2012 Giro d'Italia
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The 2012 Giro d'Italia was the 95th edition of Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's
Grand Tours In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour is one of the three major European professional cycling stage races: Giro d'Italia, Tour de France, and Vuelta a España. Collectively they are termed the ''Grand Tours'', and all three races are similar in ...
. It started in the
Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
city of
Herning Herning () is a Danish town in the Central Denmark Region of the Jutland peninsula. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Herning Municipality. Herning has a population of 50,565 (1 January 2022)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 complete route of the 2012 Giro d'Italia was announced in mid October. For the first time since the 2007 edition no climbing time trial was included in the route. The colour of the jersey for the
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 ...
was changed for this year's edition from green to blue. The move came at the behest of sponsor Banca Mediolanum, who renewed its support of the mountains classification for a further four years. The race was won by Canada's
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 ...
of , becoming the first Canadian rider to win a
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 tuto ...
event and the second non-European rider to win the Giro (the first being
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 ...
in
1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
); he also became only the second rider to take the leader's jersey from another rider on the final day, after
Francesco Moser Francesco Moser ( or ; ; born 19 June 1951), nicknamed "Lo sceriffo" (The sheriff), is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer. He finished on the podium of the Giro d'Italia six times including his win in the 1984 edition. Moser ...
did so in
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
. Hesjedal won the general classification by 16 seconds over runner-up
Joaquim Rodríguez Joaquim Rodríguez Oliver (born 12 May 1979) is a former Spanish professional road racing cyclist, who competed between 2001 and 2016 for the , , and teams. Rodríguez recorded notable results included fourteen Grand Tour stage victories, an ...
of Spain, representing – the closest race-winning margin since
Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victorie ...
beat
Gianbattista Baronchelli Gianbattista Baronchelli (born 6 September 1953) is an Italian retired professional road racing cyclist (1974–1989). He obtained a total of 94 victories. Baronchelli was born in Ceresara, in the Province of Mantua. In 1973, as an amateur, h ...
by 12 seconds in the 1974 edition – who also won two stages and the points classification title, edging out sprinter
Mark Cavendish Mark Simon Cavendish (born 21 May 1985) is a Isle of Man, Manx professional Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . As a Track cycling, track cyclist he specialises in the Madison (cycling), madison, po ...
by one point. Third place was taken by 's
Thomas De Gendt Thomas De Gendt (born 6 November 1986) is a Belgian professional road racing cyclist, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . He previously rode for rivals , , and . Career Born in Sint-Niklaas, De Gendt won the opening stage of the 2011 Paris–Nice ...
of Belgium, after he put in strong performances on the final two stages of the race; he won the race's queen stage, finishing at the high-point of the itinerary, at the
Stelvio Pass ''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 ...
and also finished in the top five of the time trial. As such, he gained sufficient time to move up from ninth to third over those stages, becoming the first Belgian rider to take a Grand Tour podium since
Johan Bruyneel Johan Bruyneel (born 23 August 1964) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer and a former directeur sportif for UCI ProTour team , and (later known as Discovery Channel), a US-based UCI ProTour cycling team. On 25 October 2018, the W ...
finished third at the 1995 Vuelta a España. In the race's other classifications, rider
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 ...
of Colombia finished as the best rider aged 25 or under in the general classification, finishing in seventh place overall; the mountains competition was won by Italy's
Matteo Rabottini Matteo Rabottini (born 14 August 1987) is an Italian racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Continental team . Career He was provisionally suspended by the UCI in September 2014 following an adverse analytical finding for EPO in a test tak ...
of the team, scoring almost double the number of points that his nearest rival in the standings accrued. Rabottini was the only Italian to feature on the podium, as for the first time since
1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
, no Italian riders finished in the top three overall, as 's
Michele Scarponi , birth_date = , birth_place = Jesi, Marche, Italy , death_date = , death_place = Filottrano, Marche, Italy , height = , weight = , discipline = Road , role = Climbing specialistDomestique , amateuryears1= 1988â ...
– the defending champion – could only finish fourth overall.


