The 1991 Giro d'Italia was the 74th edition of
the race. It began on May 26 with a mass-start stage that began and ended in the Italian city of
Olbia
Olbia (, ; sc, Terranoa; sdn, Tarranoa) is a city and commune of 60,346 inhabitants (May 2018) in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called ''Olbia'' in the Roman age ...
. The race came to a close in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
on June 16. Twenty teams entered the race, which was won by the Italian
Franco Chioccioli
Franco Chioccioli (born 25 August 1959 in Castelfranco di Sopra) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist. The highlight of his career was his overall win in the 1991 Giro d'Italia.
Major results
;1977
: 1st Overall Giro dell ...
of the Del Tongo-MG Boys Maglificio team. Second and third respectively were the Italians
Claudio Chiappucci
Claudio Chiappucci (born 28 February 1963 in Uboldo, Varese, Lombardy) is a retired Italian professional cyclist. He was on the podium three times in the Tour de France general classification: second in 1990, third in 1991 and second again in 199 ...
and
Massimiliano Lelli.
The race was first led by Frenchman
Philippe Casado
Philippe Casado (1 February 1964–21 January 1995) was a French professional road bicycle racer. Born in Oujda, Morocco, he was professional from 1986 until his death in 1995 and had 3 victories. He died in Saint-Estève.
Major results
;198 ...
who won the first stage into Olbia. Casado lost the race leader's ''maglia rosa'' ( en,
pink jersey
Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...
) after stage 2a that contained a mountainous course.
Éric Boyer
Éric Boyer (2 December 1963) is a French former professional road bicycle racer.
Boyer was born in Choisy-le-Roi. In the 1988 Tour de France, he finished in 5th place in the overall classification - the highest placed French finisher. Boyer wo ...
took the race lead from Chioccioli after winning the event's fourth stage. However, he lost the lead back to Chioccioli the following day. Chioccioli protected his lead and built upon his advantage by winning three stages of the race before the race's finish.
In the race's other classifications, Massimiliano Lelli of the
Ari-Ceramiche Ariostea team finished as the best rider aged 25 or under in the general classification, finishing in third place overall; rider Claudio Chiappucci won the points classification,
Iñaki Gastón
Iñaki Gastón Crespo (born 25 May 1963, in Bilbao) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer.
Major results
;1983
: 3rd
: 7th Overall GP Tell
;1984
: 1st Clásica a los Puertos de Guadarrama
: 1st Overall Vuelta a La Rioja
::1st ...
of the CLAS-Cajastur team won the mountains classification, and CLAS-Cajastur rider
Alberto Leanizbarrutia won the intergiro classification. Carrera Jeans-Tassoni finished as the winners of the team classification.
Teams
Twenty teams were invited by the race organizers to participate in the 1991 edition of the Giro d'Italia, ten of which were based outside of Italy.
Each team sent a squad of nine riders, which meant that the race started with a peloton of 180 cyclists.
Italy (84), Spain (30), and France (18) all had more than 10 riders. Of these, 76 were riding the Giro d'Italia for the first time. The average age of riders was 27.03 years, ranging from 22–year–old
Eleuterio Anguita () to 36–year–old
Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle
Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle (born 25 August 1954) is a former French professional road racing cyclist who was a specialist at one-day classic cycling races. He raced from 1977 to 1995, one of the best French riders of a generation that included Ber ...
(). The team with the youngest average rider age was (25), while the oldest was (28). The presentation of the teams – where each team's roster and manager were introduced in front the media and local dignitaries – took place on 25 May.
From the riders that began the race, 133 made it to the finish in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
.
The teams entering the race were:
Pre-race favorites
The starting peloton did include the
previous year's winner Gianni Bugno
Gianni Bugno (; born 14 February 1964) is a retired Italian professional road racing cyclist.
Biography
Bugno was a versatile rider, able to do well in different types of races. He won numerous stages in the Tour de France, and the Milan†...
.
Claudio Chiappucci
Claudio Chiappucci (born 28 February 1963 in Uboldo, Varese, Lombardy) is a retired Italian professional cyclist. He was on the podium three times in the Tour de France general classification: second in 1990, third in 1991 and second again in 199 ...
was believed to be in great form coming into the race.
According to Paolo Viberti of ''El PaÃs'', Bugno came in as the odds on favorite to win the race.
Going into the race, it was widely believe that the winner would be either Chiappucci or Bugno.
