1984 Giro D'Italia
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The 1984 Giro d'Italia was the 67th running of the Giro. It started in
Lucca Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...
, on 17 May, with a prologue and concluded in
Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...
, on 10 June, with a
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 trac ...
. A total of 171 riders from nineteen teams entered the 22-stage race, that was won by Italian
Francesco Moser Francesco Moser (, ; 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 was dom ...
of the Gis Gelati–Tuc Lu team. The second and third places were taken by Frenchman
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, as well as the Giro d'Italia in 1989. He held the title of FICP World No. 1 in 1989. Fignon came ...
and Italian Moreno Argentin, respectively. Amongst the other classifications that the race awarded, Urs Freuler of Atala–Campagnolo won 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 c ...
, Fignon of
Renault–Elf Renault () was a French professional cycling team that existed from 1978 to 1985. The team cycled on and promoted Gitane racing bikes. History The team was created in 1978 after the Renault auto group purchased the Gitane bicycle manufacturer ...
won the
mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...
classification, and Renault–Elf's
Charly Mottet Charly Mottet (born 16 December 1962 in Valence, Drôme) is a French former professional Bicycle, cyclist (1983 to 1994). He was one of the best French road cyclists of his era. Career Mottet won a total of 67 races, including the Tour de Roman ...
completed the Giro as the best neo-professional in the general classification, finishing twenty-first overall. Renault–Elf finishing as the winners of the
team classification The team classification is one of the different rankings for which competitors can compete in a multiple stage cycling race. It differs from the other usual rankings (general classification, points, king of the mountain and best young rider competi ...
, ranking each of the twenty teams contesting the race by lowest cumulative time. The team points classification was won by Metauro Mobili–Pinarello.


Teams

A total of nineteen teams were invited to participate in the 1984 Giro d'Italia. The presentation of the teams – where each team's roster and manager are introduced in front the media and local dignitaries – took place at the Piazza San Marco in
Lucca Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...
on 16 May. The starting riders came from a total of 18 different countries; Italy (100), Switzerland (15), and Spain (11) all had more than 10 riders. Each team sent a squad of nine riders, which meant that the race started with a peloton of 171 cyclists. Gianni Motta–Linea M.D. Italia' team manager Robin Morton was the first female to manage a team in the history of the Giro. Of those starting, 45 were riding the Giro d'Italia for the first time. The average age of riders was 26.68 years, ranging from 21–year–old Bruno Wojtinek () to 38–year–old Wladimiro Panizza ( Atala–Campagnolo). The team with the youngest average rider age was (22), while the oldest was (29). From the riders that began this edition, 143 made it to the finish in Merano. The teams entering the race were:


Pre-race favorites

Team managers when asked about the favorite entering the race felt there was no clear favorite to win. ''La Gazzetta dello Sport'' felt four riders –
Francesco Moser Francesco Moser (, ; 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 was dom ...
( Gis Gelati–Tuc Lu),
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, as well as the Giro d'Italia in 1989. He held the title of FICP World No. 1 in 1989. Fignon came ...
(), Giuseppe Saronni (), and Roberto Visentini () – had the best chances to win, but "there is no man who knows how to dominate." When asked about his biggest challenge, Moser stated: "First, Visentini, because last year he was second, he has a very homogeneous squad and is the Italian runner in better shape..." Ángel Ruocco of ''El País'' felt that the race would be between 1983 Tour de France champion Fignon and Saronni, the winner of the Giro the previous year. He added that Silvano Contini, Mario Beccia, and Fignon as other challengers. Marino Lejarreta () who rode the 1984 Vuelta a España to prepare, as well as
Alberto Fernández Alberto Ángel Fernández (; born 2 April 1959) is an Argentine politician, lawyer, and academic who served as President of Argentina from 2019 to 2023. He was also the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers from 2003 to 2008. His tenure as Cabin ...
() who displayed great results when the race reached the Apennines last year.


Route and stages

The route for the 1984 edition of the Giro d'Italia was revealed to the public by head organizer Vincenzo Torriani on 18 February 1984. Covering a total of , it included four time trials (three
individual An individual is one that exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of living as an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) as a person unique from other people and possessing one's own needs or g ...
and one for
teams A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interd ...
), and eleven stages with categorized climbs that awarded mountains classification points. Five of these eleven stages had summit finishes: stage 3, to Madonna di San Luca; stage 5, to Blockhaus; stage 16, to
Bardonecchia Bardonecchia (; ; , ) is an Italian town and ''comune'' located in the Metropolitan City of Turin, in the Piedmont region, in the western part of Susa Valley. It grew out of a small village with the works for the Fréjus Rail Tunnel, the first c ...
; stage 19, to Selva di Val Gardena; and stage 20, to Arabba. The organizers chose to include two rest days. When compared to the previous year's race, the race was shorter and contained the same number of time trials and rest days. In addition, this race contained the same number of stages.


