t look like it at all! A small group took advantage of the confusion. Quintana, Rolland and Hesjedal attacked in the descent, quickly increasing their advantage to almost two minutes before tackling the last climb.

Omega and Astana are leading the chase for Uran and Aru when the rain stops. Quintana attacks with 18km to go, followed by Pierre Rolland. They eventually caught Cataldo and Quintana took this matters into his own hand. He doesn’t care who’s with him; eyes are only on the finish line now.

Quintana is definitely the strongest that day, as the gap over the main favourites is quickly increasing. Hesjedal is the only one left in his wheel as they are entering the last two kilometres with over three minutes on Uran, Aru and Majka. Evans is a little bit further back, suffering on the 14% slopes.

It was Nairoman against everyone else on the Val Martello slopes! The Colombian took the stage while Hesjedal came in second and a completely dehydrated Rolland finished third. Most of the GC contenders lost around four minutes on the day. After claiming Maglia Rosa, Quintana would eventually go on to win the overall classification a few days later.

This stage remains a very controversial one in Giro history. A large number of Directeur Sportifs were legitimately furious towards the race organisers after the stage. Their lack of communication, ultimately leading to confusion and Quintana’s fatal blow, probably cost their riders a large amount of time and their hopes to win the 2014 Giro.

Stage 17 | 2021: Canazei – Sega di Ala (193km)

Domestique deluxe saves the day!

After the Giro 2019’s final rest day, third-week action is upon us! Egan Bernal is sitting in the leaders’ chair, having a two-and-a-half-minute gap over his main rival, local rider Damiano Caruso, and more than three minutes over the rest of the GC contenders like Carthy, S. Yates, Vlasov, Bardet and Almeida.

Two main ascents are on the menu: the Passo de San Valentino and a mountain top finish at Sega di Ala: around 11 kilometres at 10%, with slopes over 15%. Will all the GC contenders be rested enough? Gaps are still narrow, every metre counts. Giro third-weeks are brutal, they take no prisoners.

Around 20 riders went in this stage’s breakaway, with the best-placed rider on GC being Dan Martin at 16th, seven minutes behind Bernal. The Irishman decided to attack and only three riders were able to follow: Gianni Moscon, Antonio Pedrero and Geoffrey Bouchard, the Maglia Azurra holder.

In the peloton, a heavy crash involving Nibali, Ciccone and Evenepoel occurred. The main peloton is clawing back on the breakaway right before the ascent of Sega di Ala. Dan Martin goes solo!

Ineos, led by Jonathan Castroviejo, is pacing hard at the front of the GC contenders’ group with less than six kilometres to go. Ciccone, Carthy, Bardet… Favourites are dropping one by one. Only Bernal and his lieutenant Martinez, S. Yates and Almeida are remaining!

It’s one of these days for Almeida, the Portuguese is in top form and attacks! Only followed by Simon Yates, the race leader is cracking! Luckily for him, Bernal still has Dani Martinez with him.

And this is how this stage went down as an iconic one: Dani Martinez being domestique deluxe and clenching his fist to give extra support to his team leader! Things you love to see.

At the front, an incredible ride from Dan Martin! In the breakaway all day, the Irishman is holding off the return of Almeida and Yates and takes a deserved win. Almeida crosses the line 13 seconds after Martin.

Egan Bernal is coming in 7^th, completely exhausted. The race leader lost time but retained his Maglia Rosa. Dani Martinez is the hero of the day, his support avoiding Bernal to lose significant time during this tricky stage.

Bernal would eventually go on to win the overall classification by just a minute and a half over Caruso. Did Martinez salvage Bernal’s hopes and dreams with his performance during stage 17? Well, everyone will have their own opinion, but I think he did!

Stage 18 (17, again) | 1949: Coni - Pinerolo (254km)

Il Campionissimo masterpiece

Just 4 years after World War II, Italy is slowly rebuilding and has a deep need for heroes. Lucky for them, cycling offered them not only one, but two legendary riders to idolise. But they also divided the country.

Bartali, 34 years old, is a conservative, devout Christian, idol of southern Italy. Coppi is five years younger, living a more carefree lifestyle and serving in the army during the war; he’s not Jon Snow, but he’s king of the North. In 1949, you’re either a Bartaliani or a Coppiani, but you can’t be both. One of the greatest rivalries of sport would fuel this 1949 Giro. The scene was set for an epic showdown.

Stage 17 started in abysmal weather in Coni. It was freezing and pouring buckets of rain. Add to this five climbs (Maddalena, Vars, Izoard, Montgenièvre and Sestrières), with the last four of them unpaved. Is it the synopsis of a Hollywood blockbuster? Nope, it’s real life! But what was going to happen that day would make one hell of a movie.

