The Giro d’Italia or, in English, the Tour of Italy, is one of the three major professional cycling stage races – the other two being the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España – and, in terms of prestige, is second only to La Grand Boucle, or ‘The Big Loop’, as the Tour de France is nicknamed. Established in 1909 by sports newspaper ‘La Gazzetta dello Sport’, the Giro d’Italia is staged over a three-week period, usually in May, and follows a route, of approximately 3,500 kilometres, or 2,175 miles, on average, predominantly through Italy, but with occasional excursions to neighbouring countries. Since 1931, the overall leader, on time, has been identified by a pink jersey or, in Italian, ‘maglia rosa’, such that the Giro d’Italia is nicknamed La Corsa Rosa or, in English, ‘The Pink Ride’.
Notwithstanding 1912, when the Giro d’Italia had no individual classification, and subsequent supensions for the duration of the two world wars, until 1950, all the winners were Italian. In fact, a total of 44 individual Italian cyclists have won the Giro d’Italia 69 times between them, making Italy, far and away, the most successful of the 16 countries to win the race.
However, the last Italian winner of the Giro d’Italia was Vincenzo Nibali who, in 2016, became the most recent rider to win the race more than once, having previously done so in 2013. Aside from those two victories, Nibali also won the Vuelta a España in 2010 and the Tour de France in 2014, making him one of just seven cyclists to win all three ‘Grand Tours’ during his career.