Despite being favored to win the race, Bugno entered the race with no victories to his name that season.
American Greg LeMond told the press he planned to be more competitive at this Giro than he had in years past.
Other favorites to win the race were
Laurent Fignon
Laurent Patrick Fignon (; 12 August 1960 – 31 August 2010) was a French professional road bicycle racer who won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984 and the Giro d'Italia in 1989. He is former FICP World No. 1 in 1989. He nearly captured ...
,
Pedro Delgado
Pedro Delgado Robledo (; born 15 April 1960), also known as Perico (), is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. He won the 1988 Tour de France, as well as the Vuelta a España in 1985 and 1989.
Delgado is 171 centimetres tall (5&nb ...
, and
Marino Lejarreta
Marino Lejarreta Arrizabalaga (born 14 May 1957) is a retired Basque professional road racing cyclist. His biggest victory was capturing the 1982 Vuelta a España, a Grand Tour stage race, and he is the inaugural and record three-time winner of ...
.
Mario Cipollini
Mario Cipollini (; born 22 March 1967), often abbreviated to "Cipo", is a retired Italian professional road cyclist most noted for his sprinting ability, the longevity of his dominance (his first pro win came in 1988, his last in 2005; 170 p ...
, despite a poor showing that
Tour de Romandie
The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. It ...
, was viewed as the sprinter to watch for the estimated ten stages that could result in a bunch sprint.
Notable absences included
1988 winner Andrew Hampsten, Dutch rider
Erik Breukink
Erik Breukink (born 1 April 1964) is a former Dutch professional road racing cyclist. In 1988, Breukink won the youth competition in the Tour de France. In 1990, finished 3rd in the 1990 Tour de France. Most recently, he served as the manager o ...
, and
Maurizio Fondriest
Maurizio Fondriest (born 15 January 1965) is a retired Italian professional road racing cyclist.
Career
Born in Cles, Trentino, Fondriest turned professional in 1987 with the Ecoflam team. He subsequently rode for Alfa-Lum in 1988, winning th ...
.
Route and stages
![Panorama sestriere (1135308229)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Panorama_sestriere_%281135308229%29.jpg)
The route for the 1991 edition of the Giro d'Italia was revealed to the public on television by head organizer Vincenzo Torriani, on 1 December 1990.
It contained three time trial events, all of which were
individual.
There were twelve stages containing thirty-nine categorized climbs, of which five had summit finishes: stage 12, to
Monviso
Monte Viso or Monviso (; oc, VÃsol; Piedmontese: ''Brich Monviso'' or ''Viso'') is the highest mountain of the Cottian Alps. It is located in Italy close to the French border. Monte Viso is well known for its pyramid-like shape and, because it i ...
; stage 13, to
Sestriere
Sestriere (/se'strjɛre/) ( oc, Sestrieras, pms, Ël Sestrier, french: Sestrières) is a ski resort in Piedmont, Italy, a ''comune'' (municipality) of the Metropolitan City of Turin. It is situated in Val Susa, from the French border. Its name ...
; stage 15, to
Aprica
Aprica ( lmo, Abriga) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Sondrio, Lombardy, northern Italy. It is located on the eponymous pass, the most favourable one connecting Valtellina to Val Camonica.
Its main source of income is tourism, using ...
; stage 16, to
Selva di Val Gardena; and stage 17, to
Passo Pordoi.
The organizers chose to include one rest day, which was used to transfer the riders from
Cagliari to
Sorrento
Sorrento (, ; nap, Surriento ; la, Surrentum) is a town overlooking the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the south-eastern terminus of the Circumvesuviana ra ...
.
When compared to the
previous year's race, the race was shorter, contained one more rest day, and the same number of individual time trials and split-stages. The race covered in time trail stages.
In addition, this race contained one more stage. The race started on the island of
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
for the first time in race history and stayed on the island for three days of racing.
Capodacqua of ''La Repubblica'' believed that the route favored a rider that could defend well and put in a good time during the uphill time trial.
''La Stampa'' writer Gianni Ranieri felt the two non-uphill time trials would favor Gianni Bugno, while the up-hill time trial could be a place where Claudio Chiappucci could gain time on the field.
Pedro Delgado believed the race to be tougher than the
Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
that same year.