On the Maddalena ascent, Coppi launched a first attack, dropping everyone else including Bartali. Unfortunately. he had to stop to fix an issue with his chain with Bartali riding past him. Il Campionissimo eventually caught and dropped him, and with 192 kilometres still left in the stage, went solo!

Coppi was never seen again, riding all five climbs in front by himself and completing this masterpiece. He definitely went down as one of the most legendary riders ever on this particular day. He eventually finished the stage with almost 12 minutes over Bartali!

With this comfortable lead after Stage 17 he went on to win the overall classification two days later in Monza with a 23-minute lead over Bartali and almost 40 minutes over Giordano Cottur who finished third in this 1949 Giro! Pogi who?

For those of you who are avid cycling readers, Giro 1949 is also famous for the Dino Buzzati coverage of the race entitled “Al Giro d’Italia” for the newspaper Corriere della Serra. Knowing barely anything about cycling, Buzzati followed the entirety of the race focusing on the impact of cycling, especially the Coppi-Bartali rivalry, in the country and the reconstruction of Italy after the war.

Stage 19 | 2018 : Venaria Reale to Bardonecchia (Monte Jafferau) (185km)

80-km solo to overthrow Il Giro

Simon Yates has proudly worn la Maglia Rosa since stage 6, claiming it on top of Mount Etna. The Brit even won three stages with this iconic jersey on his shoulders. He’s the top dog of this 2018 Giro, the man to beat.

Stage 19 is the antepenultimate stage of this edition, with the terrible Colle delle Finestre and the 9 final kilometres on gravel roads, the climb being the Cima Coppi this year. Stage is set, time for fireworks!

There were some breakaway attempts to start the stage but the peloton, led by Mitchelton-Scott and Team Sky, was holding them on a tight leash. With Il Giro almost coming to an end, there was something huge on the line, Team Sky, notably, had something in the back of their minds…

With Colle delle Finestre in sight, Team Sky took command of the peloton, riding at quite a high tempo on the lower slopes, eventually catching the breakaway with less than 90 kilometres to go. Then a shocker as halfway through the climb, race leader Simon Yates seemed to be already suffering!

Yates is slowly losing ground on the peloton, while Team Sky intensifies the tempo. The Brit will lose the pink jersey tonight. One Brit suffers, another one thrives. Right at the start of the gravel section, Chris Froome goes solo! Tom Dumoulin, 2nd on GC and virtual Maglia Rosa, Thibaut Pinot and his teammate Sébastien Reichenbach and Richard Carapaz are on the chase. Simon Yates is sinking, 5 minutes down.

While Miguel Angel Lopez joins the chase where Dumoulin is doing most of the work, Froome is flying. Almost a 40-second gap on top of the Colle delle Finestre. On the descent, chasers are losing time by waiting on each other, especially Reichenbach who recently fell and is taking a very cautious approach. Froome doesn’t look back and is almost two minutes clear from the chasers starting Sestrières climb.

On top of the Sestrières, Dumoulin's virtual jersey is only hanging for nine seconds! Froome eventually extends the gap in the descent, he now has three minutes over the chasers. Only Bardonecchia climb left!

Froome left no room for doubt on the last ascent. In his particular pedalling style, the Sky rider won the stage with more than three minutes over the chasers, Carapaz finishing 2nd and Pinot 3rd. Simon Yates eventually finished the stage, but lost around 30 minutes.

A sensational ride from Froome with an 80km solo which remains to this day one of the greatest performances ever witnessed on Giro roads! Froome would eventually go on to win the overall classification by controlling the last mountain stage the day after even taking six more seconds on Dumoulin.

Giro 2018 is Christopher Froome’s last Grand Tour win and probably the most memorable one!

Stage 20 | 2012  Caldes Val di Sole - Stelvio Pass (219 km)

Making his way to the podium in style

With two stages to go on this 2012 Giro, Joaquim Rodriguez is leading the overall classification with a slender gap over Ryder Hesjedal, only 17 seconds. Literally anything can happen today on a stage featuring Mortirolo and ending on this year’s Cima Coppi: Il Stelvio. The Queen stage!

A large group goes clear on the first smaller climb, including yesterday’s stage winner Roman Kreuziger and KOM leader Rabottini, their advantage going over six minutes. As they are starting Mortirolo, the gap is reduced by half. The breakaway started to fall apart on the ascent and riders attacked from the peloton.

