The 2019 Giro d'Italia was a three-week Grand Tour cycling stage race organised by RCS Sport that took place mainly in Italy, between 11 May and 2 June 2019. The race was the 102nd edition of the Giro d'Italia and was the first Grand Tour of the 2019 cycling season. The race started with an individual time trial in Bologna, and finished with another time-trial in Verona. The race was won by Richard Carapaz (), who became the first Ecuadorian rider to win the Giro d'Italia. Italian Vincenzo Nibali () finished 2nd, with Slovenian rider Primož Roglič () in 3rd place. Carapaz also became the second South American rider to win the Giro, after Nairo Quintana in 2014.
Pascal Ackermann () narrowly won the points classification before Arnaud Démare (), with Damiano Cima () in third place. Giulio Ciccone () won mountains classification after leading it through 20 of the race's 21 stages, and Miguel Ángel López () won the young rider classification. The team classification was won by .
Teams
All 18 UCI WorldTeams were automatically invited and were obliged to attend the race. Four wildcard UCI Professional Continental teams were also selected. Because of an agreement between RCS Sport and the organisers of the Coppa Italia di ciclismo (the Italian Road Cycling Cup) one of the four wildcards is traditionally reserved for the overall cup winner. One of the wildcards was therefore awarded to . On 25 January 2019, the race organisers announced that the other three wildcards were awarded to , and . All of the wildcard teams had previously participated in the Giro, and three out of the four teams participated in the previous year. The one exception was Nippo–Vini Fantini, whose last participation in the Giro was in 2016. Each team started with eight riders. The on-stage presentation of the teams took place in Bologna on 9 May, two days before the opening stage.
The teams entering the race were:
Pre-race favourites Two previous Giro d'Italia champions, Vincenzo Nibali () and Tom Dumoulin (), are considered to be among the favorites for the Maglia Rosa, together with Miguel Ángel López (), Mikel Landa (), Primož Roglič () and Simon Yates ().
Other riders believed to be competitive in the general classification were Richard Carapaz (), Esteban Chaves (), Davide Formolo (), Ion Izagirre (), Bob Jungels (), Rafał Majka (), Bauke Mollema (), Ben O'Connor () and Ilnur Zakarin ().
Riders believed to be the main contenders for victories on the sprint stages are the current German national champion Pascal Ackermann (), Frenchman Arnaud Démare (), Australian rider Caleb Ewan (), Colombia's Fernando Gaviria (), and the defending winner of the points classification, Italian Elia Viviani ().
Route and stages
The race started on 11 May with an 8 km cronoscalata, a mountain time trial, in Bologna, which concluded with a climb to the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca. The steep (average gradient 9.7%) climb, which is regularly used as a finish in the Italian autumn classic Giro dell'Emilia, made its debut in the Giro in 1956 in a time trial stage won by Charly Gaul, and had now made its fourth appearance in the Giro. The race then headed south, with the second stage crossing the Apennines into Tuscany, honouring Tuscan cyclist Gino Bartali with a stage finish in Fucecchio. The following stage started in Vinci, celebrating the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci, and finished in Orbetello, which also acted as the start location for the following stage, in which the race left Tuscany for the Lazio region with a stage finish in Frascati. Continuing south, the peloton then left Frascati for a stage finish in Terracina, and, following a short transfer to Cassino, crossed the country on a hilly stage to the Apulian region on eastern coast, finishing in the town of San Giovanni Rotondo. The race then headed north, with stage finishes in L'Aquila and Pesaro. Stage nine's individual time trial in San Marino was the last stage before the rest day, and the only occasion where the Giro left Italy.
Following the first rest day, the riders tackled two flat stages with finishes in Modena and Novi Ligure. The twelfth stage, relatively short at , started from Cuneo and included the climb of , 1248 meters above sea level. It finished with a very short, but steep climb in the town of Pinerolo, with the gradient reaching 20%. The thirteenth stage has been considered to become the first big test for the riders aiming for the general classification and included the race's first summit finish, at Lago Serrù, close to Ceresole Reale. Two other categorized climbs were included in the stage, namely the Colle del Lys and the Pian del Lupo.
Following the second, and last, rest day on 27 May, the riders faced what has been dubbed as the queen stage of the race, which started in Lovere, included several categorized climbs, including the Passo del Mortirolo, before finishing in Ponte di Legno. Initially, the stage was meant to also feature the Passo di Gavia, previously featured in 2014, in a stage won by Nairo Quintana (), who later won the overall classification, however the climb was ultimately removed from the route two days before the stage was run due to snow and poor weather conditions. The Mortirolo was first included in the race in 1990, and has since then made many appearances in the race, most recently on the 16th stage at the 2017 won by Vincenzo Nibali. The race finished with a time trial in Verona.
