The 2015 Giro d'Italia () was a three-week

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...

cycling stage race Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

that took place in May 2015. It was the 98th running of the Giro d'Italia and took place principally in Italy, although some stages visited France and Switzerland. The race included 21 stages, beginning in

San Lorenzo al Mare San Lorenzo al Mare ( lij, San Loénso) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about west of Imperia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 1,409 and ...

on 9 May and concluding 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 ...

on 31 May. It was the fifteenth race of the

2015 UCI World Tour The 2015 UCI World Tour was the seventh edition of the ranking system launched by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in 2009. The series started with the opening stage of the 2015 Tour Down Under, Tour Down Under on 20 January, and concluded w ...

. The Giro was won by

Alberto Contador Alberto Contador Velasco (; born 6 December 1982) is a Spanish former professional cyclist. He is one of the most successful riders of his era, winning the Tour de France twice ( 2007, 2009), the Giro d'Italia twice (2008, 2015), and the V ...

(), with

Fabio Aru , birth_date = , birth_place = San Gavino Monreale, Sardinia, Italy , height = , weight = , currentteam = Retired , discipline = Road , role = Rider , ridertype = Climber , amateuryears1 = 2009–2012 , amateurteam1 = Palazzago , ...

() second and Aru's teammate

Mikel Landa Mikel Landa Meana (born 13 December 1989) is a Spanish professional road cyclist who rides for UCI WorldTeam . His career breakthrough came at the 2015 Giro d'Italia where he won two stages and finished third overall. Career Early career La ...

third. Contador first took the lead after stage 5, the race's first uphill finish. His defence of the pink jersey (given to the leader in the

General classification in the Giro d'Italia The general classification in the Giro d'Italia is the most important classification of the Giro d'Italia, which determines who is the overall winner. It is therefore considered more important than secondary classifications as the points classi ...

) was put in doubt when he injured his left shoulder in a crash in the sixth stage. He held his lead through several stages stage but was caught up in another crash in stage 13, which caused him to lose the lead. He took the lead back the following day in the

Individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' " stopwatch stage"). There are also track ...

, where he gained a lead of several minutes over all his rivals. Despite aggressive riding from Aru and Landa in the final week, Contador was able to defend his lead to the finish of the race. This was his third Giro d'Italia title, after the 2008 race. As well as finishing second overall, Aru won the white jersey as the best young rider in the week.

Giacomo Nizzolo Giacomo Nizzolo (born 30 January 1989) is an Italian racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Leopard Trek (2011–18) Nizzolo took his first win at UCI World Tour level in August 2012, on stage 5 of the Eneco Tour. He launc ...

() won the points competition and Giovanni Visconti (

Movistar Movistar () is a major telecommunications provider owned by Telefónica, operating in Spain and Hispanic American countries. It is the largest provider of landline, broadband, mobile services, and pay television ( Movistar+) in Spain. Movistar ...

) won the mountains classification. Astana finished first in both the team ranking by time and the team ranking by points. Contador, Visconti and Nizzolo all won their classifications without winning any stage victories.

Teams

As the Giro d'Italia was a UCI World Tour event, all seventeen

UCI WorldTeam A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road cycling, the UCI World Tour or UCI ProTour ...

s were automatically invited and obliged to send a squad. Five UCI Professional Continental teams were given wildcard places in the race by RCS Sport, the race organisers. Four of these were Italian-based teams: , , and . Southeast's entry in the race was earned by their victory in the 2014 Coppa Italia, when they competed as ; they were invited despite three recent doping cases in the team. The final wildcard place was awarded to , a Polish-based team. CCC-Sprandi-Polkowice's invitation immediately received attention because the team's roster included two prominent riders who has previously served bans for doping:

Stefan Schumacher Stefan Schumacher (born 21 July 1981) is a German former professional road racing cyclist. Schumacher won the bronze medal in the road race at the 2007 UCI Road World Championships, two stages in the 2006 Giro d'Italia and two stages in the 2 ...

and

Davide Rebellin Davide Rebellin (9 August 1971 – 30 November 2022) was an Italian professional road bicycle racer, who last rode for UCI Continental team . He was considered one of the finest classic cycle races, classics specialists of his generation with mo ...