Among them is Oliver Zaugg, from RadioShack, who took the lead of the stage alone. Behind him are six riders including Damiano Cunego, 10th overall, and a 25-year old Belgian currently sitting 9th on GC: Thomas De Gendt. They are five and six minutes behind on GC.

With 30km, De Gendt and Cunego’s group eventually caught Zaugg with 30 kilometres to go and the Stelvio approaching. The Belgian and the Italian now have four minutes on the reduced peloton and definitely have their eyes on that podium spot. De Gendt attacks!

Only Cunego and Nieve are able to follow him on the first one. They still stay with him on his second attack. But the third one is dealing the death blow: De Gendt goes solo and now has a five-minute lead on race leader Joaquim Rodriguez! Only 15 seconds more and he takes the overall lead!

In the GC group, it’s all a mess. Rodriguez definitely can’t chase Thomas De Gendt! Shouldn’t Hesjedal try something? He’s only 17 seconds behind on GC? But neither of them seems to be able to catch the Belgian. What a sensational ride from the Vacansoleil rider. Luckily for Rodriguez and Hesjedal, John Gadret attacks at the front, lifting the pace, and they slowly reduce the gap.

De Gendt is undoubtedly the strongest rider today though, no competitors were able to match. He won the stage with almost a minute over Cunego, coming in second and more than three minutes over the GC contenders group, led by Rodriguez. De Gendt now stands 4th overall, less than 30 seconds behind Scarponi in third. And tomorrow is a time trial day…

On top of the overall classification, Hesjedal lost some time today, now being 31 seconds behind Joaquim Rodriguez on GC. But on the final stage, an individual time trial of 28 kilometres, the Canadian rider eventually won the overall classification by 16 seconds, taking advantage of Rodriguez’ sub-par time trialling abilities. He becomes the first Canadian rider to win a Grand Tour.

De Gendt’s win, the day before, combined with his time trialling skills, eventually brought him on the third step of the podium in what remains one the greatest performances of his career. What a crazy couple of days to end this 2012 Giro!

Stage 21 | 1984 : Soave - Verona (42km)

Another dramatic Italy versus France sporting contest!

If there’s one Grand Tour that knows how to drama until the very last day, it’s the Giro. While the Tour de France usually decides to finish on a cool, yet suspense-free, procession throughout the many wonders of Paris, the Italian Grand Tour outcome has sometimes been decided in the very last minutes of racing. And 1984 was one of them. Just add a huge backstory leading up to it and I guess we have… What do you call it again? Oh yes… An iconic stage!

The 1984 Giro was a duel between Francesco Moser, the local and fan favorites, and Laurent Fignon, despised by the Italian tifosi because, you know, besides being insanely talented and Moser’s main rival, he’s French.

Moser won the prologue and took the first Maglia Rosa while Fignon claimed it the next day by winning the Team Time Trial. Moser took it back on stage 5, only to give it back to Fignon on stage 19. They were the only two wearers of the pink jersey during this Giro.

So here we are at this last stage, an individual time trial of 42 kilometres, with Fignon wearing la Maglia Rosa and the last rider on the start line. Can you feel the tension? No? Let’s rewind it back a bit then.

What you have to know before this last stage is that the 1984 Giro has been marred with accusations of race organisers favouring Moser. Moser was supposedly seen drafting behind cars and being pushed in the toughest climbs with no sanctions while other riders were being punished for any infraction seen. For example, Fignon was awarded a 20 second penalty for receiving a musette outside the feeding zone. Yes, these are the rules so the penalty is deserved, but the Directeur Sportifs were irate they were not applied to everyone.

Then the Stelvio Pass was cancelled due to heavy snowing while footage (mainly from French newspapers obviously 😏) showed roads were perfectly rideable, supposedly favouring Moser over better climbers and resulting in a collective finish. Roberto Vinsentini apparently quit the race because he thought it was fixed.

Even with these odd (yet unproven) features, Fignon eventually led the race after 20 stages. But the last stage would definitely take this Giro into legend. Fignon eventually lost the last stage to Moser in dramatic fashion.

Moser recently beat the cycling hour-record and his time trialling gear was the best you could find at this time. He started with a special lenticular bike and ended up winning the stage by a minute over Fignon.

Quickly after the finish, Fignon complained about the race helicopter. It was “almost mowing the number off of my back with his rotor blades", Fignon said in his autobiography, accusing it of slowing him down. Moser insisted that only the crowd cheering helped him to find extra motivation and win the stage and the Giro overall classification.

Anyway, we will never know the real truth behind this 1984 Giro, and that’s what makes it iconic. Italians and Frenchs arguing with each other? A tale as old as time!