The 1988 Giro d'Italia was the 71st running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. The race started in Urbino, on 23 May, with a individual time trial and concluded in Vittorio Veneto, on 12 June, with a individual time trial. A total of 180 riders from 20 teams entered the 21-stage race, which was won by American Andrew Hampsten of the team. The second and third places were taken by Dutchman Erik Breukink and Swiss Urs Zimmermann, respectively. It was the third time – and second successive year – in the history of the Giro that the podium was occupied solely by non-Italian riders.
In the first half of the race, the overall classification had been headed for several days by Massimo Podenzana. He had participated in a breakaway during stage 4a, which won him sufficient time to hold the race leader's maglia rosa () for more than a week. Franco Chioccioli then wore the pink jersey for two stages before Hampsten took the general classification lead after the fourteenth stage. The fourteenth stage of the 1988 Giro, conducted in adverse weather including a snowstorm, has been recognized as an iconic event in the history of the Giro. After this stage, Hampsten began to build up a solid two-minute barrier against the second-placed rider, Breukink. This gap was sufficient to win Hampsten the race, despite losing around twenty seconds in the final two stages.
Hampsten became the first American, and non-European, to win the Giro. He also won the secondary mountains and combination classifications, as well as the special sprints classification. In the other classifications, Fanini–Seven Up rider Stefano Tomasini of Italy placed ninth overall to finish as the best neo-professional in the general classification, Johan van der Velde of the Gisgelati–Ecoflam team was the winner of the points classification, and finished as the winners of the team classification.
Teams
Twenty teams were invited by the race organizers to participate in the 1988 edition of the Giro d'Italia, twelve of which were based outside of Italy. Each team sent a squad of nine riders, which meant that the race started with a peloton of 180 cyclists. In total, 82 of the starters were foreign, while the remaining 98 were Italian. Aside from Italy, Switzerland (17), Spain (12), and the Netherlands (11) all had more than 10 riders.
Of those starting, 54 were riding the Giro d'Italia for the first time. The average age of riders was 26.94 years, ranging from 21–year–old Angelo Lecchi from Del Tongo–Colnago to 37–year–old Pierino Gavazzi of Fanini–Seven Up. The team with the youngest average rider age was Selca–Ciclolinea (25), while the oldest was (29). The presentation of the teams – where each team's roster and manager were introduced in front of the media and local dignitaries – took place on 22 May, in the courtyard of the Ducal Palace in Urbino. From the riders that began the race, 125 made it to the finish in Vittorio Veneto.
The teams entering the race were:
Alba Cucine–Benotto Alfa Lum–Legnano Atala–Ofmega
Ceramiche Ariostea
Cyndarella–Isotonic Del Tongo–Colnago Fanini–Seven Up Gewiss–Bianchi Gisgelati–Ecoflam Isoglass–Galli Malvor–Bottecchia
Reynolds Selca–Ciclolinea
Tokke Zahor
Pre-race favorites
The starting peloton did not include the 1987 winner, Stephen Roche, who was sidelined for the majority of the 1988 season with a knee injury. l'Unità writer Gino Sala, author Bill McGann and an El Mundo Deportivo writer named several riders as contenders for the overall classification, including Andrew Hampsten, Urs Zimmermann, Erik Breukink, Franco Chioccioli, and Pedro Delgado. Sala believed Jean-François Bernard came into the Giro in great shape and that the French rider could win the race if he could do well in the time trials and the mountains. In addition, Bernard Hinault told Sala that if Jean Francois could do well in this edition of the Giro, he could one day lead a team in the Tour de France. Former Giro champion Gianni Motta thought Hampsten would win because of the effort he was expected to make on the Gavia Pass stage. Motta believed that Hampsten would excel there, while the Italian riders – the majority of the peloton – would not because they did not realize its difficulty and thought the Gavia was "just another climb".
The 1986 Tour de France winner Greg LeMond entered the race with his squad, after a break from cycling due to injuries sustained in a hunting accident. Due to this, Sala did not see him as a front-runner for the overall victory. Swiss rider Tony Rominger also partook in the race and was considered by McGann and Sala as a dark-horse candidate for the victory after experiencing success at the beginning of his season. Guido Bontempi was seen by Sala as a favorite to win a couple of stages. Before he injured his right knee earlier in the season during the Tour de Romandie, many newspapers also believed Moreno Argentin to be a favorite to take several stages. writer Curzio Maltese believed that Flavio Giupponi could take one of the stages containing many categorized climbs which award mountains classification points, if properly supported by his team Del Tongo–Colnago.
During the presentation of the teams, the riders were asked to choose their top picks for the overall victory. Roberto Visentini garnered the most votes from his fellow riders, but Delgado, Hampsten and LeMond also received many votes. Many media outlets felt that the overall victory would likely go to a non-Italian rider due to the lack of Italian general classification competitors, but that Visentini had the best chance of winning out of competing Italians.
