| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates | 19 May – 10 June 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 21 + prologue | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 3,356 km (2,085 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 89h 02' 58" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
← 2000 2002 → | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The2001 Giro d'Italia was the 84th edition of theGiro. It began with a 7 km (4 mi) prologue that went fromMontesilvano toPescara. The race came to a close on June 10 with a mass-start stage that ended in the Italian city ofMilan.[1] Twenty teams entered the race that was won by the ItalianGilberto Simoni of theLampre–Daikin team.[1] Second and third were the Spanish ridersAbraham Olano andUnai Osa.[1]
In the race's other classifications,Selle Italia–Pacific riderFredy González won the mountains classification,Massimo Strazzer of theMobilvetta Design–Formaggi Trentini team won the intergiro classification and the points classification.[1]Alessio finished as the winners of theTrofeo Fast Team classification, ranking each of the twenty teams contesting the race by lowest cumulative time.[1] The other team classification, theTrofeo Super Team classification, where the teams' riders are awarded points for placing within the top twenty in each stage and the points are then totaled for each team was also won byFassa Bortolo.[1]
A total of 20 teams were invited to participate in the 2001 Giro d'Italia.[2] Each team sent a squad of nine riders, so the Giro began with a peloton of 180 cyclists.[2] Out of the 180 riders that started this edition of the Giro d'Italia, a total of 136 riders made it to the finish in Milan.[1]
The 20 teams that took part in the race were:[2]
The route for the 2001 Giro d'Italia was unveiled by race director Carmine Castellano and organizersRCS Sport on 11 November 2000 in Milan at the Verdi theatre.[3][4][5] It contained two time trial events, both of which were individual. In the stages containing categorized climbs, four had summit finishes: stage 4, toMercogliano;[6] stage 13, toPasso Pordoi;[7] and stage 18, to Santuario.[8] The organizers chose to include one rest day. When compared to theprevious year's race, the race was 320 km (199 mi) shorter, contained the same amount of rest days, and one less individual time trial. In addition, this race had an opening prologue like the year before. It was the longestGrand Tour of the season.[5]
The race will only leave Italy once during its twenty-two racing days as it entersSlovenia where the day finishes inLjubljana.[5] The lone rest day came after sixteen racing days, on 5 June.[5]
ACycling News writer felt there were two very tough stages in the race, stages 13 and stage 18.[5] In particular the writer felt the two passes of thePasso Pordoi and the climbs of Passo Rolle and Passo Fedaia made stage 13 particularly difficult.[5] The eighteenth stage contained the Cima Coppi Colle Fauniera which was an 14.5 km (9 mi) climb with an average gradient of 9.5%.[5] The previous year's winner Garzelli described the route to be a "hard Giro, but not the hardest."[5] Pantani said it was an "uncertain Giro" and that the limited time trial distances and fewer climbing kilometers would helpJan Ullrich.[5] Former winner Three-time winnerFelice Gimondi agreed with Pantani regarding Ullrich and the route, stating that "it should make certain the presence of Ullrich."[5] Cipollini commented that it's a "Giro with something for everyone."[5]
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 19 May | Montesilvano toPescara | 7 km (4 mi) |  | Individual time trial |  Rik Verbrugghe (BEL) | |
| 1 | 20 May | Giulianova toFrancavilla al Mare | 205 km (127 mi) |  | Medium mountain stage |  Ellis Rastelli (ITA) | |
| 2 | 21 May | Fossacesia toLucera | 163 km (101 mi) |  | Flat stage |  Danilo Hondo (GER) | |
| 3 | 22 May | Lucera toPotenza | 149 km (93 mi) | | Flat stage | Danilo Hondo (GER) | |
| 4 | 23 May | Potenza toMercogliano | 169 km (105 mi) |  | Mountain stage | Danilo Di Luca (ITA) | |
| 5 | 24 May | Avellino toNettuno | 229 km (142 mi) | | Flat stage | Ivan Quaranta (ITA) | |
| 6 | 25 May | Nettuno toRieti | 152 km (94 mi) | | Flat stage | Mario Cipollini (ITA) | |
| 7 | 26 May | Rieti toMontevarchi | 239 km (149 mi) | | Medium mountain stage | Stefano Zanini (ITA) | |