The ''
Cima Coppi'' – the highest point in altitude the race reached – was scheduled to be the
Passo dello Stelvio
''Giogo dello Stèlvio''german: Stilfser Joch
, photo = The_Stelvio_pass.jpg
, photo_caption = Some of the 48 hairpin turns near the top of the eastern ramp of the Stelvio Pass
, photo_alt =
, map = Alps
, map_caption = Location of Stelvio Pass in ...
,
but the pass was scrapped from the race and the Passo Pordoi – the next highest mountain – became the new ''Cima Coppi''.
The queen stage was thought to be twelfth leg from
Savona to
Pian del Re
Pian may refer to:
* Pian (disease), a tropical infection of the skin, bones and joints
* Pian-e Olya, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran
* Pian-e Sofla, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran
* Pian Rural District, in Khuzestan Province, Iran
* ...
as the final climb was at an average gradient of 7.5%.
The
Pordoi Pass
Pordoi is a mountain pass, pass in the Dolomites in the Alps, located between the Sella group in the north and the Marmolada group in the south. The pass is at an altitude of , and the road crossing the pass connects Arabba (Livinallongo del Col d ...
in the seventeenth stage was the highest climb and was crossed twice.
A writer for ''l'Impartial'' wrote that shorter stages might contain more attacks and general classification impact, specifically the writer stated that the fifteenth stage would be an important stage as it climbed the
Mortirolo Pass
The Mortirolo Pass ( it, Passo del Mortirolo) (el. 1852 m.) is a high mountain pass in the Alps in Italy. Also known as Passo della Foppa, it connects Mazzo di Valtellina (province of Sondrio) and Val Camonica (province of Brescia). The ...
from the harder side, from Valteline.
Race overview
![Casado (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Casado_%28cropped%29.jpg)
During the first stage,
Alberto Leanizbarrutia attacked on his own and led the race for before being caught by the chasing peloton within the final ten kilometers.
It then came down to a bunch sprint finish that was so close that it required a photo to determine the winner,
Philippe Casado
Philippe Casado (1 February 1964–21 January 1995) was a French professional road bicycle racer. Born in Oujda, Morocco, he was professional from 1986 until his death in 1995 and had 3 victories. He died in Saint-Estève.
Major results
;198 ...
.
The next day of racing consisted of a mass-start stage in the morning and an individual time trial in the afternoon.
Reigning winner Gianni Bugno won the trans-alpine morning stage ahead of other main contenders.
This stage saw the race leader's ''maglia rosa'' ( en,
pink jersey
Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...
) switch from Casado to
Franco Chioccioli
Franco Chioccioli (born 25 August 1959 in Castelfranco di Sopra) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist. The highlight of his career was his overall win in the 1991 Giro d'Italia.
Major results
;1977
: 1st Overall Giro dell ...
.
Gianluca Pierobon of ZG Mobili team won the afternoon time trial by five seconds over Spaniard
Marino Lejarreta
Marino Lejarreta Arrizabalaga (born 14 May 1957) is a retired Basque professional road racing cyclist. His biggest victory was capturing the 1982 Vuelta a España, a Grand Tour stage race, and he is the inaugural and record three-time winner of ...
.
The following day of racing was the last on the island of
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
before the race was transferred to mainland
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
.
The day of racing ended with a bunch sprint contested by
Adriano Baffi
Adriano Baffi (born 7 August 1962) is a former Italian bicycle road racer. After his career as a rider, he became a team director. He is the son of Italian bicycle racer Pierino Baffi.
Baffi was born in Vailate, Italy. He joined Luxembourg te ...
,
Mario Cipollini
Mario Cipollini (; born 22 March 1967), often abbreviated to "Cipo", is a retired Italian professional road cyclist most noted for his sprinting ability, the longevity of his dominance (his first pro win came in 1988, his last in 2005; 170 p ...
, and
Djamolidine Abdoujaparov
Djamolidine Mirgarifanovich Abdoujaparov ( uz, Jamoliddin Mirgarifanovich Abdujaparov; born 28 February 1964) is a former professional road racing cyclist from Uzbekistan. Abdoujaparov was a sprinter, nicknamed "The Tashkent Terror" as he was s ...
, of which Cipollini got the best and won.
The fourth leg of the event consisted of five laps on a set circuit of .
The stage saw several attacks on the final lap of the course with most being caught by the peloton.
Éric Boyer attacked with fifteen kilometers to go in the stage and was able to establish a solid gap between himself and the peloton.
Boyer went on to win the stage by twenty-three seconds over the chasing peloton, gaining enough time to earn the race lead.
