2008 Giro D'Italia
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The 2008 Giro d'Italia was the 91st running of the
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 ...
, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It began in
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
on 10 May and ended in
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
on 1 June. Twenty-two teams entered the race, which was won by Spaniard
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 Vuelta ...
of the cycling team. Second and third respectively were Italians
Riccardo Riccò Riccardo Riccò (born 1 September 1983) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer, who was suspended from all competition until 2024. He was previously ejected from the 2008 Tour de France for doping violations and suspended. Riccò returned ...
and Marzio Bruseghin. Contador first took the race lead after the second mountain stage, to
Marmolada Marmolada (Ladin language, Ladin: ''Marmolèda''; German language, German: ''Marmolata'', ) is a mountain in northeastern Italy and the highest mountain of the Dolomites (a section of the Alps). It lies between the borders of Trentino and Ven ...
, by finishing nearly fifteen minutes ahead of previous race leader
Gabriele Bosisio Gabriele Bosisio (born 6 August 1980 in Lecco) is a retired Italian professional road bicycle racer. Bosisio rode for between 2003 and 2005 and for UCI Professional Continental team between 2008 and 2009. On 6 October 2009 it was announced t ...
. The race's overall classification had been headed for several days beforehand by Giovanni Visconti, who participated in a breakaway in the sixth stage which won him sufficient time to hold the race leader's pink jersey for more than a week. In the race's final week, Contador faced stern challenges from Riccò and defending Giro champion
Danilo Di Luca Danilo Di Luca (born 2 January 1976) is a former Italian professional road racing cyclist, best known for winning the 2007 Giro d'Italia, but also for several positive doping tests, the last of which resulting in a lifetime ban from the sport. D ...
. Though Contador did not win any stage, his performances were consistently strong enough to remain ahead through to the conclusion of the race. Team appeared to perform quite well in the race, coming away with four stage wins and victory in the mountains classification and the Trofeo Fast Team. In August 2008, mountains classification winner Emanuele Sella was announced to have tested positive for methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta (better known as Mircera, an
erythropoietin Erythropoietin (; EPO), also known as erythropoetin, haematopoietin, or haemopoietin, is a glycoprotein cytokine secreted mainly by the kidneys in response to cellular hypoxia; it stimulates red blood cell production ( erythropoiesis) in th ...
derivative) at an out-of-competition control held by the
Union Cycliste Internationale The Union Cycliste Internationale (; UCI; ) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland. The UCI issues racing licenses to riders and enforces di ...
(UCI). He subsequently admitted his doping, and named teammate Matteo Priamo as his supplier. Both riders were subsequently suspended. Though as of April 2010 no definitive positive results have come to light from samples taken during the Giro, retesting of those samples has reportedly revealed six to seven presumptive positives for Mircera. Riccò, who tested positive for the drug at the
2008 Tour de France The 2008 Tour de France was the 95th running of Tour de France, the race. The event took place from 5 to 27 July. Starting in the French city of Brest, France, Brest, the tour entered Italy on the 15th stage and returned to France during the 16t ...
, is among those suspected of having given positive tests in the Giro, as is Sella.


Teams

Twenty-two teams participated in the 2008 Giro. These included 16
UCI ProTour The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle racing, road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale, UCI (International Cycling Union). Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, i ...
teams, and six UCI Professional Continental teams. Of the 18 ProTour teams, the two left out were and . Two other ProTour teams, and , were left off the first list of teams announced by
RCS Sport RCS Sport is a sports & media company part of RCS Group (controlled by Cairo Communications) that specialises in organising and marketing sporting events. RCS organises the Giro d'Italia and other cycling races, as well as other sporting events suc ...
, the organizers of the Giro. This list also included a further Professional Continental team, , which was later excluded. Astana and Team High Road were both later added, with Astana's invitation coming just six days before the event began. The 22 teams who took part in the race were:


