The 2018 Giro d'Italia was the 101st edition 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 Tour races. The race started in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
on 4 May, 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 ...
followed by two additional stages within
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. After a rest day, there were 18 further stages in Italy before the tour reached the finish in Rome on 27 May.
The race was won by
Team Sky
Ineos Grenadiers () (stylised as INEOS Grenadiers) (formerly Team Sky from 2010 to 2019, and Team Ineos from 2019 to 2020) is a British professional cycling team that competes at the UCI WorldTeam level. The team is based at the National Cyclin ...
's
Chris Froome
Christopher Clive Froome, (; born 20 May 1985) is a British professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . He has won seven Grand Tours: four editions of the Tour de France (in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017), one Giro d' ...
, the first British rider to win the race. In winning, Froome completed a hat-trick of consecutive
Grand Tour victories, becoming the first rider since
Bernard Hinault
Bernard Hinault (; born 14 November 1954) is a French former professional road bicycle racing, road cyclist. With 147 professional victories, including five times the Tour de France, he is often named among the greatest cyclists of all time. In ...
to hold all three Grand Tour titles simultaneously. His victory was highlighted by an audacious 80 km solo breakaway to win the mountainous stage 19; attacking the small group of leaders including reigning champion
Tom Dumoulin
Tom Dumoulin (; born 11 November 1990) is a retired Dutch professional road bicycle racer who last rode for UCI WorldTeam . He has won the Giro d'Italia and nine stages across the three Grand Tours, five medals in three different World Champion ...
on the
Cima Coppi of the 2018 Giro, the graveled climb of the
Colle delle Finestre, he continued to extend his lead over the
Sestriere
Sestriere (, , , ) is a ski resort in Piedmont, Italy, a ''comune'' (municipality) of the Metropolitan City of Turin. It is situated in Val Susa, from the France, French border. Its name derives from Latin language, Latin: ''ad petram sistrariam ...
and to the summit finish of
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 ...
and overturned a more than three minute deficit to take both the pink jersey, the Cima Coppi prize and the mountains classification. The solo win, and the simultaneous implosion of long-time race leader
Simon Yates, who lost more than 30 minutes on the day having lost contact on the first climb of the day, was described as "one of the most extraordinary days in Giro d'Italia history".
History
The Giro Big Start, touted as one of the most expensive sporting events in
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
's history, was largely financed by Canadian-Israeli mogul
Sylvan Adams with the help of Israel's Tourism and Transportation Ministries. The 21-stage race began with a 10-kilometer time trial in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
, followed by a 167-kilometer race from
Haifa
Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...
to
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
, and a 229-kilometer race from
Beersheba
Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most p ...
to
Eilat
Eilat ( , ; ; ) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port of Eilat, port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan as the Gulf of Aqaba. The c ...
. They were the first stages of any
Grand Tour event ever that have been held outside Europe.
The 2018 Giro d'Italia Israel start was held to pay tribute to Italian cyclist
Gino Bartali
Gino Bartali, (; 18 July 1914 – 5 May 2000), nicknamed Gino the Pious and (in Italy) Ginettaccio, was a champion road cyclist. He was the most renowned Italian cyclist before the Second World War, having won the Giro d'Italia twice, in ...
, a three-time winner of the Giro d'Italia. Bartali helped rescue hundreds of Italian Jews during the Holocaust and was recognized by
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...
in 2013 as
Righteous Among the Nations
Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...
.
The race was won by 's
Chris Froome
Christopher Clive Froome, (; born 20 May 1985) is a British professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . He has won seven Grand Tours: four editions of the Tour de France (in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017), one Giro d' ...
, who therefore held all three Grand Tour titles simultaneously and became the first British cyclist to win the overall classification in the Giro. Froome crashed during a recon ride ahead of the prologue and lost time consistently over the first two weeks. In the final week, however, he won a stage that ended with the climb of
Monte Zoncolan
Monte Zoncolan () is a mountain in the Carnic Alps, located in the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy, with an elevation of . It is one of the most demanding climbs in professional road bicycle racing, having been used in the Giro d'Italia ...