The following day saw the general classification contenders reach the final climb of the day, Mount Godi, together.
Chioccioli attacked on the climb and only Lejarreta was able to mark his move.
The two rode to the finish together as Boyer led the group of chasing riders to the finish fifty seconds later.
Lejarreta won the stage and Chioccioli regained the race lead.
The sixth day of racing was marred by poor weather.
General classification contenders
Pedro Delgado
Pedro Delgado Robledo (; born 15 April 1960), also known as Perico (), is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. He won the 1988 Tour de France, as well as the Vuelta a España in 1985 and 1989.
Delgado is 171 centimetres tall (5&nb ...
and
Laurent Fignon
Laurent Patrick Fignon (; 12 August 1960 – 31 August 2010) was a French professional road bicycle racer who won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984 and the Giro d'Italia in 1989. He is former FICP World No. 1 in 1989. He nearly captured ...
lost time due to crashing on the descent of
Monte Terminillo
Monte Terminillo is a massif in the Monti Reatini, part of the Abruzzi Apennine range in central Italy. It is located some 20 km from Rieti and 100 km from Rome and has a highest altitude of .
It is a typical Apennine massif, both fo ...
, while
Greg LeMond
Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former professional road racing cyclist, entrepreneur, and anti-doping advocate. A two-time winner of the Road Race World Championship (1983 and 1989) and a three-time winner of the Tou ...
lost over two minutes.
On the final climb of the day,
Iñaki Gastón
Iñaki Gastón Crespo (born 25 May 1963, in Bilbao) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer.
Major results
;1983
: 3rd
: 7th Overall GP Tell
;1984
: 1st Clásica a los Puertos de Guadarrama
: 1st Overall Vuelta a La Rioja
::1st ...
and
Leonardo Sierra attacked with eight kilometers to go but were caught by the chasing riders.
Gaston attacked again with a kilometer remaining, but was robbed of the stage win as
Vladimir Poulnikov overtook him three meters before the finish.
Cipollini won the event's seventh leg by means of a field sprint.
The following stage saw a group of nine riders form off the front of the peloton with under twenty kilometers remaining.
Despite the best efforts of the chasing peloton, the breakaway group survived and saw
Ari-Ceramiche Ariostea's
Davide Cassani
Davide Cassani (born 1 January 1961) is a former road cyclist and cycling commentator on Italian television from Italy. Now he works as manager for Italy national cycling team.
He was born in Faenza. In 1982 he made his professional debut with ...
take the stage by edging out
Mario Mantova.
Massimo Ghirotto
Massimo Ghirotto (born 25 June 1961, in Boara Pisani) is an Italian former road bicycle racer.
Major results
;1987
:1st, Trofeo Baracchi
:1st, Trofeo Matteotti
:1st, Coppa Placci
:1st, Stage 10, Tour de Suisse
;1988
:1st, GP Industria & A ...
of team attacked with about fifty kilometers to go in the ninth stage.
He rode solo and wound up winning the stage,
while the general classification remained largely unchanged.
The next stage was a individual time trial that was won by Bugno. He won by margin of eight seconds and moved up into second place overall, a second off the leader Chioccioli.
The eleventh stage was contested in rainy conditions on a winding course.
After an unsuccessful breakaway attempt by fifteen riders,
Maximilian Sciandri, LeMond, and
Michele Coppolillo
Michele Coppolillo (born 17 July 1967) is an Italian racing cyclist. He rode in nine editions of the Giro d'Italia, one Tour de France and two editions of the Vuelta a España.
Major results
;1994
: 2nd Overall Settimana Internazionale di Copp ...
attacked and formed a group off the front.
Sciandri and LeMond crossed the line in first and second, respectively, while Coppolillo was caught by the peloton in the closing meters of the stage.
The next day saw the race's first mountain-top finish, to Monviso.
The group of main contenders reached the final climb together, with 's Jean-François Bernard launching the first attack which saw him gain a maximum advantage of around thirty seconds.
The next to make a serious effort was Lejarreta, who was followed by Chioccioli,
Massimiliano Lelli, and Sierra, who attacked with ten kilometers left in the stage.
The trio caught up to Bernard and rode as a group to the finish. Lelli took the stage as Chioccioli defended his lead.
Bugno lost almost two minutes during the day.