Race previews and favorites

The 2008 Giro featured an assortment of contenders for the overall victory. Defending champion
Danilo Di Luca Danilo Di Luca (born 2 January 1976) is a former Italian professional road racing cyclist, best known for winning the 2007 Giro d'Italia, but also for several positive doping tests, the last of which resulting in a lifetime ban from the sport. D ...
had faced potential bans which would have kept him out of the race, after investigations into his involvement with the Oil for Drugs scandal and an irregular doping test given after stage 17 of the 2007 Giro d'Italia, either of which could have resulted in a two-year suspension. Though he was suspended for three months because of Oil for Drugs, he was cleared by the
Italian National Olympic Committee The Italian National Olympic Committee (, CONI), founded in 1914 and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is responsible for the development and management of sports activity in ItalyWithin Italy, CONI recognizes 48 national ...
of any wrongdoing in the 2007 Giro, and was thus permitted to start. The late invitation of to the race provided three potential contenders:
2007 Tour de France The 2007 Tour de France the 94th running of Tour de France, the race, took place from 7 to 29 July. The Tour began with a prologue in London, and ended with the traditional finish in Paris. Along the way, the route also passed through Belgium and ...
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 Vuelta ...
, third-place finisher from that race
Levi Leipheimer Levi Leipheimer (born October 24, 1973) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He was twice US national champion, winning the time trial title in 1999 and the road race in 2007, and is an Olympic medalist. ...
, and
Andreas Klöden Andreas Klöden (born 22 June 1975) is a German former professional road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional between 1998 and 2013. His major achievements include a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games and finishing second in the gene ...
. One analysis of pre-race favorites considered Klöden to be the strongest of them, while another considered Contador to be the race's biggest favorite after his wins at the recently run Vuelta al País Vasco and Vuelta a Castilla y León. Both Di Luca and Contador had strong domestiques (support riders) by their sides, with Di Luca joined by two-time Giro d'Italia champion
Paolo Savoldelli Paolo Savoldelli (born 7 May 1973) is a former Italy, Italian road racing cyclist and winner of the 2002 Giro d'Italia, 2002 and 2005 Giro d'Italia. Savoldelli was a climbing specialist, climber but known for his fast downhill riding. He is nick ...
,
Gabriele Bosisio Gabriele Bosisio (born 6 August 1980 in Lecco) is a retired Italian professional road bicycle racer. Bosisio rode for between 2003 and 2005 and for UCI Professional Continental team between 2008 and 2009. On 6 October 2009 it was announced t ...
, and Alessandro Spezialetti, and Contador by Leipheimer and Klöden. Other riders named as overall contenders included
Denis Menchov Denis Nikolayevich Menshov (often mistakenly romanized as Menchov, ; born 25 January 1978) is a former professional Russian road bicycle racer, who rode as a professional between 2000 and 2013. He was best known as a general classification rider ...
,
Gilberto Simoni Gilberto Simoni (born 25 August 1971) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer, most recently for . Simoni won the Giro d'Italia cycling race twice: once in 2001 and again in 2003. In 2002 he tested positive for cocaine and was with ...
,
Vincenzo Nibali Vincenzo Nibali (; born 14 November 1984) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional from 2005 to 2022. He is one of seven cyclists who have won all three of cycling's Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours i ...
,
Riccardo Riccò Riccardo Riccò (born 1 September 1983) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer, who was suspended from all competition until 2024. He was previously ejected from the 2008 Tour de France for doping violations and suspended. Riccò returned ...
, Mauricio Soler, Marzio Bruseghin, Emanuele Sella, Evgeni Petrov,
Franco Pellizotti Franco Pellizotti (born 15 January 1978) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2001 and 2018 for the Alessio, , and teams. Pellizotti now works as a directeur sportif for the team. Career Early ...
, and
Juan Manuel Gárate Juan Manuel Gárate Cepa (born 24 April 1976 in Irun) is a Spanish professional road racing cyclist, who last rode for the team. He is perceived to be a climbing specialist, and to date his greatest achievements have been in the Giro d'Italia, w ...
. Unibet.com's odds-on favorite was Klöden.
2004 Giro d'Italia The 2004 Giro d'Italia was the 87th edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It began in Genoa with a prologue. The race came to a close with a mass-start road stage that stretched from Clusone to Milan. Nineteen teams ...
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 and ...
chose to skip the race to better prepare for the
Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...
, adding to speculation that this would be the first Giro since 1996 to feature a non-Italian winner. Six stages were classified as flat and likely to be contested by sprinters. Italian sprinter
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 ...
, who had notably won nine stages in the 2004 race, did not plan to enter this Giro because of bouts with
influenza Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These sympto ...
and
bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...
which hindered his training. He was later suspended from the sport, and his contract with Team Milram terminated, as a result of his controversial doping case from the 2007 Giro. Sprinters identified as being favorites in the bunch finishes that the Giro would offer included Alexandre Usov, Dimitry Muravyev, Enrico Gasparotto, Maximiliano Richeze, Robert Förster,
Mark Cavendish Sir Mark Simon Cavendish (born 21 May 1985) is a Manx people, Manx retired professional cyclist. As a Track cycling, track cyclist he specialised in the Madison (cycling), madison, points race, and scratch race disciplines; as a road racer he ...
,
André Greipel André Greipel (born 16 July 1982) is a German cyclist, who rode professionally in road bicycle racing between 2005 and 2021. Since his retirement from road racing, Greipel has worked as a directeur sportif for UCI Continental teams and , and in ...
,
Daniele Bennati Daniele Bennati (born 24 September 1980) is an Italian former road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2019 for the , , , , , , and squads. Specialising in fast Cycling sprinter, sprint finishes, Bennati turned profession ...
,
Paolo Bettini Paolo Bettini (born 1 April 1974) is an Italian former champion road racing cyclist, and the former coach of the Italian national cycling team. Considered the best classic cycle races, classics specialist of his generation, and probably one of th ...
,
Graeme Brown Graeme Allen Brown (born 9 April 1979 in Darwin, Northern Territory) is an Australian former professional cycle sport, cyclist, who competed professionally between 2002 and 2016 for the , and teams. A former Australian Institute of Sport s ...
,
Robbie McEwen Robbie McEwen (born 24 June 1972) is an Australian former professional road cyclist. He is a three-time winner of the Tour de France points classification in 2002, 2004 & 2006 and, at the peak of his career, was considered the world's fastest ...
, Julian Dean,
Erik Zabel Erik Zabel (; born 7 July 1970) is a German former professional road bicycle racer who raced for most of his career with Team Telekom. With 152 professional wins and 211 wins in his career, he is considered by some to be one of the greatest Germ ...
, and Alberto Loddo. Richeze was withdrawn by his team the day before the race began after a positive doping test, though he would later be cleared of any wrongdoing. His name remained on the start list, and he was not replaced, meaning entered the race with only eight riders instead of the customary nine.