Classification Leadership

Four different jerseys were worn during the 1984 Giro d'Italia. The leader of the general classification – 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. Time bonuses of 20, 10, and 5 seconds were awarded to each stage's first three finishers. 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 c ...
, which awarded a purple (or
cyclamen ''Cyclamen'' ( or ) is a genus of 23 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Primulaceae. In English, it is known by the common names sowbread or swinebread. ''Cyclamen'' species are native to Europe and the Mediterranean Basin ea ...
) 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 originally the Stelvio Pass, but it was changed to the Pordoi Pass. The first rider to cross the Pordoi Pass was French rider Laurent Fignon. The white jersey was worn by the leader of
young rider classification Young rider classification () in a cycling jersey competition in multi-day stage race events, such as the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and many others, is an award for the current leader by overall time for riders below the age of twenty-six years ...
, a ranking decided the same way as the general classification, but considering only neo-professional cyclists (in their first three years of professional racing). 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. There was another team classification that awarded points to each team based on their riding's finishing position in every stage. The team with the highest total of points was the leader of the classification. 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


Time trial classification


Trofeo Fiat Uno classification


Premio dell'Agonismo classification


Team classification


Team points classification


Aftermath

Since the race's conclusion, the race has been marred by accusations of race officials favoring Francesco Moser. On several occasions, Moser was seen drafting behind team cars and being pushed up mountains which is not allowed in the race rules. Moser was not penalized the times he committed the violations, but several other riders in the race were punished by officials when they committed the same infractions. Renault manager
Cyrille Guimard Cyrille Guimard (born 20 January 1947) is a French former professional road racing cyclist who became a directeur sportif and television commentator. Three of his riders, Bernard Hinault, Laurent Fignon, and Lucien Van Impe, won the Tour de F ...
especially upset with Moser's lack of punishment because his rider, Fignon, was awarded a twenty-second penalty for receiving food outside of the feed zone. Another instance appeared when the race officials cancelled the crossing of the Stelvio Pass during the eighteenth stage. Snow had fallen on the Stelvio and was thought to be able to be cleared by the day of the stage as race director Vincenzo Torriani had photos showing that it could be done. The French magazine Vélo published photos of the pass being clear of snow and open to the public. However, the day before the stage, the snow had yet to be cleared. There's speculation that a government official from Trent – Moser's hometown – would not allow the Giro to cross the Stelvio. The race was re-routed to go over the
Tonale Pass Tonale Pass () (el. 1883 m./6178 ft.) is a high mountain pass in northern Italy across the Rhaetian Alps, between Lombardy and Trentino. It connects Valcamonica and Val di Sole. It is delimited by the Ortler Alps to the nort ...
and Palade Pass. The changes in the stage resulted in another collective finish of the general classification contenders, thus keeping the time gaps the same and playing into the hand of Moser. 1986 race winner Roberto Visentini quit the race because he felt the it was being fixed.. In the final time trial, TV helicopters have been accused of flying low behind Moser in order to propel him forward, increasing his speed. Fignon told the media that the helicopters were flying in front of him in order to slow his pace. Fignon later published an autobiography in 2010 entitled ''We Were Young and Carefree: The Autobiography of Laurent Fignon'' where he discussed this edition of the Giro. He wrote that the "breaches in the rules were obvious" and that Moser had received many pushes from spectators while climbing during the twentieth stage. Fignon elaborated on the final time trial, stating that the helicopter pilot "almost mowing the number off of my back with his rotorblades." He stated the helicopter's turbulence slowed him down and also nearly crashed him a few times during the stage. Ultimately, Fignon felt that if the entire race was run according to the route and abiding by the rules, he would've won the race. In 2015, Moser was inducted to the Giro d'Italia Hall of Fame. At the ceremony, he received a replica of the modern-day trophy for his victory in the race. Moser spoke of how he and Fignon talked years after the race and he still blamed his victory on the helicopter, while Moser insisted that the cheering from the crowds is what motivated him to perform so well during the day. He further commented on Fignon: "Poor Fignon! He lost two Grand Tours on the last day and in time trials, too. If either of those races had ended with a climb, it would have been a very different story."


References


Footnotes


Citations


Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:1984 Giro D'italia Giro d'Italia by year Giro d'Italia, 1984 Giro d'Italia, 1984
Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...
Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...
1984 Super Prestige Pernod International