+List of stages Stage Date Course Distance Type Winner 1 11 May Bologna to Bologna (San Luca) Individual time trial 2 12 May Bologna to Fucecchio Hilly stage 3 13 May Vinci to Orbetello Flat stage 4 14 May Orbetello to Frascati Flat stage 5 15 May Frascati to Terracina Flat stage 6 16 May Cassino to San Giovanni Rotondo Hilly stage 7 17 May Vasto to L'Aquila Hilly stage 8 18 May Tortoreto Lido to Pesaro Hilly stage 9 19 May Riccione to City of San Marino (San Marino) Individual time trial 20 May Rest day 10 21 May Ravenna to Modena Flat stage 11 22 May Carpi to Novi Ligure Flat stage 12 23 May Cuneo to Pinerolo Hilly stage 13 24 May Pinerolo to Ceresole Reale (Serrù Lake) Mountain stage 14 25 May Saint-Vincent to Courmayeur (Skyway Monte Bianco) Mountain stage 15 26 May Ivrea to Como Intermediate stage 27 May Rest day 16 28 May Lovere to Ponte di Legno Mountain stage 17 29 May Commezzadura (Val di Sole) to Anterselva/Antholz Intermediate stage 18 30 May Valdaora/Olang to Santa Maria di Sala Flat stage 19 31 May Treviso to San Martino di Castrozza Mountain stage 20 1 June Feltre to Croce d'Aune-Monte Avena Mountain stage 21 2 June Verona to Verona Individual time trial Total
Race overview
The first stage, an 8 km mountain time trial in Bologna, was won by Primož Roglič () who therefore became the first wearer of the maglia rosa, the pink jersey identifying the leader of the general classification. Roglič also took the lead in the points classification. Giulio Ciccone () took the lead in the mountains classification and became the first wearer of the blue jersey, while Miguel Ángel López () finished as the fastest young rider and became the leader of the young rider classification. Stage 2, the first bunch sprint stage, was taken by Pascal Ackermann (), who benefited from a mistake by Elia Viviani () in the setup for the sprint. Roglič held the maglia rosa for another day, while Ackermann took the points classification. Ciccone also went into the breakaway and maintained his lead in the mountains classification. The third stage was once again a group sprint, but this one had much more controversy. In the leadup to the sprint, Viviani pulled out of line and bumped Matteo Moschetti () out of the way. Viviani won the stage on the road, but judges later relegated him for an illegal sprint, which handed the win and points classification to Fernando Gaviria (). No other changes in the jerseys occurred. Richard Carapaz () won the fourth stage after a late attack. Multiple crashes with only a few kilometers left of the stage saw several riders go down. One of those affected was favorite Tom Dumoulin (), who eventually finished the stage four minutes after many other favorites had crossed the line. Roglič extended his general classification lead out to 35 seconds, and Ackermann took back the points classification. Stage five was a drenched one, with a neutralized bunch sprint at the end. Ackermann took the win after nearly colliding with a rider. Gaviria took a close second. Dumoulin officially withdrew after only a few kilometers of the stage, stating that the pain was too much to continue.
The first shakeup of the race occurred on stage six, where the breakaway took the stage. Fausto Masnada () beat Valerio Conti () to the line, beating the peloton by a full seven minutes. Conti was handed over the maglia rosa with the rest of the breakaway riders between him and Roglič because of this. Giovanni Carboni () gained the young rider classification also. Stage seven was another day for the breakaway, this time Pello Bilbao () fending off Tony Gallopin () for the victory. Stage eight saw Caleb Ewan () take the sprint over Elia Viviani and Pascal Ackermann, the holder of the maglia ciclamino at the time. Stage nine, the San Marino time trial that would round out the first week, saw Primož Roglič victorious again, this time only 11 seconds over Victor Campenaerts () and a full minute over Bauke Mollema () and the rest of the GC favorites. Conti still held the maglia rosa.
A slight controversy opened up the second week, with stage ten ending in a reduced sprint caused by the fall of the maglia ciclamino holder Ackermann. Arnaud Démare () found victory over Viviani and Rüdiger Selig (), who sprinted after Ackermann's crash. Ackermann would finish, although losing the ciclamino to Demare, and Matteo Moschetti would withdraw from injuries sustained in the incident. Ewan found victory once again in stage eleven, where he once again beat Demare and Ackermann. Ewan and Viviani both announced their withdrawals afterwards, in preparation for the Tour de France. Stage twelve followed the common roads of the Giro di Lombardia, where Cesare Benedetti () of the breakaway took his first pro win over Damiano Caruso () and Eddie Dunbar (). It also saw Jan Polanc () taking over the general classification from his teammate Conti. The thirteenth stage was the first true mountain stage of the Giro, and was potentially the turning point. Ilnur Zakarin () took victory after an attack, in which he caught up and surpassed second placed Mikel Nieve (), with Mikel Landa () coming in third. The surprise of the day was Richard Carapaz, who essentially was let go by Vincenzo Nibali () and Roglič. This placed him right with the other favorites, two down on Roglič and a further two on Polanc. However, on the other end of the spectrum, big names like Miguel Ángel López () and Simon Yates () lose multiple minutes on the day. Stage fourteen was arguably the maglia rosa-deciding stage, as Carapaz was once again on the attack for minutes. The rest of the favorites once again let him go, and let his gap grow to nearly two minutes for a decisive victory. Yates placed in second, gaining about 20 seconds on the rest of the favorites. The fifteenth day of racing was one for the break again, as Dario Cataldo () edged out Mattia Cattaneo () for the win, with Yates once again placing on the podium. This stage saw Roglic lose a bit of time on his rivals after a nightmare day filled with crashes and such, obtaining a needed break from the final rest day.