Route and stages

The race began for the second year in succession with a
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 ...
on one of Italy's islands, in this case
Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
(in 2007 it had been
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
). The route contained only four stages that were officially deemed mountain stages, but several of the seven intermediate stages contained selective climbs. The Giro had four time trials, three of which were
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 a
team 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 in ...
event. Six stages were classified as flat. The sixth stage was originally scheduled to be in length, but it was shortened the day before it was to be run. This decision was made because many riders in the race had become upset over the lengths of transfers from the end of one stage to the beginning of the next and that this afforded them little rest to prepare for such long stages. The Circuito del Gargano was eliminated. Of the four official mountain stages, three ended with climbs: stage 14 to Alpe di Pampeago, stage 15 to Passo Fedaia, and stage 19 to Presolana. Stage 20 earned its mountain designation by way of the Passo di Gavia and the Passo del Mortirolo, respectively the highest point reached and the steepest climb of this year's Giro. Two other stages had summit arrivals, stage 7 to Pescocostanzo and the demanding stage 16 climbing time trial to Plan de Corones, the summit of which the Giro had never before visited. It was hoped that the number of time trials, including one on the race's last day, would keep the race hotly contested to the end.


Race overview

The Giro started with a
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 ...
in Sicily. There was pre-race speculation that this stage would result in an American rider wearing the pink jersey for the first time in twenty years, as , , and were among the biggest favorites to win and all had strong American time trialists on their squads. The victory went to , which put their team leader, American
Christian Vande Velde Christian Vande Velde (born May 22, 1976) is a retired American professional road racing cyclist of Belgian descent, who rode professionally between 1998 and 2013. Vande Velde competed for the , , and squads. He has been a cycling analyst for ...
, in the first pink jersey. With a hilly stage ahead on day two of the Giro, Vande Velde's race lead was far from secure. He lost it to
Franco Pellizotti Franco Pellizotti (born 15 January 1978) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2001 and 2018 for the Alessio, , and teams. Pellizotti now works as a directeur sportif for the team. Career Early ...
, who finished sufficiently ahead of Vande Velde on the stage to take a lead of a single second in the overall classification. Pellizotti retained the race lead for the next three days, as those stages were flat and were contested by sprinters, with the overall favorites finishing together with the peloton in each. The sixth stage was shortened from its original length of to . This was still the race's second-longest stage, and it featured a breakaway which shook up the race standings. Eleven riders finished nearly twelve minutes in front of the peloton, and reigning Italian national road race champion Giovanni Visconti assumed the race lead, by a margin of less than one second over fellow breakaway member Matthias Russ. Russ had begun the stage 13 seconds ahead of Visconti in the overall classification, but with Visconti gaining seven seconds on Russ at the finish line and six in bonification on the stage's intermediate sprint, the young Italian became the next to wear the pink jersey. Visconti and his team ably defended the jersey for nine days, keeping it through the hilly seventh and eighth stages, as well as 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 trac ...
in stage 11 and in three flat stages. Visconti eventually lost the lead on stage 14, the Giro's first stage categorized as high mountain, as he finished more than eighteen minutes behind stage winner Emanuele Sella. The race lead passed to
Gabriele Bosisio Gabriele Bosisio (born 6 August 1980 in Lecco) is a retired Italian professional road bicycle racer. Bosisio rode for between 2003 and 2005 and for UCI Professional Continental team between 2008 and 2009. On 6 October 2009 it was announced t ...
after that stage, but he was unable to hold it the next day, finishing fifteen minutes behind Sella, again the stage winner. It was on this stage that
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 Vuelta ...
took the lead that he would never relinquish. Contador faced repeated challenges from
Riccardo Riccò Riccardo Riccò (born 1 September 1983) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer, who was suspended from all competition until 2024. He was previously ejected from the 2008 Tour de France for doping violations and suspended. Riccò returned ...
and
Danilo Di Luca Danilo Di Luca (born 2 January 1976) is a former Italian professional road racing cyclist, best known for winning the 2007 Giro d'Italia, but also for several positive doping tests, the last of which resulting in a lifetime ban from the sport. D ...
