2017 Giro d'Italia

All 18 UCI WorldTeams were automatically invited and were obliged to attend the race. Four wildcard UCI Professional Continental teams were also selected.^[5] Each team is expected to start with nine riders apart from Astana, with eight riders, due to the death of 2011 winner Michele Scarponi, who died while training days before the start of the race.^[6]

The teams entering the race were:

The main pre-race favorites were Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team) and Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain–Merida). Other general classification contenders were Geraint Thomas and Mikel Landa (Team Sky), Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL–Jumbo), Thibaut Pinot (FDJ), Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb), Adam Yates (Orica–Scott), Bauke Mollema (Trek–Segafredo), Ilnur Zakarin (Team Katusha–Alpecin), Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing Team), Bob Jungels (Quick-Step Floors) and Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R La Mondiale).^[7][8][9]

Sprinters at the Giro include Fernando Gaviria, Caleb Ewan, André Greipel, Jasper Stuyven, Sacha Modolo, Giacomo Nizzolo, Sam Bennett and Ryan Gibbons.^[9]

Details about the first three stages of the race were unveiled at a press conference on 14 September 2016. The remainder of the route was unveiled by race director Mauro Vegni on 25 October 2016.^[1] However, organizers RCS Sport leaked the route on their website the day before the official presentation.^[10]

There were 21 stages in the race, covering a total distance of 3,609.1 km (2,243 mi),^[11] 142 km (88.2 mi) longer than the 2016 Giro. The longest race stage was stage 12 at 229 km (142 mi),^[11] and stage 14 the shortest at 131 km (81 mi).^[11] The race featured a total of 69.1 km (43 mi) in individual time trials,^[11] and five summit finishes: stage 4, to Mount Etna; stage 9, to Blockhaus; stage 14, to Oropa; stage 18, to Ortisei/St. Ulrich; and stage 19, to Piancavallo. The Cima Coppi (the race's highest elevation) was the Stelvio Pass, summited during stage 16.^[12] The stages were categorised in four ways by race organisers; time trials, low, medium and high difficulty.^[11]

Stage characteristics and winners^[11]

Stage	Date	Course	Distance	Type		Winner
1	5 May	Alghero to Olbia	206 km (128 mi)		Low-difficulty stage	Lukas Pöstlberger (AUT)
2	6 May	Olbia to Tortolì	221 km (137 mi)		Medium-difficulty stage	André Greipel (GER)
3	7 May	Tortolì to Cagliari	148 km (92 mi)		Low-difficulty stage	Fernando Gaviria (COL)
	8 May	Rest day
4	9 May	Cefalù to Etna (Rifugio Sapienza)	181 km (112 mi)		High-difficulty stage	Jan Polanc (SLO)
5	10 May	Pedara to Messina	159 km (99 mi)		Low-difficulty stage	Fernando Gaviria (COL)
6	11 May	Reggio Calabria to Terme Luigiane	217 km (135 mi)		Medium-difficulty stage	Silvan Dillier (SUI)
7	12 May	Castrovillari to Alberobello	224 km (139 mi)		Low-difficulty stage	Caleb Ewan (AUS)
8	13 May	Molfetta to Peschici	189 km (117 mi)		Medium-difficulty stage	Gorka Izagirre (ESP)
9	14 May	Montenero di Bisaccia to Blockhaus	149 km (93 mi)		Medium-difficulty stage	Nairo Quintana (COL)
	15 May	Rest day
10	16 May	Foligno to Montefalco	39.8 km (25 mi)		Individual time trial	Tom Dumoulin (NED)
11	17 May	Florence (Ponte a Ema) to Bagno di Romagna	161 km (100 mi)		Medium-difficulty stage	Omar Fraile (ESP)
12	18 May	Forlì to Reggio Emilia	229 km (142 mi)		Low-difficulty stage	Fernando Gaviria (COL)
13	19 May	Reggio Emilia to Tortona	167 km (104 mi)		Low-difficulty stage	Fernando Gaviria (COL)
14	20 May	Castellania to Santuario di Oropa	131 km (81 mi)		Medium-difficulty stage	Tom Dumoulin (NED)
15	21 May	Valdengo to Bergamo	199 km (124 mi)		Medium-difficulty stage	Bob Jungels (LUX)
	22 May	Rest day
16	23 May	Rovetta to Bormio	222 km (138 mi)		High-difficulty stage	Vincenzo Nibali (ITA)
17	24 May	Tirano to Canazei	219 km (136 mi)		Medium-difficulty stage	Pierre Rolland (FRA)
18	25 May	Moena to Ortisei/St. Ulrich	137 km (85 mi)		High-difficulty stage	Tejay van Garderen (USA)
19	26 May	Innichen/San Candido to Piancavallo	191 km (119 mi)		High-difficulty stage	Mikel Landa (ESP)
20	27 May	Pordenone to Asiago	190 km (118 mi)		High-difficulty stage	Thibaut Pinot (FRA)
21	28 May	Monza (Autodromo) to Milan	29.3 km (18 mi)		Individual time trial	Jos van Emden (NED)

Lukas Pöstlberger won the first stage, André Greipel claimed the second and Fernando Gaviria the third. From there Bob Jungels would wear the Pink jersey as Gaviria went on to win three more stages and lock up the points classification. As the race entered the mountains the leader's jersey swapped between Nairo Quintana and Tom Dumoulin going into the penultimate time trial where Quintana was in 1st and Dumoulin in 4th. Domenico Pozzovivo, Ilnur Zakarin, Vincenzo Nibali and Thibaut Pinot, who had just won the final mountain stage, were all within 90 seconds of Quintana. During the final time trial Dumoulin finished 2nd to fellow Dutchman Jos van Emden, but beat all of the GC contenders handily claiming the Giro victory thirty seconds ahead of Quintana as Nibali finalized the podium. This was the first grand tour victory by a Dutch rider in nearly four decades.