. The day after the announcement, ''

Cycling Weekly ''Cycling Weekly'' is a British cycling magazine. It is published by Future and is devoted to the sport and pastime of cycling. It used to be affectionately referred to by British club cyclists as "The Comic".San Remo on the evening before the first stage. As each team sent nine riders to the race, the startlist contained 198 riders. George Bennett () was withdrawn from the startlist on the night before the race, however, as a blood test had revealed low

cortisol Cortisol is a steroid hormone, in the glucocorticoid class of hormones. When used as a medication, it is known as hydrocortisone. It is produced in many animals, mainly by the '' zona fasciculata'' of the adrenal cortex in the adrenal g ...

levels. As his team was part of the Movement for Credible Cycling (MPCC), he was not allowed to start the Giro. therefore began the race with eight riders and there were 197 riders in the

peloton In a road bicycle race, the peloton (from French, originally meaning 'platoon') is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close ( drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The reducti ...

at the beginning of the race. This included riders from 36 different countries, with the largest numbers coming from Italy (59), France (15), Belgium (12) and the Netherlands (12). The average age of riders in the Giro was 28.95; they ranged from the 21-year-old

Rick Zabel Rick Zabel (born 7 December 1993) is a road bicycle racer from Germany, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He is the son of Erik Zabel and grandson of Detlef Zabel. Cycling career Born in Unna, Zabel won the National Novice Track Champions ...

() to the 41-year-old

Alessandro Petacchi Alessandro Petacchi (born 3 January 1974) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 1996 and 2015. A specialist Cycling sprinter, sprinter, Petacchi has won 48 Grand Tour (cycling), grand tour stages ...

(Southeast).

Pre-race favourites

The winner of the

2014 Giro d'Italia The 2014 Giro d'Italia was the 97th running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. The race started off in Belfast, on 9 May, with a team time trial and concluded in Trieste, on 1 June, with a flat stage. A total of 198 r ...

Nairo Quintana Nairo Alexánder Quintana Rojas, Order of Boyacá, ODB, (born 4 February 1990) is a Colombian racing cyclist, who rides for UCI ProSeries, UCI ProTeam . Nicknamed "Nairoman" and "El Cóndor de los Andes", Quintana is a specialist climber, known ...

(), chose not to defend his title in order to focus on 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 ...

. The principal favourite for the race was

(), especially as

Chris Froome Christopher Clive Froome ɹɪs fɹuːm (born 20 May 1985) is a Kenyan/British Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He has won seven Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours: four editions of the Tour de ...

() and

Vincenzo Nibali ), The Nibbler , birth_date = , birth_place = Messina, Sicily, Italy , height = , weight = , currentteam = , discipline = Road , role = Rider , ridertype = Climber , proyears1 = 2005 , proteam1 = , proyears2 = 2006–2012 , protea ...

(), two of the most successful active Grand Tour riders, also chose to focus on the Tour and to skip the Giro. Contador, who had won the

2014 Vuelta a España The 2014 Vuelta a España took place between 23 August and 14 September 2014 and was the 69th edition of the race. It featured eight mountain stages, five hill stages, five flat stages, and three time trials (one team and two individual), two of ...

, was attempting to win both the Giro and the Tour in the same season. No rider had achieved this double since

Marco Pantani Marco Pantani (; 13 January 1970 – 14 February 2004) was an Italian road racing cyclist, widely regarded as the greatest climbing specialist in the history of the sport by measures of his legacy, credits from other riders, and records. He rec ...

in 1998; Contador described his ambition to do "something that people will remember forever". Contador's last attempt to win both the Giro and the Tour – in the 2011 season – ended in failure. Although he finished first in the Giro, he only managed fifth place in the Tour; both results were subsequently removed because of a ban due to a doping case from 2010. The rider considered most likely to challenge Contador for the general classification was

Richie Porte Richard Julian Porte (born 30 January 1985) is an Australian professional Road bicycle racing, road bicycle racer who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . His successes include wins at 8 UCI World Tour, World Tour stage races: Paris–Nice in 201 ...