in the race's final week. They were separated by less than a minute after stage 15, and though Di Luca would falter slightly in the Giro's second individual time trial, the time gap among the three of them was just 21 seconds heading in to the Giro's final mountain stage. Di Luca faltered further in that last mountain stage, losing almost five minutes and any chance to repeat as Giro champion, but Contador and Riccò finished together and were separated by only four seconds going into the Giro's final stage, another individual time trial. Contador's superior time trial skills provided the difference in the Giro's finale. Though he finished 11th on the stage, he gained almost two minutes over Riccò, winning the Giro overall without taking any individual stage. Emanuele Sella of won three stages in the race's final week and took a convincing victory in the mountains classification, leading it for the entire race. His subsequent positive tests and confessions to the use of performance-enhancing drugs outside the Giro cast serious doubt on the legitimacy of these results, however.
Daniele Bennati Daniele Bennati (born 24 September 1980) is an Italian former road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2019 for the , , , , , , and squads. Specialising in fast Cycling sprinter, sprint finishes, Bennati turned profession ...
was nearly as dominant in winning 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 ...
, taking three stage wins and six other top-ten finishes. He led the classification after every stage except the second and eighth, which were both won by Riccò, who thereby gained the mauve jersey for one day on two separate occasions. Though Riccò was never able to take the overall race lead, he was the winner of the youth classification, taking the white jersey from Visconti when he lost the overall lead and holding it through the conclusion of the race. That jersey had also previously passed over the shoulders of
Chris Anker Sørensen Chris Anker Sørensen (; 5 September 1984 – 18 September 2021) was a Danish road bicycle racer who rode professionally between 2005 and 2018 for the , , , and teams. Sørensen then worked as a directeur sportif (and co-owner) for his final ...
and Morris Possoni. Five teams repeated as stage winners. Four individual riders won multiple stages. In addition to Sella's three victories in the final week, the riders who won more than once were
Riccardo Riccò Riccardo Riccò (born 1 September 1983) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer, who was suspended from all competition until 2024. He was previously ejected from the 2008 Tour de France for doping violations and suspended. Riccò returned ...
in stages 2 and 8,
Daniele Bennati Daniele Bennati (born 24 September 1980) is an Italian former road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2019 for the , , , , , , and squads. Specialising in fast Cycling sprinter, sprint finishes, Bennati turned profession ...
in stages 3, 9, and 12, and
Mark Cavendish Sir Mark Simon Cavendish (born 21 May 1985) is a Manx people, Manx retired professional cyclist. As a Track cycling, track cyclist he specialised in the Madison (cycling), madison, points race, and scratch race disciplines; as a road racer he ...
in stages 4 and 13. also won multiple stages, with
Pavel Brutt Pavel Aleksandrovich Brutt (; born 29 January 1982) is a Russian former professional track and road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2001 and 2017 for six different teams. Career Born in Sosnovy Bor, Leningrad Oblast, Brutt's big ...
in stage 5 and Vasil Kiryienka in stage 19, after both figured into early morning breakaway groups. , , , , and all won one stage apiece. won the opening
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 ...
, rider Marzio Bruseghin won the Giro's first
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 ...
, rider
Gabriele Bosisio Gabriele Bosisio (born 6 August 1980 in Lecco) is a retired Italian professional road bicycle racer. Bosisio rode for between 2003 and 2005 and for UCI Professional Continental team between 2008 and 2009. On 6 October 2009 it was announced t ...
won stage 7 from a morning escape, 's Alessandro Bertolini took stage 11 from a breakaway, and veteran
Jens Voigt Jens Voigt (; born 17 September 1971) is a German former professional road bicycle racer and, upon retirement, became a cycling sports broadcast commentator. During his cycling career, Voigt raced for several teams, the last one being UCI ProTe ...
was the winner of stage 18. Success was achieved by only a handful of teams, meaning that other teams did not achieve much in the race. Though they nearly took the race lead with Matthias Russ in stage 6, had just two riders finish the race, and were never otherwise close to a notable result. had only four riders finish the race. Two other ProTour teams, and , similarly failed to be at all competitive in the Giro. None of them would return to the Giro in 2009; Gerolsteiner folded in 2008 after being unable to locate a new sponsor while , , and all made it known that they did not wish to participate and were thus declined invitations.


