1976 Giro d'Italia

Teams

Main article: List of teams and cyclists in the 1976 Giro d'Italia

A total of twelve teams were invited to participate in the 1976 Giro d'Italia. In total, 70 riders were from Italy, while the remaining 50 riders came from: Spain (20), Belgium (17), the Netherlands (3), Denmark (2), Portugal (2), Switzerland (2), Australia (1), Germany (1), Great Britain (1), and Norway (1). Each team sent a squad of ten riders, which meant that the race started with a peloton of 120 cyclists.

Of those starting, 30 were riding the Giro d'Italia for the first time. The average age of riders was 27.75 years, ranging from 20–year–old Alfio Vandi (Magniflex) to 38–year–old Ventura Díaz (Teka). The team with the youngest average rider age was Magniflex (25), while the oldest was Brooklyn (29). From those that started, 86 made it to the finish in Milan.

The teams entering the race were:

• Jolly Ceramica
• Bianchi-Campagnolo
• Brooklyn
• Furzi-Vibor
• G.B.C. TV-Color
• KAS
• Magniflex
• Molteni
• Sanson
• Scic
• Teka
• Zonca-Santini

Route and stages

The route for the race was revealed on 30 January 1976, while a final draft of the race was released on 13 April 1976.

Race overview

During the stage 1A on 21 May, Juan Manuel Santisteban crashed and hit his head, ultimately dying from his injuries. The Giro organisation allowed his team to let another rider take his place, but the team had no rider available so this was not done.

Patrick Sercu would win both stage 1A and 1B, Roger de Vlaeminck would win stage 2 and the two of them would alternate between wearing the leader's jersey depending on the tie-breakers following the first few stages. De Muynck took over the lead after winning stage 6 by 0:21 over the main field following a crash which left him alone at the front as a group of eight riders were now tied for 2nd in the overall standings :05 behind. The time trial in Stage 7 was won by Francesco Moser with Gimondi placing 2nd seven seconds behind putting Moser into the Maglia Rosa as the overall leader and Gimondi in 2nd seven seconds behind Stage 8 was won by de Vlaeminck as Eddy Merckx crossed the line in 2nd which would be his highest stage placing in this final Giro of his remarkable career. Gimondi crossed in 3rd and while he was by no means a favorite for overall victory, because Moser lost nearly a minute Gimondi would wear the Pink Jersey for the first time since the 1969 Giro.

Over the next ten stages Gimondi maintained his overall lead but on stage 19 Johan de Muynck was able to get away from him and he took over the lead by 0:16. Stage 21 was the final day in the mountains where Merckx took 2nd and Gimondi won the stage. De Muynck finished 9th, but finished in the same time so the overall situation remained the same. Stage 22a was the final ITT and it was here that Gimondi won the Giro. He finished in 6th place 0:43 behind stage winner Joseph Bruyere but 0:44 ahead of de Muynck effectively making him the winner by 0:19.

Classification leadership

There were four main individual classifications contested in the 1976 Giro d'Italia, as well as a team competition. Four of them awarded jerseys to their leaders. The general classification was the most important and was calculated by adding each rider's finishing times on each stage. The rider with the lowest cumulative time was the winner of the general classification and was considered the overall winner of the Giro. The rider leading the classification wore a pink jersey to signify the classification's leadership.

The second classification was the points classification. Riders received points for finishing in the top positions in a stage finish, with first place getting the most points, and lower placings getting successively fewer points. The rider leading this classification wore a purple (or cyclamen) jersey.

The mountains classification was the third classification and its leader was denoted by the green jersey. In this ranking, points were won by reaching the summit of a climb ahead of other cyclists. Each climb was ranked as either first, second or third category, with more points available for higher category climbs. Most stages of the race included one or more categorized climbs, in which points were awarded to the riders that reached the summit first. The Cima Coppi, the race's highest point of elevation, awarded more points than the other first category climbs. The Cima Coppi for this Giro was the Sella Pass, which was crossed first by Spanish rider Andrés Gandarias during stage 19.

The fourth classification, the young rider classification, was a ranking decided the same way as the general classification, but only considered neo-professional cyclists (in their first three years of professional racing).

The final important classification, the team classification, awarded no jersey to its leaders. This was calculated by adding together points earned by each rider on the team during each stage through the intermediate sprints, the categorized climbs, stage finishes, etc. The team with the most points led the classification.

There were other minor classifications within the race, including the Campionato delle Regioni classification. The leader wore a blue jersey with colored vertical stripes ("maglia azzurra con banda tricolore verticale"). On every intermediate sprint, the first three riders scored points.

New to the race for the 1976 edition was the Fiat 131 classification. In all stages longer than 131 km, there would be a banner in the stage 131 km after the start or 131 km before the finish to designate a special sprint. The winner of the sprint in each stage received a Fiat 131.

Final standings

General classification

Points classification

Mountains classification

Young rider classification

Combination classification

Campionato delle Regioni classification

Premio 131 Fiat classification

Team points classification

Doping

There was one positive doping test in the Giro of 1976: Cees Bal tested positive for strychnin after the sixth stage, and got a penalty of ten minutes in the general classification.

References

Citations

Bibliography

References

1. Javier Dalmases. (13 June 1976). "Gimondi (34 Años) Se Impuso Por Tercera Vez". El Mundo Deportivo.
2. Maurizio Caravella. (13 June 1976). "Gimondi ha vinto il Giro del cuore". Editrice La Stampa.
3. Gino Sala. (13 June 1976). "Gimondi: uno splendido <>". PCI.
4. "Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant | 14 juni 1976 | pagina 13".
5. (21 May 1976). "Lista de inscritos". El Mundo Deportivo.
6. "Giro d'Italia – 1976 Competitors per Country".
7. Bill and Carol McGann. "1976 Giro d'Italia". Dog Ear Publishing.
8. "Giro d'Italia – 19 Debutants".
9. "Giro d'Italia – 1976 Peloton averages".
10. "Giro d'Italia – 1976 Youngest and Oldest competitors".
11. "Giro d'Italia – 1976 Youngest Team".
12. Gino Sala. (31 January 1976). "Vartao il <> '76". PCI.
13. Gino Sala. (14 April 1976). "È un <> davvero terribile (e 12 giorni dopo c'e il Tour)". PCI.
14. (20 May 1975). "Moser et Baronchelli: des candidats serieux mais Merckx voudra obtenir sa 6e victoire". La Liberté.
15. (21 May 1976). "Merckx : un record de victoires au Giro?". L'Express.
16. (2017). "1976". La Gazzetta dello Sport.
17. "1976 Giro d'Italia by BikeRaceInfo".
18. "1976 Giro d'Italia".
19. Laura Weislo. (13 May 2008). "Giro d'Italia classifications demystified". Future Publishing Limited.
20. Diego Nart. (20 May 2011). "Quel 9 giugno del 1976 Gimondi sul Gardeccia costruisce la sua rosa". Elemedia S.p.A.
21. (2017). "1975". La Gazzetta dello Sport.
22. "Information about the Giro d'Italia of 1976". grandtourstatistics.nl.
23. (13 June 1976). "Clasificaciones Officiales". El Mundo Deportivo.
24. (13 June 1976). "Giro-cifre". Editrice La Stampa.
25. (13 June 1976). "La classifica finale". PCI.
26. (1 June 1976). "Bal doping Vianen ritzege". [[NRC Handelsblad]].