(Sky). Porte had already achieved nine race victories in 2015, including the overall victories in

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the Col d'Èze overlookin ...

, the

Volta a Catalunya The Volta a Catalunya (; en, Tour of Catalonia, es, Vuelta a Cataluña, link=no) is a road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of three World Tour stage races in Spain, together with the Vuelta a España and the Tour of th ...

and the

Giro del Trentino The Tour of the Alps is an annual professional cycling stage race in Italy and Austria. First held in 1962, it was named Giro del Trentino ( en, Tour of Trentino) until 2016, and run over four stages in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region o ...

. Porte was expected to be particularly strong in the individual time trial, as well as in the mountains. Porte had not shown consistent form in a Grand Tour in recent years, however, and there were doubts about his ability to maintain his form over a three-week race.

Rigoberto Urán Rigoberto Urán Urán, ODB (born 26 January 1987) is a Colombian professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he won a silver medal in the road race. He became the first Colombian ever ...

() – who had finished second in 2013 and 2014 – was also among the favourites, with the long individual time trial expected to suit him.

(Astana) – who had finished third in 2014 – was also expected to perform well; ''

VeloNews ''VeloNews'' is an American cycling magazine headquartered in Boulder, CO. It is published by Outside and is devoted to the sport of cycling. History The magazine was first published as ''Northeast Cycling News'' in March 1972 by Barbara and R ...

'' described him as "perhaps the best pure climber in the race". Other riders expected to challenge for the higher places included

Ilnur Zakarin Ilnur Azatovich Zakarin (russian: Ильнур Азатович Закарин; born 15 September 1989) is a Russian racing cyclist, who rides for UCI ProTeam . Career Early career and doping ban In 2007, as a 17-year-old, he won the juniors tim ...

(), who had just won the

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. I ...

Domenico Pozzovivo Domenico Pozzovivo (born 30 November 1982) is an Italian professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . His very small stature confer him with the qualities of a pure climbing specialist. He is most known for a victor ...

(),

Jurgen Van den Broeck Jurgen Van den Broeck (born 1 February 1983) is a Belgian former road bicycle racer, who competed professionally between 2004 and 2017 for the , , and squads. Van den Broeck specialised in the time trial discipline, having been Junior World Cha ...

(),

Damiano Caruso Damiano Caruso (born 12 October 1987) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Caruso was also the 2008 under-23 Italian national champion for the road race. He competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, i ...

(BMC) and

Ryder Hesjedal Eric Ryder Hesjedal (; born December 9, 1980) is a Canadian retired professional racing cyclist who competed in both mountain biking and road racing between 1998 and 2016. Hesjedal won a silver medal at the 1998 Junior, 2001 Under-23, and Elite ...

(), the winner of the

2012 Giro d'Italia The 2012 Giro d'Italia was the 95th edition of Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started in the Danish city of Herning, and ended in Milan. The complete route of the 2012 Giro d'Italia was announced in mid October. For the fir ...

. Four former winners of the Giro started the 2015 edition: Contador, Hesjedal,

Ivan Basso Ivan Basso (born 26 November 1977) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 1999 and 2015 for seven different teams. Basso, nicknamed Ivan the Terrible, was considered among the best mountain riders in ...

(Tinkoff-Saxo) and

Damiano Cunego Damiano Cunego (born 19 September 1981) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2018 for the , and teams. Cunego's biggest wins were the 2004 Giro d'Italia, the 2008 Amstel Gold Race, ...

(). Other prominent riders to start the race included a large number of prominent sprinters, including

André Greipel André Greipel (born 16 July 1982) is a German former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2021. Since his retirement, Greipel now works as a directeur sportif for UCI Continental team . Born in Rostock, East ...

(Lotto-Soudal) and Michael Matthews (). Greipel was expected to perform well in the few flat stages. Matthews had the ability to win hillier stages; his team's strength in the

team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ( ...

was expected to put him into the pink jersey as 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 ...

during the first week; he had also worn the jersey in the first week of the 2014 Giro.