Doping

Several notable riders in the Giro were announced to have tested positive for banned performance-enhancing drugs after the race concluded. Prominent amongst them was rider Emanuele Sella, a triple stage winner, winner of the mountains classification, and a key rider to 's victory in the teams classification. It was announced on 5 August that Sella had tested positive for Methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta, better known as Mircera, a third-generation form of the banned blood booster
erythropoietin Erythropoietin (; EPO), also known as erythropoetin, haematopoietin, or haemopoietin, is a glycoprotein cytokine secreted mainly by the kidneys in response to cellular hypoxia; it stimulates red blood cell production ( erythropoiesis) in th ...
. At the time the Giro was run, the test for Mircera was still in development. An out-of-competition control was taken on 23 July, just days after positives from the
2008 Tour de France The 2008 Tour de France was the 95th running of Tour de France, the race. The event took place from 5 to 27 July. Starting in the French city of Brest, France, Brest, the tour entered Italy on the 15th stage and returned to France during the 16t ...
had come to light, and samples were sent to labs in Paris for analysis. UCI President Pat McQuaid said that Sella had been targeted in the control and that " /nowiki>t wasn't rocket science" to conclude that Sella's performances in the Giro could have been artificially enhanced. Sella confessed his doping to the
Italian National Olympic Committee The Italian National Olympic Committee (, CONI), founded in 1914 and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is responsible for the development and management of sports activity in ItalyWithin Italy, CONI recognizes 48 national ...
(CONI) and named teammate Matteo Priamo, also a stage winner in this Giro, as his supplier. Though Priamo never tested positive for anything, and though the Italian National Anti-Doping tribunal originally exonerated him, the
Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...
ruled, upon appeal by CONI, that he should be suspended for four years.
Riccardo Riccò Riccardo Riccò (born 1 September 1983) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer, who was suspended from all competition until 2024. He was previously ejected from the 2008 Tour de France for doping violations and suspended. Riccò returned ...
, a double stage winner and the best young rider, tested positive for Mircera during the Tour de France, and was subsequently expelled with his team . This control was taken just days before the one at which Sella gave his positive. Since it took place during the Tour de France, Riccò's results from that race have been removed, but the results for Sella, Priamo, and Riccò all still stand as no positive tests from controls taken during the Giro have come to light. Riccò claims to have only taken the drug before the Tour, but there has been speculation that his performances in the Giro were not legitimate. Sella has similarly confessed to taking the drug while not confessing to have used it during the Giro. After repeated positives over the summer, including tests from
Leonardo Piepoli Leonardo Piepoli (born 29 September 1971 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland) is a former Italy, Italian professional Bicycle road racing, road racing cyclist. He most recently rode for on the UCI ProTour, but had his contract suspended in July 20 ...
and Bernhard Kohl at the Tour de France, and
Davide Rebellin Davide Rebellin (9 August 1971 – 30 November 2022) was an Italian professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 1992 and 2022 for twelve different teams, taking more than sixty professional wins. He was considered one of the ...
and Stefan Schumacher from the
2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...
, the UCI has sought to have samples taken during the Giro retested. In October 2009, it was announced that six to seven riders from this Giro had presumptive positives, while further untestable doping involving
ozone Ozone () (or trioxygen) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic molecule with the chemical formula . It is a pale blue gas with a distinctively pungent smell. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope , break ...
was also suspected. In total, 82 samples were retested, and the presumptive positives have been compared to values stored at an anti-doping lab in Lausanne, Switzerland. The identities of those riders who tested positive have not yet been revealed. It is believed that Rebellin and Sella are among the riders to have presumptive positives.