Teams

All 18
UCI ProTeam UCI most commonly refers to: * University of California, Irvine, a public university in Irvine, California, United States * Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling UCI may also refer to: * Uganda Cancer In ...
s were automatically invited and were obliged to attend. In addition four
UCI Professional Continental The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to expand cycling around the world. The five circuits (representing the continents of Africa, the ...
were announced in January 2012. The full list of participating teams is:


Pre-race favourites

2011 winner
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 Vue ...
was banned for two years on 6 February for doping during
2010 Tour de France The 2010 Tour de France was the 97th edition of the Tour de France cycle race, one of cycling's Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. It started on with an 8.9 km prologue time trial in Rotterdam, the first start in the Netherlands since 1996 ...
and therefore did not start in the Giro.
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 ...
, winner of the Giro of
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 ...
and
2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, announced on 13 November 2011 that he was aiming for a third pink jersey.
Johan Bruyneel Johan Bruyneel (born 23 August 1964) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer and a former directeur sportif for UCI ProTour team , and (later known as Discovery Channel), a US-based UCI ProTour cycling team. On 25 October 2018, the W ...
, manager of the new fusion team between Leopard-Trek and
Team Radioshack Team RadioShack was a professional road bicycle racing team, with RadioShack as the title sponsor, the creation of which was announced on July 23, 2009. Lance Armstrong co-owned and led the team, which raced in the Grand Tours and the UCI ProTour ...
, stated that it would be hard for three-time runner-up
Andy Schleck Andy Raymond Schleck (; born 10 June 1985) is a Luxembourgish former professional road bicycle racer. He won the 2010 Tour de France, being awarded it retroactively in February 2012 after Alberto Contador's hearing at the Court of Arbitration f ...
and his brother
Fränk Schleck Fränk René Schleck (born 15 April 1980) is a Luxembourgish former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2003 and 2016, for and . Schleck is the older brother of Andy, winner of the 2010 Tour de France. Their father, ...
to win the
2012 Tour de France The 2012 Tour de France was the 99th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started in the Belgian city of Liège on 30 June and finished on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 22 July. The Tour consisted of 21 stages, inc ...
because of the large number of kilometers against the clock. There was a chance that one of the brothers would target the Giro d'Italia instead. On 19 November 2011 Fränk initially announced that the Schleck brothers would not ride the Giro and will focus on the Tour despite the time trialing kilometers. Eventually on 29 April 2012 it was announced that
Fränk Schleck Fränk René Schleck (born 15 April 1980) is a Luxembourgish former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2003 and 2016, for and . Schleck is the older brother of Andy, winner of the 2010 Tour de France. Their father, ...
would replace the injured
Jakob Fuglsang Jakob Diemer Fuglsang (born 22 March 1985) is a Danish professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Before turning professional for , he was a mountain biker racing for Team Cannondale–Vredestein, winning the Under ...
as the team leader during the race. On 17 April
Michele Scarponi , birth_date = , birth_place = Jesi, Marche, Italy , death_date = , death_place = Filottrano, Marche, Italy , height = , weight = , discipline = Road , role = Climbing specialistDomestique , amateuryears1= 1988â ...
, winner of the 2011 edition after Contador's suspension, announced that he wanted to win the Giro on the road and not after a suspension of another rider. Scarponi teamed-up with Lampre-ISD teammate and 2004 Giro d'Italia winner
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, a ...
. Cunego aimed for a high finish in the Giro and skipped the
2012 Tour de France The 2012 Tour de France was the 99th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started in the Belgian city of Liège on 30 June and finished on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 22 July. The Tour consisted of 21 stages, inc ...
due to the large amount of time trialing kilometers. Other riders named as overall contenders were
Ag2r-La Mondiale Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team () is a French cycling team with UCI WorldTeam status. Its title sponsors are French sporting goods retailer Decathlon and French insurance firm AG2R La Mondiale. The team is predominantly French. History In 199 ...
's
John Gadret John Gadret (born 22 April 1979) is a French former professional racing cyclist in cyclo-cross and road racing, currently racing for the USO Bruay-la-Buissière amateur team. He became a stagiaire for in 2003 before turning professional with th ...
(third overall in the
2011 Giro d'Italia The 2011 Giro d'Italia was the 94th Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The race started on 7 May with a team time trial in Turin to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Italian unification, when the city served as the first capital of t ...
), 2011 Youth classification winner
Roman Kreuziger Roman Kreuziger (; born 6 May 1986) is a Czech former professional road bicycle racer, who last rode for UCI ProTeam . His father, Roman Kreuziger Sr., was also a bicycle racer who won the Tour of Austria in 1991 and the Cyclocross Junior World ...
of team
Astana Astana, previously known as Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, and most recently Nur-Sultan, is the capital city of Kazakhstan. The city lies on the banks of the Ishim (river), Ishim River in the north-central part of Kazakhstan, within the Akmo ...
,
Team Katusha A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to infor ...
's
Joaquim Rodríguez Joaquim Rodríguez Oliver (born 12 May 1979) is a former Spanish professional road racing cyclist, who competed between 2001 and 2016 for the , , and teams. Rodríguez recorded notable results included fourteen Grand Tour stage victories, an ...
(fourth overall in the
2011 Giro d'Italia The 2011 Giro d'Italia was the 94th Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The race started on 7 May with a team time trial in Turin to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Italian unification, when the city served as the first capital of t ...
) and the Venezuelan climber José Rujano of the Androni Giocattoli team.