Tom Boonen Tom Boonen (; born 15 October 1980) is a Belgian former road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 2002 and 2017 for the and teams and a professional racing driver who currently competes in Belcar, having previously competed in ...

(), a former world champion, participated in the Giro for the first time in his career.

Route and stages

The first announcement of the route for the 2015 Giro came in July 2014, when RCS Sport announced that it would begin with a team time trial from

along the coast to San Remo. The route would use the cycle path and would start at the foot of the

Cipressa Cipressa ( lij, A Çipressa) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Imperia in the Italy, Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about southwest of Imperia (city), Imperia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a popula ...

climb made famous by its inclusion in the

Milan–San Remo Milan–San Remo (in Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance of 298 km (~185.2 miles) it is t ...

classic. The route used neither the climb of the Cipressa nor that of the

Poggio di San Remo The Poggio di San Remo is a hill in the Italian region Liguria, near San Remo. Milan-Sanremo It is mainly known from road cycling, as it is the final climb in the classic Milan–San Remo. The climb is 4 kilometers long with an average grad ...

; it kept to the coastline and was entirely flat. The stage would end on the Lungomare Italo Calvino in San Remo. The following two stages were announced at the same time. The second stage – the first mass-start stage of the race – would suit the sprinters, while the third stage would take the riders to

La Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest city ...

, where the small climb of the Biassa would come towards the end of the stage. A further route announcement was made in mid-September.

Mauro Vegni Mauro may refer to: Given name * Mauro (footballer, born 1932), Brazilian footballer * Mauro Silva (footballer, born 1978), Brazilian footballer * Mauro (footballer, born 1984), Portuguese footballer * Bruno Mauro (born 1973), Angolan footballer * ...

, the race director, announced that the Giro would return to the climb of the

Madonna di Campiglio Madonna di Campiglio (german: Sankt Maria im Pein) is a village and a ski resort in northeast Italy. It is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Pinzolo. The village lies in the Val Rendena at an elevation of above sea level, and has approximatel ...

for the first time since

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

. In the 1999 Giro, Marco Pantani won the stage that finished on the climb and was in the race lead; he failed a test for EPO use, however, and was expelled from the race. The full route announcement was made in Milan on 6 October at an event attended by many riders expected to participate in the Giro. An additional stage in Liguria was included in the route. This was the new third stage, with the stage to La Spezia now stage 4. The additional stage was hilly but had a long flat section towards the finish. The first summit finish of the race came on the second-category climb of the

Abetone Abetone was a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Pistoia in the Italian region of Tuscany, located about northwest of Florence and about northwest of Pistoia. It has been a frazione of Abetone Cutigliano since 2017. History Abet ...

at the end of stage 5. There was then one flat stage, which was followed by the hilly stage 7, which was the longest stage in any Giro d'Italia since 2000 at . These took the riders south along the Tyrrhenian coast and into

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

and then inland towards the southern

Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...

. The race then entered the mountains for stages 8 and 9. Stage 8 had a summit finish on the Campitello Matese; stage 9 included mountains and hills throughout. This was followed by the race's first rest day. Prosecco vineyards

The rest day included a transfer to

Civitanova Marche Civitanova Marche is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region Marche, located about southeast of Ancona and about east of Macerata. Geography Civitanova Marche borders the municipalities: Montecosaro, Port ...

on the

Adriatic The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) ...

coast. The subsequent stages took the riders along the coast and then into 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 par ...

. Immediately after the rest day, there were four relatively flat stages, although two of them included hills towards the end. These were followed by the race's only individual time trial. This was in length and was one of the longest time trials in the Giro in recent years. It began with of flat roads, which were followed by rolling roads towards the finish line in

Valdobbiadene Valdobbiadene () is a town in the province of Treviso, Veneto, Italy. Valdobbiadene is a wine growing area. Just below the Alpine-Dolomite areas of Veneto, it provides a climate for a cool variety of grape (Glera). The Conegliano Valdobbiadene ar ...