Classification leadership

In the 2008 Giro d'Italia, four different jerseys were awarded. For the general classification, 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 is considered the most important of the Giro d'Italia, and the winner is 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 c ...
, which awarded a mauve jersey. In the points classification, cyclists got points for finishing in the top 15 in a stage. The stage win awarded 25 points, second place awarded 20 points, third 16, fourth 14, fifth 12, sixth 10, and one point less per place down the line, to a single point for 15th. In addition, some points could be won in intermediate sprints. There was also a mountains classification, which awarded a green jersey. In the mountains classifications, points were won by reaching the top of a mountain before other cyclists. Each climb was categorized, either first, second, or third category, with more points available for the higher-categorized climbs. The highest point in the Giro (called the ''Cima Coppi''), which in 2008 was the Passo di Gavia in Stage 20, afforded still more points than the other first-category climbs. The fourth was the young rider classification which awarded a white jersey. This was decided the same way as the general classification, but only riders born after 1 January 1983 were eligible. There were also two classifications for teams. The first is the Trofeo Fast Team. In this classification, the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage are added, and the team with the lowest time is leading team. The Trofeo Super Team is 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


Mountains classification


Points classification


Young rider classification


Trofeo Fast Team classification


Trofeo Super Team classification


Minor classifications

Other less well-known classifications were awarded during the Giro, whose leaders did not receive a special jersey. These awards were based on points earned throughout the three weeks of the tour. Each mass start stage had one intermediate sprint, awarding points to the Expo Milano 2015 classification. These sprints gave bonus seconds towards the general classification, points towards the regular points classification, and also points towards the Expo Milano 2015 classification. This award was known in previous years as the Intergiro, and was previously time-based, awarding a blue jersey. rider Fortunato Baliani won this classification. Additional minor classifications included the combativity classification, which was a compilation of points gained for position on crossing intermediate sprints, mountain passes and stage finishes. Mountains classification winner Emanuele Sella took this award. The Azzurri d'Italia classification was based on finishing order, but points were only awarded to the top three finishers in each stage. Like the overall points classification, it was '
Daniele Bennati Daniele Bennati (born 24 September 1980) is an Italian former road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2019 for the , , , , , , and squads. Specialising in fast Cycling sprinter, sprint finishes, Bennati turned profession ...
who won this. Also, the ''Trofeo Fuga Cervelo'' rewarded riders who took part in a breakaway at the head of the field, each rider in an escape of ten or fewer riders getting one point for each kilometre that the group stays clear. Along with the Expo Milano 2015, Fortunato Baliani also finished first in this classification. Additionally, teams were on occasion given penalty points for technical infringements. avoided any penalties, and so was the winner of the Fair Play classification.


References


Citations


External links

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– Race reports and news features {{Giro d'Italia general classification winners Giro d'Italia by year
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 ...
May 2008 sports events in Italy June 2008 sports events in Italy