In 1909, the newspaper
La Gazzetta dello Sport established the
Giro d'Italia, inspired by the success of the
Tour de France, which started in 1903. The first Giro was won by
Luigi Ganna, while
Carlo Galetti won the two following Giros. In
1912, there was no individual classification, instead, there was only a team classification, which was won by
Team Atala. The 1912 Giro is the only time the competition has not had an individual classification. From 1914 onwards the scoring format was changed from a points-based system to a time-based system, in which the cyclist who had the lowest aggregate time at the end of the race would win. The Giro was suspended for four years from 1915 to 1918, due to the
First World War.
Costante Girardengo was the winner of the first Giro after the war in
1919. () worn by the leader of the general classification The dominant figure in the 1920s was
Alfredo Binda, who won his first Giro in
1925 and followed this up with another victory in
1927, in which he won 12 of the 15 stages. Victory in
1929 came courtesy of eight successive stage wins. At the height of his dominance, Binda was called to the head office of
La Gazzetta dello Sport in 1930; the newspaper accused him of ruining the race and offered him 22,000
lira to be less dominant, which he refused. Binda won five Giros before he was usurped as the dominant cyclist by
Gino Bartali. Nicknamed the "Iron Man of
Tuscany" for his endurance, Bartali won two Giros during the 1930s, in
1936 and
1937. Bartali's dominance was challenged in
1940, the last Giro before the
Second World War, when he was defeated by his 20-year-old teammate
Fausto Coppi. The rivalry between Bartali and Coppi intensified after the war. Bartali won his last Giro in
1946, with Coppi winning his second the following year. Coppi won a further three Giros and in
1952 he became the first cyclist to win the Tour de France and Giro in the same year. Swiss
Hugo Koblet became the first non-Italian to win the race in
1950. No one dominated the tour during the 1950s, Coppi,
Charly Gaul and
Fiorenzo Magni each won two Giros during the decade. The 1960s were similar, five-time Tour de France winner
Jacques Anquetil won in
1960, and
1964, while
Franco Balmamion won successive Giros in
1962 and
1963. Belgian
Eddy Merckx was the dominant figure during the 1970s. His first victory came in
1968; another triumph in
1970 was followed by three successive victories from
1972 to
1974, which is the record for the most successive victories in the Giro.
Felice Gimondi was victorious in
1976 winning his third Giro. Belgians
Michel Pollentier and
Johan De Muynck won the two subsequent Giros in
1977 and
1978. In
1980, Frenchman
Bernard Hinault who up to this point had won two Tours de France, became France's first winner since Anquetil in 1964. He would win another two Giros in
1982 and
1985. (
right) in the pink jersey riding alongside
World Champion Maurizio Fondriest at the
1989 Giro d'Italia.
Stephen Roche was victorious in
1987, a year in which he also won the Tour and the
UCI Road World Championship. American
Andrew Hampsten became the first non-European winner the
following year,
Marco Pantani was the winner in
1998, a year in which he completed the Tour and Giro double,
Ivan Gotti won the previous Giro in
1997 and the subsequent one in
1999.
Stefano Garzelli won the Giro in
2000.
Gilberto Simoni was the winner in
2001 and
2003, with
Paolo Savoldelli victorious in
2002. Simoni was denied a third victory in
2004, when he was beaten by teammate
Damiano Cunego. Salvodelli won his second Giro in
2005, beating Simoni by 28 seconds.
Ivan Basso was the victor in
2006,
Danilo di Luca won in
2007, though the tour was marred by doping allegations. Spaniard
Alberto Contador of was the winner in
2008; the following year he raced in the Tour de France instead, and
Denis Menchov was the Giro victor. Basso returned after a doping suspension to regain his title in
2010. Contador was the victor at the podium ceremony in Milan, but he was later stripped of the title after he was found guilty of doping in the
2010 Tour de France. Runner-up
Michele Scarponi was awarded the victory.
Ryder Hesjedal became the first Canadian to win the Giro in 2012, beating
Joaquim Rodríguez by 16 seconds. After gaining the lead after the eighth stage,
Vincenzo Nibali won two more stages to help consolidate his lead and win the
2013 edition. Colombian
Nairo Quintana became the first rider from South America to win the Giro in
2014. The following year Contador won the Giro for the second time. Nibali won his second Giro in 2016; he finished 52 seconds ahead of second-placed
Esteban Chaves. In 2017,
Tom Dumoulin became the first Dutchman to win the Giro, finishing only 31 seconds ahead of Quintana. A year later,
Chris Froome won the 2018 Giro, becoming the first British rider to win the race. He finished 46 seconds ahead of defending champion Dumoulin, mounting a comeback in the final week which included an solo victory on stage 19.
Richard Carapaz became the first Ecuadorian to win a Grand Tour when he won in 2019. British rider,
Tao Geoghegan Hart, was the winner of the
2020 Giro. He won the race by 39 seconds after entering the final stage of the race, a time trial, level with runner-up,
Jai Hindley.
Egan Bernal won the
2021 Giro, while Hindley won the race a year later to become the first Australian rider to win the Giro.
Primož Roglič became the first Slovenian to win the Giro in 2023 when he beat
Geraint Thomas by 14 seconds. His compatriot,
Tadej Pogačar, won the Giro the following year.
Simon Yates won the Giro in 2025, winning the race by 3 minutes and 56 seconds from second-placed rider,
Isaac del Toro. ==Winners==