. After the time trial came the stage to Madonna di Campiglio, which included several other difficult climbs. This was followed by the second rest day. The final week of the race began with a stage that crossed the very difficult Passo di Mortirolo on the way to a finish on a third-category climb in

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 ...

. ''Cycling Weekly'' described this as "this year's blockbuster stage". This was followed by one of the flattest stages of the race, which took the Giro out of Italy for the first time in 2015 as it crossed into

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

for a finish in

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...

. There were then three consecutive days with high mountains. The eighteenth stage of the race started in

Melide, Switzerland Melide is a municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. The village lies very close to the mountain Monte San Salvatore and is directly on the Lake of Lugano. The Melide causeway to the east was built to make ...

in Switzerland and took the riders across the difficult Monte Ologno before a difficult descent to the finish. There were then two consecutive summit finishes on the Cervinia and on

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 final stage was a largely ceremonial flat stage towards a finish in

. The highest climb of the 2015 Giro – known as the ''

Cima Coppi The ''Cima Coppi'' is the title given to the highest peak in the yearly running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. The mountain that is given this title each year awards more mountains classification points to the first rider ...

'' – was the Colle delle Finestre on the penultimate stage. This was above sea level. In general, the climbs were lower than in previous years, following controversy in the 2014 Giro over the crossing of 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 ...

. The race organisers also tried to make the transfers between stages shorter.

Race overview

Giro d'Italia 2015, simon clarke (18125954410)

Stage 1, the team time trial, was won by .

Simon Gerrans Simon Gerrans (born 16 May 1980) is an Australian former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2005 and 2018, for the , , , , and squads. Post-retirement he initially worked as an athlete intern at Goldman Sachs in L ...

was the first rider to cross the line, so he became the first leader of the race. Tinkoff-Saxo were second, seven seconds slower, which made Contador the best-placed rider among the general classification favourites. He gained six seconds on Aru and twenty seconds on Porte. Elia Viviani won the sprint on stage 2; he therefore took the lead in the points classification. Michael Matthews finished seventh on the stage and moved into the pink jersey. Matthews extended his lead by winning stage 3 in a sprint from a reduced group. There was particular concern during the stage after

() crashed on a descent; he abandoned the race and was taken to hospital. The fourth stage was won by

Davide Formolo , birth_date = , birth_place = Negrar, Italy , death_date = , death_place = , height = , weight = , currentteam = , discipline = Road , role = Rider , ridertype = Climber , amateur ...

() from an early breakaway. Astana raced aggressively in the second part of the stage and put significant pressure on the other general classification riders; Rigoberto Urán lost more than 40 seconds, while Tinkoff-Saxo appeared weak in support of Contador. Matthews lost around 20 minutes; Simon Clarke took over the lead of the race. Clarke was the third Australian rider for the team to lead the 2015 Giro. Stage 5, with its summit finish at Abetone, was also won by a rider from a breakaway, this time Jan Polanc (), who attacked on the final climb and won by more than a minute. The general classification favourites attacked on the final climb; Contador was the first to attack and was followed by Aru and Porte. They were then joined by

, Aru's teammate, and gained time over all the other riders. Clarke lost over two minutes to Contador, Aru and Porte; he therefore lost the lead in the

and Contador became the new leader of the race, two seconds ahead of Aru and twenty ahead of Porte. Contador's lead came under threat the following day. The stage was won by Greipel in a sprint finish, but there was a large crash in the final metres. This was caused by a spectator who was leaning over the crash barriers with a camera;

Daniele Colli Daniele Colli (born April 19, 1982) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2005 and 2017. On 14 May 2015, during the Stage 6 of the Giro d'Italia, Colli broke his arm following a collision with spe ...

() collided with him and caused a large number of riders to crash behind him. Contador was among the riders to crash; although he finished the stage on the same time as Greipel, he was treated for a shoulder injury by his team doctor and was unable to put on the leader's jersey on the podium. Despite suffering from the injury, Contador started and finished the following day's stage. This was won in a sprint finish by

Diego Ulissi Diego Ulissi (born 15 July 1989) is an Italian road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Ulissi is a versatile, all-round cyclist who often wins stages and one-day races from breakaways and over hilly terrain. Born in ...

