The Giro d’Italia Women is an annual women's cycle stage race around Italy. First held in 1988, the race is currently part of the UCI Women's World Tour, and is currently organised by RCS Sport, the organisers of the men's Giro d'Italia. The race was previously branded as the Giro d'Italia Femminile prior to 2013, the Giro Rosa from 2013 to 2020, and the Giro Donne from 2021 to 2023.
The race has been considered the most prestigious stage race in women's road cycling,[1] with some teams and media referring to the race as a 'Grand Tour'.[2][3] However, the race does not meet the UCI definition of such an event.[4][5] It has generally held over nine or ten days in early July each year, competing for attention with the more famous men's Tour de France. Organisers also stated that they wished to work with the UCI to move the calendar position of the race, so that the race is not overshadowed by the Tour de France.[6] The race is owned by the Italian Cycling Federation, with organisation of the race outsourced.[7]
The rider with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the general classification and wears the pink jersey. While the general classification gathers the most attention, there are other contests held within the Giro: the points classification for the sprinters, the mountains classification for the climbers, young rider classification for the riders under the age of 23, and the best Italian rider classification. Achieving a stage win also provides prestige, often accomplished by a team's sprint specialist or a rider taking part in a breakaway.
History
The men's Giro d'Italia cycling race was first held in 1909, and is considered the second most important cycling race in the world.[8] The women's Giro d'Italia was first held in 1988 as the Giro d'Italia Femminile.[9] The first edition in 1988 was won by two-time Tour de France Feminin winner Maria Canins from Italy.[10][9]
Global Cycling Network notes how "how little we actually know" about early editions of the women's Giro, with no information about stage winners.[9] The race was the second biggest women's race in Italy, behind the long running Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio.[9] In the 1990s, the race was dominated by Italian rider Fabiana Luperini, who won 4 editions of the race between 1995 and 1998, winning 13 stages in the process.[9] Luperini later won the 2008 edition of the race, 10 years after her last victory.[11]
In the 2000s, the race initially grew to 13 stages in length before falling back to 9 stages.[9] Other big races like Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale and Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin were cancelled due to financial difficulties in 2009 and 2010 respectively, leaving the Giro Donne was the only 'Grand Tour' left in women's cycling after 2010.[9]
In December 2012 it was reported that the company Epinike had withdrawn as Giro Donne organiser, making the 2013 edition uncertain.[7] In April 2013, however, organisers announced they had rebranded the race as the Giro Rosa, taking place over eight days.[12] It returned to its traditional ten-day length the following year. In 2016, the race became part of the new UCI Women's World Tour, organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).[13]
In the late 2010s and early 2020s, the race was dominated by Dutch riders, with Annemiek van Vleuten winning four times.[14] In 2021, the race lost its World Tour status due to the lack of live television coverage during the 2020 edition of the race.[15] The decision to downgrade to a 2.Pro-level stage race was met with criticism.[15] The race used the Giro d'Italia Donne name in 2021, before returning to Giro Donne in 2022. The race returned to World Tour level in 2022, following promises of live television coverage on Eurosport and Rai Sport.[16] The prize money was also increased to €250,000, with €50,000 for the winner of the general classification.[16] The organisation of the 2023 edition of the race was criticised, with information about the route and riders not available until the last minute.[17]
From 2024, the race will be organised by the men's Giro d'Italia organiser RCS Sport on a four-year contract.[18] The 2024 edition of the race will be rebranded to Giro d'Italia Women.[19]
The Giro Donne awards a number of jerseys for winners of certain classifications – the current competitions that award a jersey are:
( from 1988 to 2023, in 2012) Points classification, for the rider with the most points as awarded by finishing positions on stages and the first riders to go through intermediate sprints. Recently, the winner wears the maglia rossa (red jersey).
( from 1988 to 2023) Mountains classification, for the rider awarded the most points for crossing designated climbs, generally at the peaks of hills and mountains. The winner wears the maglia azzurra (blue jersey).
Young rider classification, for the fastest rider under the age of 25 to complete the race. The winner wears the maglia bianca (white jersey).
Best Italian rider classification, for the fastest Italian rider to complete the race. The winner used to wear the maglia azzurra (blue jersey).
In 2006, the young riders classification was not run, instead a sprints competition was won by Olga Slyusareva (RUS) and awarded the blue jersey.
^The 2001 race win was originally awarded to BelarusianZinaida Stahurskaya, but she failed a doping control during the race and was stripped of the title nearly a year later[21]
^The race was originally planned to be 918.3 km (570.6 mi) in length, but due to landslides stage 5 had to be shortened and rerouted.[22]
^Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the 2020 edition was rescheduled to September and shortened from 10 to 9 stages.
^Goldman, Tom (22 July 2022). "After more than 30 years, a multiday women's Tour de France is back". NPR.org. Retrieved 4 August 2022. After the Tour de France femmes avec Zwift announced its record $250,000 purse, another women's grand tour event, the Giro d'Italia Donne, matched the Tour's prize money amount.
^Rogers, Owen (10 July 2022). "Rome the target for 2023 Giro Donne 'grande partenza'". cyclingweekly.com. Retrieved 23 June 2023. Organisers confirm they are working with the UCI to ensure the race does not clash with the men's Tour de France
^ abcdefghijklmn"Statistics". girodonne.it – Web Archive. Archived from the original on 6 February 2005. Retrieved 12 July 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
