Torriani Trophy, Fuga Bianchi or even the Bonacossa, the Giro collects the original rankings and additional prizes in order to retain the loyalty of its public and sponsors. Beyond the economic aspect, this diversity offers title possibilities to riders not concerned by the distinctive jerseys. Saturday at the start of the first stage of the 107th edition of the Tour of Italy, the Intergiro will make its return after almost two decades of absence.
The return of the Intergiro
18 years after disappearing due to lack of competitiveness, the Intergiro makes its return to the Corsa Rosa with a revisited version. This race within the race stands out with a classification of intermediate sprints. Unlike the Giro of the 20th century where the riders only competed for the Blue jersey via a classification by time, this year they will do so via points, counted for the Red jersey and will also fight for bonuses in the general. A way to “animate the stages” according to the organization of the Giro.
The numbers to judge combativeness
The Tour de France judges combativeness subjectively, the Giro organization tried to rely on the figures with more or less success. Since its arrival in 2001, the fighting spirit prize has been based on points awarded at finish lines, intermediate sprints and arrivals at the top of passes. In the end, it is almost always the same people who win since 66% of the winners of the combativeness prize won it with a distinctive jersey on their shoulders.
La Fuga rewards adventurers
Thomas Champion will certainly not be on the Giro podium every season but on Sunday May 28, 2023, the French climber from Cofidis was present on the stage in Rome. His 650 kilometers spent at the head of the race in breakaways of less than 10 riders allowed him to win the Fuga Bianchi. This secondary classification by point is similar, in spirit, to the price of combativeness of the Tour and allows second-tier teams to fill their trophy cabinet.
The Giro takes care of its legends
28 years after his death, the shadow of Vincenzo Torriani is still present on the Giro. Since his death, the rider who wins the stage in which the Cima Coppi appears, the highest peak through which the Giro passes also rewarded with a prize, wins the Torriani trophy in the name of the historic organizer of the Giro. Another legend of Italian cycling, Marco Pantani is also entitled to a prize. Three months after his death in 2004, the organization set up the Cima Pantani, a prize awarded to the rider who topped the most technical difficulty of the Corsa Rosa.
Bonacossa Trophy: savior of Italian cycling
In the midst of a shortage with only two podiums in the Tour of Italy in five years, Italian cycling can say thank you to the transalpine journalists. With the Bonacossa Trophy, in homage to Alberto Bonacossa, late owner of Gazzetta dello Sport, they have crowned five Italians since 2019. Supposed to reward the greatest feat of the Giro, this prize has been awarded to only 8 foreign riders in 35 years.
Fair play rewarded
Like the fair play classification in sports such as football and rugby, the Giro also highlights respect for the rules. During the entire Tour of Italy, teams accumulate points when they do not respect the regulations: a warning for a rider who takes advantage of the slipstream of a car for too long is worth 0.5 points when a disqualification or control positive are worth 1000 or 2000. The objective for the training involved is to have the lowest total. In addition to the best climber jersey worn by Thibaut Pinot, the Groupama-FDJ team left Rome in 2023 with the status of best student in the peloton.
Other distinctions, such as the black jersey worn by the last rider in the general classification, have been abandoned over the seasons. Some did not even see the light of day, like the ranking of the best downhiller largely rejected by the peloton in 2017.