(Lampre-Mérida), while Contador retained the race lead. Giro d'Italia 2015, kopgroep aru landa kruiswijk (18125953940) (cropped)

Contador continued to be troubled by his injury during stage 8, which finished on the climb of the Campitello Matese. The stage was won by

Beñat Intxausti Beñat Intxausti Elorriaga (born 20 March 1986) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2007 and 2019 for the Nicolas Mateos, , , , and teams. Career Intxausti was born in Amorebieta-Etxano, Bis ...

(Movistar), who was in the day's early breakaway and attacked on the final climb. Astana again rode hard to put pressure on the other riders; eventually a group formed of Contador, Aru, Porte and Landa. Landa then attacked and finished second on the stage, 15 seconds ahead of the other three riders. He therefore moved up into fifth place overall, while Contador increased his lead over Aru by winning bonus seconds at an intermediate sprint. Stage 9 was also won by a rider from a breakaway:

Paolo Tiralongo Paolo Tiralongo (born 8 July 1977) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2000 and 2017 for the , , and teams. Career In 2009, while riding for , Tiralongo registered his best final result on a ...

(Astana) took a solo victory. Aru, Contador, Porte and Landa were again alone in a group towards the end of the stage; although they came to the finish together, Aru took a second out of the others in the sprint. This moved him to three seconds behind Contador. The following day was the first rest day of the race. After the rest day, stage 10 was once again won by a rider from a breakaway:

Nicola Boem Nicola Boem (born 27 September 1989) is an Italian former bicycle racing, racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2013 and 2017, all for the team. He competed in the Giro d'Italia five times, winning Stage 10 of the 2015 Giro d'Ital ...

() sprinted to the victory from a small group. A large group – including Contador, Aru and Landa – finished together. Porte, however, suffered a mechanical problem in the final and he was unable to regain contact with the main group, despite assistance from his teammates and from Michael Matthews, Porte's fellow Australian. Porte lost over 40 seconds to the other general classification favourites. After the stage, it was revealed that Porte had been given assistance by another Australian rider, Simon Clarke. Clarke had seen Porte waiting for assistance and had given him one of his own wheels. This was illegal under UCI rules that prohibit "non-regulation assistance to a rider from another team"; Porte was therefore given a two-minute time penalty and dropped to twelfth place, over three minutes behind Contador, with Landa moving up to third place. Stage 11 was won by Ilnur Zakarin, who attacked from an all-day breakaway from the finish line and rode solo to the finish. The general classification favourites all finished together. Stage 12 finished with a short, steep climb. It was won by

Philippe Gilbert Philippe Gilbert (born 5 July 1982) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer, who is best known for winning the World Road Race Championships in 2012, and for being one of two riders, along with Davide Rebellin, to have won the three ...

(BMC). Contador finished second to win six bonus seconds; his lead was further extended as Aru and Landa both lost several seconds on the climb. Contador lost the lead the following day, however. The stage was won in a bunch sprint by

Sacha Modolo Sacha Modolo (born 19 June 1987) is an Italian road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . Career Colnago-CSF (2010–2013) In the spring of 2010, he sprinted his way to fourth place in the cycling monument Milan – San R ...

(); just over before the finish line, however, there was a large crash that delayed a large number of riders. Contador was one of the riders delayed in the crash; he lost 36 seconds to Aru, who therefore took over the race lead. Porte was also caught up in the crash and lost another two minutes. Stage 14 was the individual time trial, which was won by

Vasil Kiryienka Vasili Vasilyevich Kiryienka ( be, Васіль Васілевіч Кірыенка; Łacinka: Vasil Vasilevič Kiryjenka; born 28 June 1981) is a Belarusian former racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2006 and 2020 for the OTC Doors, ...