, then took back several minutes on all his rivals in Stage 19 with a ride described as "one for the history books". He ended up defeating the defending champion,
Tom Dumoulin
Tom Dumoulin (; born 11 November 1990) is a retired Dutch professional road bicycle racer who last rode for UCI WorldTeam . He has won the Giro d'Italia and nine stages across the three Grand Tours, five medals in three different World Champion ...
, by 46 seconds.
Teams
All 18
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 bicycle racing, road cycling, the UCI World Tou ...
s were automatically invited and were obliged to attend the race. Four wildcard
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 ...
teams were also selected. Each team started with eight riders (one less than in the previous year).
Lotto–Soudal
Lotto () is a Belgian professional cycling team at UCI ProSeries, UCI ProTeam level sponsored by the Belgian lottery. The same organisations also sponsor a women's cycling team, .
History Sponsorship
Lotto has a long history of cycling sponsorsh ...
chose to compete under a different name from the rest of the season: they became Lotto Fix ALL, using the name of a product made by Soudal, their normal sponsor.
The teams entering the race were:
UCI WorldTeams
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Lotto Fix ALL
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
UCI Professional Continental teams
*
*
*
*
Pre-race favorites
The main pre-race favorites were reigning
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 ...
and
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Ital ...
champion
Chris Froome
Christopher Clive Froome, (; born 20 May 1985) is a British professional road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . He has won seven Grand Tours: four editions of the Tour de France (in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017), one Giro d' ...
(),
defending champion Tom Dumoulin
Tom Dumoulin (; born 11 November 1990) is a retired Dutch professional road bicycle racer who last rode for UCI WorldTeam . He has won the Giro d'Italia and nine stages across the three Grand Tours, five medals in three different World Champion ...
() and
Fabio Aru
Fabio Aru (born 3 July 1990) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2012 and 2021 for the , and squads. He hails from San Gavino Monreale in Sardinia, and is known for his climbing ability, which m ...
(). Other general classification contenders were
Miguel Ángel López (),
Thibaut Pinot
Thibaut Pinot (born 29 May 1990) is a French former professional road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional from 2010 to 2023, spending his entire career with . Once considered one of the most promising talents in French cycling, he finis ...
(),
Wout Poels
Wouter Lambertus Martinus Henricus Poels (born 1 October 1987) is a Dutch professional road bicycle racer, who rides for UCI WorldTeam .
Career
Poels was born in Venray. He almost lost a kidney after a massive crash on 2012 Tour de France, Prolo ...
(),
Simon Yates and
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 ...
(both ),
George Bennett (),
Louis Meintjes (),
Michael Woods Michael Woods may refer to:
*Michael Woods (Australian politician) (1857–1934), member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
*Michael Woods (comics), American writer/editor of comic books
*Michael Woods (cyclist) (born 1986), Canadian cyclist
*M ...
(),
Davide Formolo
Davide Formolo (born 25 October 1992) is an Italian professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Formolo turned professional in 2014.
Biography
Born on 25 October 1992, in Negrar, Italy, Formolo resides in Marano di ...
(),
Rohan Dennis
Rohan Craig Dennis (born 28 May 1990) is an Australian former cyclist, who competed professionally in the track cycling, track and road bicycle racing, road disciplines of the sport for five different teams.
Having been a member of the Australi ...
() and
Domenico Pozzovivo
Domenico Pozzovivo (born 30 November 1982) is an Italian former road racing cyclist, who competed as a professional from 2005 to 2024. His very small stature confers him with the qualities of a pure climbing specialist. He is most known for a vi ...
().
Sprinters at the Giro included
Elia Viviani
Elia Viviani (born 7 February 1989) is an Italian professional Cycle sport, cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProSeries, UCI ProTeam . On 10 May 2015, Viviani won his first Grand Tour stage victory at the 2015 Giro d'Italia, Giro d'Italia, win ...