Route and stages
The route for the 1988 edition of the Giro d'Italia was revealed to the public on television by head organizer Vincenzo Torriani, on 5 March 1988. It contained four time trial events, three of which were individual and one a team event. The race organizers hoped that the number of time trials, including one on the last day, would keep the race hotly contested to the end. There were fifteen stages containing thirty categorized climbs, of which four had summit finishes: stage 6, to Campitello Matese; stage 12, to Selvino; stage 13, to Chiesa in Valmalenco; and stage 15, to the Merano 2000 mountain. Another stage with a mountain-top finish was stage 18, which consisted of a climbing time trial to Valico del Vetriolo. The organizers chose to not include any rest days. When compared to the previous year's race, the race was shorter, contained one fewer rest day and individual time trial, and lacked a prologue. In addition, this race contained one fewer stage, but one more set of half stages. The race was televised in parts of Europe by Italy's national public broadcasting service, RAI.
The eleventh stage between Parma and Colle Don Bosco was cancelled due to protests near the finish line. The fifteenth stage was originally intended to be and to start in Bormio. However, due to very poor weather conditions, the start was moved to Spondigna and the stage was shortened to . The route originally had the riders crossing the Stelvio Pass, but it was skipped due to snowdrifts that had developed on the roads. Excluding the finish on the Merano 2000, the stage was relatively flat after the adjustments.
In previous years, the organizers had made the race easier for the Italian favorites by including fewer hard climbs. With the absence of Italian Francesco Moser from this edition, the race organizers included many famous and difficult climbs, such as the Gavia Pass. Moser himself stated that the route contained many difficult climbs and was not helping Italian cycling to prosper at a time when he believed it to be ailing. When asked about the route for the 1988 edition, rider Bob Roll said "Those sons of bitches put every mountain they could find in the race that year." Three-time winner Gino Bartali also believed the route to be very difficult and in favor of non-Italian competitors. Gino Sala also felt the route was harsher than in years past and that the team time trial could influence the overall classification greatly. La Stampa writer Gian Paolo Ormezzano praised the route saying it was beautiful and well crafted but contained one flaw, in that the race did not finish in any major Italian city. He also expressed his delight with the uphill time trial to Valico del Vetriolo as well as the inclusion of the Stelvio, Rombo and Gavia mountain passes.
+ Stage characteristics and winners Stage Date Course Distance Type Winner123 MayUrbino Individual time trial224 MayUrbino to Ascoli Piceno Stage with mountain(s)325 MayAscoli Piceno to Vasto Stage with mountain(s)4a26 MayVasto to Rodi Garganico Plain stage4bRodi Garganico to Vieste Team time trialDel Tongo–Colnago527 MayVieste to Santa Maria Capua Vetere Stage with mountain(s)628 MaySanta Maria Capua Vetere to Campitello Matese Stage with mountain(s)729 MayCampitello Matese to Avezzano Stage with mountain(s)830 MayAvezzano to Chianciano Terme Stage with mountain(s)931 MayPienza to Marina di Massa Plain stage101 JuneCarrara to Salsomaggiore Terme Stage with mountain(s)112 JuneParma to Colle Don Bosco Plain stage Stage Cancelled123 JuneNovara to Selvino Stage with mountain(s)134 JuneBergamo to Chiesa in Valmalenco Stage with mountain(s)145 JuneChiesa in Valmalenco to Bormio Stage with mountain(s)156 JuneSpondigna to Merano 2000 Stage with mountain(s)167 JuneMerano to Innsbruck (Austria) Stage with mountain(s)178 JuneInnsbruck (Austria) to Borgo Valsugana Stage with mountain(s)189 JuneLevico Terme to Valico del Vetriolo Individual time trial1910 JuneBorgo Valsugana to Arta Terme Stage with mountain(s)2011 JuneArta Terme to Lido di Jesolo Plain stage21a12 JuneLido di Jesolo to Vittorio Veneto Plain stage21bVittorio Veneto to Vittorio Veneto Individual time trial Total
Race overview
The Giro began with a time trial in the city of Urbino, which was won by Jean-François Bernard with a three-second margin over Tony Rominger. Guido Bontempi won the second stage and moved to third overall, while Bernard gained a five-second buffer over the second-placed rider, Rominger. In stage 4a, Massimo Podenzana soloed to victory in Rodi Garganico, five minutes ahead of the second-place finisher. This victory and the respective time bonus allowed Podenzana to gain the maglia rosa, which he held until stage 12. Stage 4b was a team time trial won by Del Tongo–Colnago, eleven seconds ahead of . Podenzana's lead shrunk to a little over two minutes after his team, Atala–Ofmega, finished two minutes and thirty-six seconds behind Del Tongo–Colnago.
The eleventh stage was run without problems until the final mile, when environmentalist protestors occupied the finish line and forced the annulment of the stage. The protestors were upset with a nearby factory, owned by chemical manufacturer Montedison, which the protestors claimed had been polluting the Bormida river. The next stage was marked by the appearance of the major mountains and by Pondenzana conceding the maglia rosa to Franco Chioccioli. The ensuing stages saw the general classification shift more frequently due to the intensity of the mountains and fatigue.