(Sky). Contador finished third on the stage, nearly three minutes ahead of Aru. Contador therefore moved back into the race lead. Contador passed Landa on the road, despite starting three minutes after him; Landa lost over four minutes and fell to seventh place overall. Movistar's

Andrey Amador Andrey Amador Bikkazakova (born 29 August 1986) is a Costa Rican professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Amador is the son of Rodolfo Amador, a Costa Rican and Raisa Bikkazakova, a Russian immigrant who ...

moved up into third. Stage 15 was the final stage of the second week and was the climb to Madonna di Campiglio. Landa won the stage after Astana rode hard on the final climb; he finished five seconds ahead of Contador and moved back up to fourth place. Contador finished a second ahead of Aru and extended his lead further due to bonus seconds for his third-place finish. Porte, who had lost over 30 minutes during the weekend following the crash in stage 13, withdrew from the race after the stage. After the rest day, Landa won a second consecutive stage. Contador had suffered a puncture at the foot of the penultimate climb – the Mortirolo – and at one point was nearly a minute behind Landa and Aru. Contador caught Landa and Aru, however, then attacked them. Although Landa was able to follow Contador's attack, Aru was not. On the final climb to Aprica, Landa attacked and won the stage, 38 seconds ahead of Contador. Aru, meanwhile, lost nearly three minutes to Landa. Landa moved up into second place, although he was still over four minutes behind Contador, with Aru now third. Sacha Modolo won his second stage the following day, in a sprint finish, with

() moving into the lead of the points classification. Philippe Gilbert also won a second stage of the 2015 Giro on stage 18, escaping in a breakaway early in the day and attacking from the finish to take a solo victory. Contador again increased his lead, however: after Aru and Landa were caught behind a crash, Contador ordered his team to attack. ''

Cyclingnews.com Cyclingnews.com is a website providing cycling news and race result owned by Future. History In 1995 Australian Bill Mitchell, a keen cyclist and professor of economics at the University of Newcastle, created the website titled "Bill’s Cycli ...

'' suggested this was revenge for Astana's attack on stage 16. Contador then attacked alone and, after cooperation with Ryder Hesjedal, gained more than a minute on his rivals. Landa was second, over five minutes behind, with Aru a further 50 seconds back. Giro d'Italia 2015, contador (18125955210)

Giro d'Italia 2015, contador (18125955210)

Stage 19 was the first of two consecutive summit finishes. The stage was won by Aru, who attacked early in the final climb. Contador was content to let the other riders dictate the pace in the chasing group, which finished over a minute behind Aru. Landa finished in the same group; Aru therefore moved back ahead of him into second place overall. Aru won again on stage 20, the final difficult stage of the Giro. Contador was isolated from his teammates early in the first of the day's two climbs. The roads towards the top of the climb – the – were gravel. Landa attacked around this point and Contador was unable to follow. With Contador struggling, the other riders in the group attacked. Contador was a minute behind them at the summit, with Landa further ahead. At the foot of the final climb, Landa was ordered by his team to wait for Aru with the hope that, by working together, the two riders could put enough time into Contador to win the Giro. Aru attacked in the final kilometres of the final climb to

and won the stage. Landa was 24 seconds behind. Despite losing over two minutes, Contador retained his race lead. The final stage of the Giro was a flat stage ending with several laps of a circuit in Milan. It was not expected to affect the general classification, with a bunch sprint the likely conclusion. There was an attack on the finishing circuit, however, by Iljo Keisse () and

Luke Durbridge Luke Durbridge (born 9 April 1991) is an Australian road and track cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Durbridge specialises in the individual time trial, road races, and various track cycling events. As well as winning the 2012 A ...

(). Although they never had more than a minute's lead, they were able to stay away from the peloton to the finish. Keisse won the sprint between the pair for the stage victory. Contador finished in the leading group to secure the overall victory, just under two minutes ahead of Aru. Contador thus won the overall 2015 Giro d'Italia without winning any stage victories.

Classification leadership

Giro d'Italia 2015, intxausti (17693062563)

In the 2015 Giro d'Italia, four different jerseys were awarded. The first and most important is the

, calculated by adding each rider's finishing times on each stage. Riders received time bonuses for finishing in the first three places on each stage (excluding the team time trial and individual time trial). The rider with the lowest cumulative time was awarded the pink jersey (the ''maglia rosa'') and was considered the winner of the Giro d'Italia. Additionally, there was a

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 ...

