History Tour d'Italia / Giro d'italia
The Giro was inspired by the Tour de France and, just as the French race was intended to boost circulation of L'Auto, so Emilio Camillo Costamagna, the editor of La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper, aimed to increase his circulation. The first Giro d'Italia started on May 13, 1909 at Milan with eight stages totalling 2,448 kilometres (1,521 miles). Luigi Ganna was the first winner.
Along with the Tour de France and the World Cycling Championship, the Giro d'Italia makes up the Triple Crown of Cycling. Along with the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España it is one of the three Grand Tours.
Jerseys
Whereas the overall leader of the Tour de France is awarded a yellow jersey (originally to correspond with L'Auto 's yellow pages), since 1931 the overall leader in the Giro sports the maglia rosa (pink jersey), which corresponds with newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport 's pink newsprint. The "King of the Mountains" wears the maglia verde (green jersey). The leader of the points classification wears the maglia ciclamino (mauve jersey), the best young rider wears the maglia bianca (white jersey).
King of the mountains (maglia verde)
During mountain stages of the race, points are awarded to the rider who is first to reach the top of each significant climb. Points are also awarded for riders who closely follow the leader up each climb. The number of points awarded varies according to the hill classification, which is determined by the steepness and length of that particular hill. The green jersey is worn by the rider who, at the start of each stage, has the largest amount of climbing points. If a rider holds both the pink and green jerseys, the green jersey is worn by the rider in second place. At the end of the giro, the rider holding the most climbing points wins the climbing competition. In fact, some riders, particularly those who are neither sprinters nor particularly good at time-trialing, may attempt only to win this particular competition within the race. This is the same as the Polka dot jersey of the Tour de France. In 2008 it was won by Emanuele Sella.
7 wins: Gino Bartali
4 wins: José Manuel Fuente
3 wins: Claudio Chiappucci, Claudio Bortolotto, Franco Bitossi, Fausto Coppi
ref [wikipedianews]
History of Giro d'Italia
Torpedo HUB SRAM
A new product hub from SRAM "SRAM Torpedo Variable Hub (09)"
Ever fancied being able to switch a rear hub from fixed to free at a turn – or seven – of a screw embedded in the axle? Well, the Torpedo is built to let you do just that.
It may not be essential on the flat, but if the geography of your riding is more up and down, it’s certainly safer to face steep descents with a freewheel rather than a fixed one.
The hub is well put together and performs its job admirably, but we do have some reservations. Firstly, the bearings aren’t fully sealed, they’re just shielded, which could lead to some longevity problems in the wet. Throughout our test it hasn’t been an issue, but then we’ve been more meticulous than usual in our maintenance since being armed with that knowledge.
Secondly, the hub weighs in at 480g, which is getting on for 180g more than the Halo track hub that usually lives in our test bike’s rear wheel. Thankfully, weight at the hub is not as crucial as it is at the rim, but the Torpedo won’t help you shed the pounds.
Finally, the OLD (Over Locknut Diameter) of the Torpedo is 130mm. That’s the standard for a road bike, so it’s fine if your fixie is a road convert, but not so useful if it’s a track bike. Again, this is a small quibble, especially since SRAM have announced that a 120mm version is imminent.
The Torpedo is a clever solution to an irritation rather than an actual problem. If you can live with the extra premium over a standard flip-flop, the Torpedo will save you some oily fingers and a few minutes of changeover time. However, if budget is an issue, this is hard to justify.
ref[cycling plus]
13 May Giro d'italia Race stage 6 Result - Bressanone/Brixen - Mayrhofen 248km
Giro d'italia Race stage 6 Result :
STAGE 6 RESULTS
1 Michele Scarponi (Ita|Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli) 5:49:55
2 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor|Team Columbia - Highroad) 0:00:32
3 Allan Davis (Aus|Quick Step)
4 Filippo Pozzato (Ita|Team Katusha)
5 Matthew Goss (Aus|Team Saxo Bank)
6 Philippe Gilbert (Bel|Silence-Lotto)
7 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita|Lampre - N.G.C.)
8 Michael Rogers (Aus|Team Columbia - Highroad) 0:00:36
9 Danilo Di Luca (Ita|LPR Brakes - Farnese Vini)
10 Tadej Valjavec (Slo|AG2R La Mondiale)
Michele Scarponi of the Diquigiovanni team soloed to victory on the sixth stage of the Tour of Italy to claim his first career win on the race Thursday.
Fellow Italian Danilo Di Luca, of LPR, retained the race leader's pink jersey after a 248 km ride in which a five-man breakaway provided much of the day's drama on what was a transitional stage into nearby Austria.
Di Luca, the 2007 champion, retained his five-second lead over second-placed Swede Thomas Lövkvist with his Columbian teammate Michael Rogers still in third at 36s.
A quartet of arguably more probable Giro winners - Levi Leipheimer, Denis Menchov, Ivan Basso and Carlos Sastre - sit in fourth to seventh places.
Scarponi was part of the earlier five-man escape group which formed around 50km into the stage, but for most of whom the stage's principal climb at Hochkrimml 50km from the finish line was their undoing.
Only Belarussian Vasik Kiryienka managed to stay with Scarponi on the ascent before dropping behind, apparently due to cramp.
Scarponi dug deep, went off on his own and managed to hold off a rapidly closing but tired peloton.
Norway's Edvald Boasson Hagen of Columbia attacked the pursuers in the final kilometre to finish second at around 30s on the stage, thus picking up the bonus seconds that may otherwise have been snatched by rivals of his team.
It is Scarponi's first Giro stage win and comes only months after returning to the peloton following an 18-month ban for his implication in the Operation Puerto doping scandal.
America's Lance Armstrong will target a stage win in the Giro d'Italia after falling off the pace in the overall standings, race leader Di Luca claimed after Stage 6 on Thursday.
"You mustn't forget that he stopped competing for three years and fractured his collarbone a month and a half before the race," the Italian said.
"I saw the footage of the Alpe di Siusi stage (on Wednesday) on television and he gave everything," Di Luca added of the seven-time Tour de France winner. "He's doing his best, he's honouring the Giro. I think he'll focus on a stage victory."
Armstrong finished 73rd on Thursday and currently occupies 25th place overall, 4 minutes, 13 seconds behind Di Luca.
General classification after stage 6
1 Danilo Di Luca (Ita|LPR Brakes - Farnese Vini) 22:11:15
2 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe|Team Columbia - Highroad) 0:00:05
3 Michael Rogers (Aus|Team Columbia - Highroad) 0:00:36
4 Levi Leipheimer (USA|Astana) 0:00:43
5 Denis Menchov (Rus|Rabobank) 0:00:50
6 Ivan Basso (Ita|Liquigas) 0:01:06
7 Carlos Sastre (Spa|Cervelo Test Team) 0:01:16
8 Christopher Horner (USA|Astana) 0:01:17
9 Franco Pellizotti (Ita|Liquigas) 0:01:27
10 David Arroyo (Spa|Caisse d'Epargne) 0:01:41
ref[BR]