| 8 | 27 May | Montecatini Terme toReggio Emilia | 185 km (115 mi) | | Medium mountain stage | Pietro Caucchioli (ITA) | |
| 9 | 28 May | Reggio Emilia toRovigo | 140 km (87 mi) | | Flat stage | Mario Cipollini (ITA) | |
| 10 | 29 May | Lido di Jesolo toLjubljana (Slovenia) | 212 km (132 mi) | | Flat stage | Denis Zanette (ITA) | |
| 11 | 30 May | Bled (Slovenia) toGorizia | 187 km (116 mi) | | Flat stage |  Pablo Lastras (ESP) | |
| 12 | 31 May | Gradisca d'Isonzo toMontebelluna | 139 km (86 mi) | | Flat stage | Matteo Tosatto (ITA) | |
| 13 | 1 June | Montebelluna toPasso Pordoi | 225 km (140 mi) | | Medium mountain stage |  Julio Alberto Pérez (MEX) | |
| 14 | 2 June | Cavalese toArco | 166 km (103 mi) | | Mountain stage |  Carlos Alberto Contreras (COL) | |
| 15 | 3 June | Sirmione toSalò | 55 km (34 mi) | | Individual time trial | Dario Frigo (ITA) | |
| 16 | 4 June | Erbusco toParma | 142 km (88 mi) | | Flat stage | Ivan Quaranta (ITA) | |
| 5 June | Rest day | ||||||
| 17 | 6 June | Sanremo toSanremo | 123 km (76 mi) | | Medium mountain stage | Pietro Caucchioli (ITA) | |
| 18 | 7 June | Imperia toSant'Anna di Vinadio | | Mountain stage | Stage Cancelled | ||
| 19 | 8 June | Alba toBusto Arsizio | 163 km (101 mi) | | Flat stage | Mario Cipollini (ITA) | |
| 20 | 9 June | Busto Arsizio toArona | 181 km (112 mi) | | Mountain stage | Gilberto Simoni (ITA) | |
| 21 | 10 June | Arona toMilan | 125 km (78 mi) | | Flat stage | Mario Cipollini (ITA) | |
| Total | 3,356 km (2,085 mi) | ||||||
In the 2001 Giro d'Italia, five different jerseys were awarded. For thegeneral classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, and allowing time bonuses for the first three finishers onmass-start stages, the leader received a pink jersey. This classification is considered the most important of the Giro d'Italia, and the winner is considered the winner of the Giro.[11]
Additionally, there was apoints classification, which awarded a mauve jersey. In the points classification, cyclists got points for finishing in the top 15 in a stage. The stage win awarded 25 points, second place awarded 20 points, third 16, fourth 14, fifth 12, sixth 10, and one point fewer per place down the line, to a single point for 15th. In addition, points could be won in intermediate sprints.[11]
There was also amountains classification, which awarded a green jersey. In the mountains classifications, points were won by reaching the top of a mountain before other cyclists. Each climb was categorized as either first, second, or third category, with more points available for the higher-categorized climbs. The highest point in the Giro (called theCima Coppi), which in 2001 was the Colle Fauniera, afforded more points than the other first-category climbs.[11]
The fourth jersey represented theintergiro classification, marked by a blue jersey.[11] The calculation for the intergiro is similar to that of the general classification, in each stage there is a midway point that the riders pass through a point and where their time is stopped. As the race goes on, their times compiled and the person with the lowest time is the leader of the intergiro classification and wears the blue jersey.[11]
There were also two classifications for teams. The first was the Trofeo Fast Team. In this classification, the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added; the leading team was the team with the lowest total time. The Trofeo Super Team was a team points classification, with the top 20 placed riders on each stage earning points (20 for first place, 19 for second place and so on, down to a single point for 20th) for their team.[11]
The rows in the following table correspond to the jerseys awarded after that stage was run.
| Legend | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | Denotes the winner of theGeneral classification[1] |  | Denotes the winner of theMountains classification[1] |
 | Denotes the winner of thePoints classification[1] |  | Denotes the winner of theIntergiro classification[1] |
| Rider | Team | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gilberto Simoni (ITA) | Lampre–Daikin | 89h 02' 58" |
| 2 | Abraham Olano (ESP) | ONCE–Eroski | + 7' 31" |
| 3 | Unai Osa (ESP) | iBanesto.com | + 8' 37" |
| 4 |  Serhiy Honchar (UKR) | Liquigas | + 9' 25" |