On the eve of the Giro d'Italia, the UCI announced that two Bardiani–CSF riders, Stefano Pirazzi and Nicola Ruffoni,^[13] had tested positive for GH-Releasing Peptides (GHRPs) – defined as peptide hormones, growth factors, or mimetics – in samples collected during out-of-competition doping tests conducted on 25 and 26 April 2017.^[14]With the team incurring first and second AAFs within a twelve-month period, the UCI aimed to enforce article 7.12.1 of the UCI Anti-Doping Rules, allowing for suspension of the team from 15 to 45 days – casting doubt on their Giro appearance.^[15][16]

In the Giro d'Italia, four different jerseys are awarded:

• The first and most important is the general classification, calculated by adding each rider's finishing times on each stage. Riders receive time bonuses (10, 6 and 4 seconds respectively) for finishing in the first three places on each stage, excluding the two individual time trial stages. The rider with the lowest cumulative time is awarded the pink jersey (Italian: maglia rosa),^[17] and is considered the winner of the Giro d'Italia.^[18][19]

• Additionally, there is a points classification. Riders win points for finishing in the top placings on each stage, except the time trials. Flat stages award more points than mountainous stages, meaning that this classification tends to favour sprinters. In addition, points can be won in intermediate sprints. The leader of the points classification wore the cyclamen jersey,^[17] awarded for the first time since 2009.

• There is also a mountains classification, for which points were awarded for reaching the top of a climb before other riders. Each climb was categorised as either first, second, third or fourth-category, with more points available for the more difficult, higher-categorised climbs. For first-category climbs, the top eight riders earned points; on second-category climbs, six riders won points; on third-category climbs, only the top four riders earned points with three on fourth-category climbs. The leadership of the mountains classification was marked by a blue jersey.^[17] The Cima Coppi, the race's highest point of elevation, awards more points than the other first-category climbs, with nine riders scoring points. At 2,757 metres (9,045 ft), the Cima Coppi for the 2017 Giro d'Italia is the Stelvio Pass.
• The fourth jersey represents the young rider classification. This is decided the same way as the general classification, but only riders born after 1 January 1992 are eligible. The winner of the classification is awarded a white jersey.^[18]
• There are also two classifications for teams. In the Trofeo Fast Team classification, the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage are added up; the leading team is one with the lowest total time. The Trofeo Super Team is a team points classification, with the top 20 riders of each stage earning points for their team.^[18]

Several other minor classifications are awarded:

• The first is the intermediate sprint classification. Each road stage has two sprints – the Traguardi Volanti. The first riders across the intermediate sprint lines are awarded points; the rider with the most points at the end of the race wins the classification. This classification was won by Daniel Teklehaimanot (Team Dimension Data).
• Another classification – the combativity prize (Italian: Premio Combattività) – involves points awarded to the first riders at the stage finishes, at intermediate sprints, and at the summits of categorised climbs. This classification was won by Mikel Landa (Team Sky).
• There is also a breakaway award (Italian: Premio della Fuga). For this, points are awarded to each rider in any breakaway smaller than 10 riders that escapes for at least 5 kilometres (3.1 mi). Each rider is awarded a point for each kilometre that the rider was away from the peloton. The rider with the most points at the end of the Giro wins the award. This classification was won by Pavel Brutt (Gazprom–RusVelo).
• The final classification is a "fair play" ranking for each team. Teams are given penalty points for infringing various rules. These range from half-point penalties, for offences that merit warnings from race officials, to a 2000-point penalty, for a positive doping test. The team that has the lowest points total at the end of the Giro wins the classification. The winner was Bora–Hansgrohe, with 20 penalty points to their name.

Classification leadership by stage

Stage	Winner	General classification	Points classification	Mountains classification	Young rider classification	Trofeo Fast Team	Trofeo Super Team
1	Lukas Pöstlberger	Lukas Pöstlberger	Lukas Pöstlberger[N 1]	Cesare Benedetti	Lukas Pöstlberger[N 1]	Bora–Hansgrohe	Bora–Hansgrohe
2	André Greipel	André Greipel	André Greipel[N 2]	Daniel Teklehaimanot		Orica–Scott	Lotto–Soudal
3	Fernando Gaviria	Fernando Gaviria			Fernando Gaviria[N 3]	Quick-Step Floors	Team Dimension Data
4	Jan Polanc	Bob Jungels		Jan Polanc	Bob Jungels[N 4]	Cannondale–Drapac	UAE Team Emirates
5	Fernando Gaviria		Fernando Gaviria				Quick-Step Floors
6	Silvan Dillier
7	Caleb Ewan					UAE Team Emirates
8	Gorka Izagirre
9	Nairo Quintana	Nairo Quintana			Davide Formolo	Movistar Team
10	Tom Dumoulin	Tom Dumoulin			Bob Jungels
11	Omar Fraile
12	Fernando Gaviria			Omar Fraile
13	Fernando Gaviria
14	Tom Dumoulin			Tom Dumoulin[N 5]
15	Bob Jungels
16	Vincenzo Nibali			Mikel Landa
17	Pierre Rolland
18	Tejay van Garderen				Adam Yates
19	Mikel Landa	Nairo Quintana
20	Thibaut Pinot
21	Jos van Emden	Tom Dumoulin			Bob Jungels
Final		Tom Dumoulin	Fernando Gaviria	Mikel Landa	Bob Jungels	Movistar Team	Quick-Step Floors

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Giro d'Italia 2017.

• Official website