. Riders won points for finishing in the top 15 on each stage. Flat stages award more points that mountainous stages, meaning that this classification tends to favour sprinters. In addition, points can be won in intermediate sprints. The winner of the points classification won the red jersey. There was also a

mountains classification The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a femal ...

. Points were awarded for reaching the top of a climb towards the front of the race. Each climb will be categorized as either first, second, third, or fourth-category, with more points available for the higher-categorized climbs. The ''

'', the race's highest point of elevation, awards more points than the other first-category climbs. At , the ''Cima Coppi'' for the 2015 Giro d'Italia was the unpaved Colle delle Finestre. The fourth jersey represented the young rider classification. This was decided the same way as the general classification, but only riders born after 1 January 1990 were eligible. The winner of the classification was awarded a white jersey. There were also two classifications for teams. In the Trofeo Fast Team classification, the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added up; the leading team was the team with the lowest total time. The Trofeo Super Team was a team points classification, with the top 20 placed riders on each stage earning points (20 for first place, 19 for second place and so on, down to a single point for 20th) for their team. ;Notes: * In stage 3,

Esteban Chaves Jhoan Esteban Chaves Rubio (born 17 January 1990) is a Colombian professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Born in Bogotá, Chaves has competed as a professional since the start of the 2012 season, having signed f ...

, who was second in the young riders classification, wore the white jersey, because Michael Matthews (in first place) wore the pink jersey as leader of the general classification during that stage. * In stage 14,

Davide Formolo , birth_date = , birth_place = Negrar, Italy , death_date = , death_place = , height = , weight = , currentteam = , discipline = Road , role = Rider , ridertype = Climber , amateur ...

, who was second in the young riders classification, wore the white jersey, because

(in first place) wore the pink jersey as leader of the general classification during that stage.

Final standings

General classification

Mountains classification

Points classification

Young riders classification

Trofeo Fast Team classification

Trofeo Super Team classification

Minor classifications

Several other minor classifications were awarded. The first of these was the intermediate sprint classification ( it, Traguardi Volanti). Each road stage had two sprints during the stage. The first five riders across the intermediate sprint line were awarded points; the rider with the most points at the end of the race won the classification.The regulations for the 2015 Giro have not been published. See: * the regulations for the 2014 Giro, which were substantially the same: * the results for the first stage, which indicate the points awarded: This classification was won by

Marco Bandiera Marco Bandiera (born 12 June 1984) is an Italian former road bicycle racer, who competed professionally between 2008 and 2016 for the , , , and squads. Major results ;2004 : 3rd GP Kranj ;2005 : 2nd Trofeo Alcide Degasperi : 2nd Gran Premio ...

(). A similar classification, the ' prize, was decided by points awarded to the top three riders on each stage. It was similar to the points classification, but with fewer riders awarded points. The classification was won by Mikel Landa. Another classification – the combativity prize ( it, Premio Combattivita) – involved points awarded to the first riders at the stage finishes, at intermediate sprints and at the summits of categorised climbs. It was won by Philippe Gilbert. There was also a breakaway award ( it, Premio della Fuga). For this, points were awarded to each rider in any breakaway smaller than 10 riders that escaped for at least . Each rider was awarded a point for each kilometre that he was away from the peloton. The rider with the most points at the end of the Giro won the award. The classification was also won by Bandiera. The final individual classification was the "energy classification" ( it, Premio Energy). In each stage, the fastest three riders in the final of the stage were awarded points. The rider with the most points at the end of the Giro won the classification. The award was won by Fabio Aru. The final classification was a "fair play" ranking for each team. Teams were given penalty points for infringing various rules. These ranged from a half-point penalty for offences that merited a warning from the race officials to a 2000-point penalty for a positive doping test. The team that had the lowest points total at the end of the Giro won the classification. It was won by , who did not receive any penalty points during the Giro.

References

Citations

External links

* {{2015 UCI World Tour Giro d'Italia by year Giro d'Italia Giro d'Italia May 2015 sports events in Europe