Route and stages

The first three stages were announced on 5 October 2011, with the remaining stages announced on 16 October. On 18 April 2012 it was announced that the route for Stage 12
Seravezza Seravezza is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Lucca, in northern Tuscany, Italy. It is located in Versilia, close to the Apuan Alps. Neighboring municipalities *Forte dei Marmi *Massa *Montignoso *Pietrasanta * Stazzema Patron saints Sera ...
to
Sestri Levante Sestri Levante ( la, Segesta Tigullorum/Segesta Tigulliorum) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, Liguria, Italy. Lying on the Mediterranean Sea, it is approximately south of Genoa and is set on a promontory. While nearby ...
had been altered because the coastal road through the
Cinque Terre The Cinque Terre (; lij, Çinque Tære, meaning "Five Lands") is a coastal area within Liguria, in the northwest of Italy. It lies in the west of La Spezia Province, and comprises five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, ...
remains unusable following the severe landslides which struck the area on 25 October 2011. The new route is long. The stages were divided into five categories of difficulty; category A, B for flat stages (from A for "stages presenting no particular difficulty"), category C for medium mountain stage, category D for mountain stages and category E for time trial stages. These categories were used to determine the time limit on the stage.


Classification leadership

In the 2012 Giro d'Italia, four different jerseys were awarded. For 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 each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, and allowing time bonuses for the first three finishers on mass-start stages, the leader received a pink jersey. This classification was considered the most important of the Giro d'Italia, and the winner was considered the winner of the Giro. 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 ...
, which awarded a red jersey. In the points classification, cyclists got points for finishing in the top 15 in a stage. Unlike in the better known
points classification in the Tour de France The points classification () is a secondary competition in the Tour de France, which started in 1953. Points are given for high finishes in a stage and for winning intermediate sprints, and these are recorded in a points classification. It is con ...
, the type of stage had no effect on what points were on offer – each stage had the same points available on the same scale. The win earned 25 points, second place earned 20 points, third 16, fourth 14, fifth 12, sixth 10, and one point fewer per place down to a single point for 15th. In addition, points could be won in intermediate sprints. 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 ...
, the leadership of which was marked by a blue jersey. The jersey had been green since the jersey was first awarded, but with a sponsorship change, the jersey color was changed to blue. In the mountains classifications, points were won by reaching the top of a climb before other cyclists. Each climb was categorized as either first, second, third, or fourth-category, with more points available for the higher-categorized climbs. The ''Cima Coppi'', the race's highest point of elevation, awarded still more points than the other first-category climbs. The ''Cima Coppi'' for the 2012 Giro d'Italia was 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 first rider to cross the Stelvio was
Thomas De Gendt Thomas De Gendt (born 6 November 1986) is a Belgian professional road racing cyclist, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . He previously rode for rivals , , and . Career Born in Sint-Niklaas, De Gendt won the opening stage of the 2011 Paris–Nice ...
. The fourth jersey represented the young rider classification, marked by a white jersey. This was decided the same way as the general classification, but only riders born after 1 January 1987 were eligible. 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; 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. 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 riders classification


Trofeo Fast Team classification


Trofeo Super Team classification


References


Citations


External links

* {{Giro d'Italia Giro d'Italia by year 2012 in Italian sport Giro d'Italia May 2012 sports events in Europe