![1991 Giro d'Italia Stage 13 Savigliano-Sestriere](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/1991_Giro_d%27Italia_Stage_13_Savigliano-Sestriere.jpg)
The thirteenth leg of the race featured two ascents of the Alpine mountain
Sestriere
Sestriere (/se'strjɛre/) ( oc, Sestrieras, pms, Ël Sestrier, french: Sestrières) is a ski resort in Piedmont, Italy, a ''comune'' (municipality) of the Metropolitan City of Turin. It is situated in Val Susa, from the French border. Its name ...
, the second of which served as the finish for the day.
The day began with a breakaway of twelve
that was caught before the final climb to Sestriere.
The first rider to launch a serious attack on the climb was
Pedro Delgado
Pedro Delgado Robledo (; born 15 April 1960), also known as Perico (), is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. He won the 1988 Tour de France, as well as the Vuelta a España in 1985 and 1989.
Delgado is 171 centimetres tall (5&nb ...
, who was quickly followed by Chioccioli, Lejaretta,
Eduardo Chozas
Eduardo Chozas Olmo (born 5 July 1960 in Madrid) is a Spanish former professional road racing cyclist. He won four stages at the Tour de France and three in the Giro d'Italia. He was also chosen as the most combative rider of 1990 Tour de Fran ...
, and Chiappucci, meanwhile Bugno was unable to follow their wheels.
Chozas managed to win the stage as the group of four finish within four seconds of each other.
With twenty kilometers to go in the fourteenth leg,
Franco Ballerini
Franco Ballerini (11 December 1964 – 7 February 2010) was an Italian road racing cyclist.
Born in Florence, his greatest exploits as a rider came with his two victories in the cycling classic Paris–Roubaix, riding for the Mapei cyclin ...
, Casado,
Juan MartÃnez Oliver
Juan MartÃnez Oliver (born 4 February 1962 in Almeria) is a former Spanish professional road bicycle racer. He won a stage in the 1988 Tour de France. He also competed in the two events at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Major results
;1987
:Mem ...
, and Brian Peterson formed a breakaway group.
The group managed to stretch out an advantage of almost two minutes as they entered the closing kilometers.
Ballerini took the stage victory after he and Casado had managed to distance themselves slightly from the two other breakaway riders.
LeMond abandoned the race following the conclusion of the fourteenth stage.
The next day, on the ascent of the
Mortirolo, race leader Chioccioli attacked and formed a solo attack.
He rode the remaining fifty kilometers on his own to the stage victory, with his lead expanding to at most two minutes thirty seconds.
He managed to put over a minute into each of his rivals.
The sixteenth saw no major shifts in the general classification.
The top five riders in the general classification formed a leading group on the final climb but there were no major moves to create time gaps.
Lelli took the stage win after ahead of Bugno.
The following day was the last in the
Dolomites
The Dolomites ( it, Dolomiti ; Ladin: ''Dolomites''; german: Dolomiten ; vec, Dołomiti : fur, Dolomitis), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range located in northeastern Italy. They form pa ...
and saw the ascension of five major climbs, including the ''Cima Coppi'' Passo Pordoi.
On the second climbing of Pordoi, Chioccioli attacked and rode to the top of the climb to win the stage by thirty-eight seconds.
Lejaretta crashed on the day and lost over six and a half minutes, putting him out of contention for the podium and overall victory.
Midway through the stage, Fignon abandoned the race.
The eighteenth day of racing was a transition stage.
Several attempts were made to form a breakaway group before a group of eight were successful in creating a gap.
The group was caught with five hundred meters to go by the chasing peloton which was setting up for a field sprint.
Silvio Martinello
Silvio Martinello (born 19 January 1963) is a retired road bicycle and track cyclist from Italy. He won the gold medal in the men's points race at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, followed by the bronze medal in the men's madison ...
managed to outsprint the likes of Cipollini and Abdoujaparov to win the day.
The nineteenth leg featured only one categorized climb, which
Iñaki Gastón
Iñaki Gastón Crespo (born 25 May 1963, in Bilbao) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer.
Major results
;1983
: 3rd
: 7th Overall GP Tell
;1984
: 1st Clásica a los Puertos de Guadarrama
: 1st Overall Vuelta a La Rioja
::1st ...
won to seal his victory in the
mountains classification.
The stage saw no major time disparities in the general classification contenders as they finished together, with Bugno taking the stage win.
The penultimate stage of the race was a individual time trial that contained one un-categorized climb within the route.
