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- 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. The race was first organized in 1909 to increase sales of the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport; however it is currently run by RCS Sport. The race has been held annually since its first edition in 1909, except when it was stopped for the two world wars. 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 first edition of the race was won by Italian Luigi Ganna who had the fewest total points at the end of the race; the same format was used for the next two years and also resulted in an Italian cyclist winning. The 1912 Giro saw the general classification contested by teams, which Atala-Dunlop won by ten points. The following year they reverted to the original system, before switching to the aggregate time model in 1914. Alfredo Binda won five editions of the race over a period of nine years, before Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi consistently asserted their superiority in the Giro d'Italia. Italians dominated the race for forty years before the first non-Italian, Hugo Koblet, in 1950. After Koblet became the first foreigner to win the Giro, the Italians won the majority of the races held until 1968. In 1968, the Belgian Eddy Merckx won his first Giro d'Italia, which were soon followed by four more victories. Bernard Hinault won the first of his three Giros d'Italia in 1980. Ireland's Stephen Roche won the 1987 race en route to winning the Triple Crown of Cycling. Spanish rider Miguel Indurain won two consecutive Giros d'Italia, in 1992 and 1993, with his victories being followed by wins by Evgeni Berzin, Tony Rominger, and Pavel Tonkov. The next ten editions of the race were won by Italian riders, including the likes of Marco Pantani, Paolo Savoldelli, and Gilberto Simoni. Spain's Alberto Contador won the 2008 Giro d'Italia en route to completing the rare Giro-Vuelta double for the season. The 2009 race celebrated the hundredth year since the first edition of the Giro d'Italia and was won by the Russian Denis Menchov. The following year saw Ivan Basso win his second overall race. Contador originally won the 2011 Giro d'Italia, but after a positive drug test result was found, his victory was stripped and given to Michele Scarponi. Vincenzo Nibali, the winner of the 2013 race, led the event from the race's eighth stage and on. (en)
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