,
Jakub Mareczko
Jakub Mareczko (born 30 April 1994) is a Polish road cyclist, who rides for Mazowsze Serce Polski. A sprinter, Mareczko was described by the Italian national cycling coach Davide Cassani as one of the best young hopes for Italian cycling.
Caree ...
,
Niccolo Bonifazio,
Danny van Poppel
Danny van Poppel (born 26 July 1993) is a Dutch professional road racing cyclist, who rides for UCI WorldTeam .
Early and personal life
Danny van Poppel is the son of former professional cyclists Jean-Paul van Poppel and Leontine van der Liend ...
,
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 ...
,
Sam Bennett,
Jens Debusschere and
Ryan Gibbons.
Route and stages
Classification leadership
In the Giro d'Italia, four different jerseys are awarded. The first and most important is 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 cumulati ...
, calculated by adding each rider's finishing times on each stage. Riders receive time bonuses (10, 6 and 4 seconds respectively) for finishing in the first three places on each stage. Smaller time bonuses are also given to the top three riders at the last intermediate sprint on each stage (3, 2 and 1 seconds respectively). The rider with the lowest cumulative time is awarded the pink jersey (), and is considered the winner of the Giro d'Italia.
Additionally, there is 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 ...
. Riders win points for finishing in the top placings on each stage or by being within the first cyclists to reach intermediate sprint locations along each
mass-start stage. Flat stages award more points than mountainous stages, meaning that this classification tends to favour sprinters. The leader of the points classification wore the cyclamen jersey.
There is 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, Queen of the Mountains (QoM) is used.
While the title may be given to the rider who achieves the highest p ...
, for which points were awarded for reaching the top of a climb before other riders. Each climb was categorised as either first, second, third or fourth-category, with more points available for the more difficult, higher-categorised climbs. For first-category climbs, the top eight riders earned points; on second-category climbs, six riders won points; on third-category climbs, only the top four riders earned points with three on fourth-category climbs. The leadership of the mountains classification was marked by a blue jersey. The ''
Cima Coppi'', the race's highest point of elevation, awards more points than the other first-category climbs, with nine riders scoring points. At , the ''Cima Coppi'' for the 2018 Giro d'Italia is the
Colle delle Finestre.
The fourth jersey represents the
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 ...
. This is decided the same way as the general classification, but only riders born after 1 January 1994 are eligible. The winner of the classification is awarded a white jersey.
There are also
two classifications for teams. In the Trofeo Fast Team classification, the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage are added up; the leading team is one with the lowest total time. The Trofeo Super Team is a team points classification, with the top 20 riders of each stage earning points for their team.
The first additional award is the intermediate sprint classification. Each road stage has two sprints – the ''Traguardi Volanti''. The first 5 riders across the intermediate sprint lines are awarded points (10, 6, 3, 2 and 1 points respectively); the rider with the most points at the end of the race wins the classification. Another classification – the combativity prize () – involves points awarded to the first riders at the stage finishes, at intermediate sprints, and at the summits of categorised climbs. There is also a breakaway award (). For this, points are awarded to each rider in any breakaway smaller than 10 riders that escapes for at least . Each rider is awarded a point for each kilometre that the rider was away from the peloton. The rider with the most points at the end of the Giro wins the award. The final classification is a "fair play" ranking for each team. Teams are given penalty points for infringing various rules. These range from half-point penalties, for offences that merit warnings from race officials, to a 2000-point penalty, for a positive doping test. The team that has the lowest points total at the end of the Giro wins the classification.
Final standings
General classification
Points classification
Mountains classification
Young rider classification
General Super Team
See also
*
Cycling in Israel
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
External links
*
Postcard from...Jerusalem: The Giro d’Italia comes to Israel Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
{{Giro d'Italia general classification winners
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 ...
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 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 ...