The Combination classification was a competition in the annual Giro d'Italia bicycle race. It was first introduced in the

1985 Giro d'Italia The 1985 Giro d'Italia was the 68th running of the Giro. It started in Palermo, on 16 May, with a prologue and concluded in Lucca, on 9 June, with a individual time trial. A total of 180 riders from twenty teams entered the 22-stage race, ...

, where it was first won by the Swiss rider

Urs Freuler Urs Freuler (born 6 November 1958 in Bilten, Canton of Glarus) is a Swiss cyclist, who raced professionally between 1980 and 1997, during which he won 124 victories. He was named Swiss Sports Personality of the Year in 1982 and 1983. He was bor ...

. The classification was run annually until the

1988 Giro d'Italia The 1988 Giro d'Italia was the 71st running of the race. It started in Urbino, on 23 May, with a individual time trial and concluded in Vittorio Veneto, on 12 June, with a individual time trial. A total of 180 riders from 20 teams entered t ...

, where the American

Andrew Hampsten Andrew Hampsten (born April 7, 1962) is an American former professional road bicycle racer who won the 1988 Giro d'Italia and the Alpe d'Huez stage of the 1992 Tour de France. Between 1986–1994 he finished in the Top 10 of eight Grand Tour ...

won the classification. The combination classification was replaced in the

1989 Giro d'Italia The 1989 Giro d'Italia was the 72nd edition of the race. It started off in Taormina on 21 May with a flat stage that ended in Catania. The race concluded in Florence with a individual time trial on 11 June. Twenty-two teams entered the race ...

by the intergiro classification. The classification reappeared after an 11-year hiatus in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

. It was the absent from the succeeding Giro d'Italia editions until it returned in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, where

Paolo Savoldelli Paolo Savoldelli (born 7 May 1973 in Clusone, province of Bergamo) is a former Italian road racing cyclist and winner of the 2002 and 2005 Giro d'Italia. Savoldelli was a climber but known for his fast downhill riding. He is nicknamed ''Il F ...

won the classification. The classification did not return in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, as it was replaced by the return of the

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 ride ...

. For the 1988 and the 2006 editions of the Giro, the leader of the classification was awarded a blue jersey.

Combination classification standings

References

{{Giro d'Italia Giro d'Italia Giro d'Italia Italian sports trophies and awards