| 5 |  José Azevedo (POR) | ONCE–Eroski | + 9' 44" |
| 6 | Andrea Noè (ITA) | Mapei–Quick-Step | + 10' 50" |
| 7 | Ivan Gotti (ITA) | Alessio | + 10' 54" |
| 8 | Carlos Alberto Contreras (COL) | Selle Italia–Pacific | + 11' 44" |
| 9 | Pietro Caucchioli (ITA) | Alessio | + 13' 34" |
| 10 | Giuliano Figueras (ITA) | Selle Italia–Pacific | + 14' 08" |
| Rider | Team | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massimo Strazzer (ITA) | Mobilvetta Design–Formaggi Trentini | 177 |
| 2 | Danilo Hondo (GER) | Team Telekom | 158 |
| 3 | Mario Cipollini (ITA) | Saeco | 136 |
| 4 | Gilberto Simoni (ITA) | Lampre–Daikin | 129 |
| 5 | Ivan Quaranta (ITA) | Alexia Alluminio | 105 |
| 6 | Marco Zanotti (ITA) | Liquigas | 85 |
| 7 |  Andrej Hauptman (SLO) | Tacconi Sport–Vini Caldirola | 78 |
| 8 | Unai Osa (ESP) | iBanesto.com | 75 |
| 9 | Abraham Olano (ESP) | ONCE–Eroski | 73 |
| 10 | Giuliano Figueras (ITA) | Ceramiche Panaria–Fiordo |
| Rider | Team | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fredy González (COL) | Selle Italia–Pacific | 73 |
| 2 | Gilberto Simoni (ITA) | Lampre–Daikin | 42 |
| 3 | Fortunato Baliani (ITA) | Selle Italia–Pacific | 33 |
| 4 | Pietro Caucchioli (ITA) | Alessio | 32 |
| 5 | Julio Alberto Pérez (MEX) | Ceramiche Panaria–Fiordo | 28 |
| 6 | Danilo Di Luca (ITA) | Cantina Tollo | 21 |
| 7 | Unai Osa (ESP) | iBanesto.com | 16 |
| 8 | Carlos Alberto Contreras (COL) | Selle Italia–Pacific | 14 |
| 9 | Hernán Buenahora (COL) | Selle Italia–Pacific | |
| 10 | Marzio Bruseghin (ITA) | iBanesto.com | 10 |
| Rider | Team | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Massimo Strazzer (ITA) | Mobilvetta Design–Formaggi Trentini | 51h 27' 14" |
| 2 | Stefano Zanini (ITA) | Mapei–Quick-Step | + 2' 49" |
| 3 | Moreno Di Biase (ITA) | Mobilvetta Design–Formaggi Trentini | s.t. |
| 4 | Abraham Olano (ESP) | ONCE–Eroski | + 3' 15" |
| 5 | Mariano Piccoli (ITA) | Lampre–Daikin | + 3' 21" |
| 6 | Gilberto Simoni (ITA) | Lampre–Daikin | + 3' 26" |
| 7 | Fortunato Baliani (ITA) | Selle Italia–Pacific | + 3' 31" |
| 8 | Ivan Quaranta (ITA) | Alexia Alluminio | + 3' 49" |
| 9 | Danilo Hondo (GER) | Team Telekom | s.t. |
| 10 | Pietro Caucchioli (ITA) | Alessio | + 3' 51" |
| Team | Time | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alessio | 267h 13' 45" |
| 2 | iBanesto.com | + 9' 51" |
| 3 | Selle Italia–Pacific | + 13' 42" |
| 4 | ONCE–Eroski | + 18' 25" |
| 5 | Lampre–Daikin | + 39' 26" |
| 6 | Fassa Bortolo | + 41' 03" |
| 7 | Mercatone Uno–Stream TV | + 46' 03" |
| 8 | Liquigas | + 57' 09" |
| 9 | Tacconi Sport–Vini Caldirola | + 59' 07" |
| 10 | Saeco | + 1h 19' 58" |
| Team | Points | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fassa Bortolo | 370 |
| 2 | Tacconi Sport–Vini Caldirola | 356 |
| 3 | Liquigas | 322 |
| 4 | Alessio | 313 |
| 5 | Team Telekom | 280 |
| 6 | Lampre–Daikin | 268 |
| 7 | Mobilvetta Design–Formaggi Trentini | 245 |
| 8 | Ceramiche Panaria–Fiordo | 234 |
| 9 | ONCE–Eroski | 233 |
| 10 | iBanesto.com | 231 |
Other less well-known classifications, whose leaders did not receive a special jersey, were awarded during the Giro. Other awards included the Combativity classification, which was a compilation of points gained for position on crossing intermediate sprints, mountain passes and stage finishes.[11] ItalianMassimo Strazzer won the Most Combative classification.[1] TheAzzurri d'Italia classification was based on finishing order, but points were awarded only to the top three finishers in each stage.[11]Mario Cipollini won the Azzurri d'Italia classification.[1]Paolo Savoldelli won the combination classification.[1]
During the Giro, test for EPO performed onSergio Barbero in the2001 Tour of Romandie came back positive. For this reason, Barbero did not start the twelfth stage, pending confirmation of his penalty.[12]
Riccardo Forconi andPascal Hervé tested positive for EPO, and were not allowed to start stage 17.[13][14]After stage 17, the Italian police held a doping raid in the cyclists' hotels. Doping was found inDario Frigo's room, and he was removed from the race, and banned for 6 months.[15]Noan Lelarge tested positive for a banned steroid, and was consequently fired by his teamBonjour.[16]
| |||||
| |||||
| |||||
| |||||
| |||||
| |||||
| |||||
*In 1912, Giro was contested solely by teams, with no individual classification |