Race leader Chioccioli took the course and at the first time check at he had already put thirty seconds into Bugno.
He ended up winning the stage by fifty-seconds over Bugno, thereby extending his lead over the rest of his competitors.
The final stage culminated with a bunch sprint that was won by Cipollini.
Chioccioli had won the Giro d'Italia for the first time by almost four minutes over the second-place finisher Chiappucci.
Four riders achieved multiple stage victories: Cipollini (stages 3, 7, and 21),
Bugno (stages 2a, 10, and 19),
Lelli (stages 12 and 16),
and Chioccioli (stages 15, 17, and 20).
Stage wins were achieved by eight of the twenty competing squads, six of which won multiple stages. Del Tongo-MG Boys Maglificio collected a total of seven stage wins through three riders, Cipollini, Ballerini (stage 14),
and Chioccioli. Carrera Jeans-Tassoni earned three stage wins through Poulnikov (stage 6),
Ghirotto (stage 9),
and Sciandri (stage 11).
Ari-Ceramiche Ariostea achieved the same feat through Cassani (stage 8) and Lelli.
Chateau d'Ax-Gatorade garnered three stage victories through Bugno. Z amassed a total of two stage victories through Casado (stage 1) and Boyer (stage 4).
ONCE gained two stage victories through Lejaretta (stage 5) and Chozas (stage 13).
ZG Mobili and Gis Gelati-Ballan each won a single stage at the Giro, the first through Pierobon (stage 2b) and the second through Martinello (stage 18).
Classification leadership
Five different jerseys were worn during the 1991 Giro d'Italia. The leader of the
general classification
The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulat ...
– calculated by adding the stage finish times of each rider, and allowing time bonuses for the first three finishers on mass-start stages – wore a pink jersey. This classification is the most important of the race, and its winner is considered as the winner of the Giro.
The time bonuses for the 1991 Giro were twelve seconds for first, eight seconds for second, and four seconds for third place on the stage.
The winner of the general classification received 1.7 million francs.
![Passo Pordoi 2007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Passo_Pordoi_2007.jpg)
For the
points classification
The points classification is a secondary award category in road bicycle racing. Points are given for high finishes and, in some cases, for winning sprints at certain places along the route, most often called ''intermediate sprints''. The points cl ...
, which awarded a purple (or
cyclamen
''Cyclamen'' ( or ) is a genus of 23 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. ''Cyclamen'' species are native to Europe and the Mediterranean Basin east to the Caucasus and Iran, with one species in Somalia. They gro ...
) jersey to its leader,
cyclists were given points for finishing a stage in the top 15; additional points could also be won in intermediate sprints. The green jersey was awarded to the
mountains classification leader.
In this ranking, points were won by reaching the summit of a climb ahead of other cyclists. Each climb was ranked as either first, second or third category, with more points available for higher category climbs. The ''
Cima Coppi'', the race's highest point of elevation, awarded more points than the other first category climbs.
''The Cima Coppi'' for this Giro was the
Passo Pordoi.
It was crossed twice by the riders, for the first climbing of the mountain, Italian
Franco Vona was the first over the climb, while
Franco Chioccioli
Franco Chioccioli (born 25 August 1959 in Castelfranco di Sopra) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist. The highlight of his career was his overall win in the 1991 Giro d'Italia.
Major results
;1977
: 1st Overall Giro dell ...
was first over the second passing.
The white jersey was worn by the leader of
young rider classification Young rider classification (french: classement général des jeunes) is a cycling jersey competition in multi-day stage race events, such as the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and many others, which awards the current leader by overall time for rid ...
, a ranking decided the same way as the general classification, but only riders born after 1 January 1967 were eligible for it.
The
intergiro classification was marked by a blue jersey.
The calculation for the intergiro is similar to that of the general classification, in each stage there is a midway point that the riders pass through a point and where their time is stopped. As the race goes on, their times compiled and the person with the lowest time is the leader of the intergiro classification and wears the blue jersey.
Although no jersey was awarded, there was also one classification for the teams, in which the stage finish times of the best three cyclists per team were added; the leading team was the one with the lowest total time.
The rows in the following table correspond to the jerseys awarded after that stage was run.
Final standings
General classification
Points classification
Mountains classification
Young rider classification
Intergiro classification
Team classification
References
Citations
{{Giro d'Italia
G
Giro d'Italia
Giro d'Italia by year
May 1991 sports events in Europe
June 1991 sports events in Europe