Mario Cipollini, often abbreviated to "Cipo", is a retired Italian professional road cyclist most noted for his sprinting ability, the longevity of his dominance, and his colourful personality. His nicknames include Il Re Leone and Super Mario. He is regarded as having been the best sprinter of his generation.
Andrew Hampsten is an American former professional road bicycle racer who won the 1988 Giro d'Italia and the Alpe d'Huez stage of the 1992 Tour de France. Between 1986–1994 he finished in the Top 10 of eight Grand Tours.
Mario Beccia is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer, active between 1977 and 1988.
Giuseppe Saronni, also known as Beppe Saronni, is an Italian former racing cyclist. He had remarkable success riding in the Giro d'Italia. In 1980 he won 7 stages and finished 7th overall; in 1981 he won 3 stages and finished 3rd overall. In 1979 and 1983 he won the Giro d'Italia and all total for his career win 24 stages in this race.
Moreno Argentin is an Italian former professional cyclist and race director.
Franco Chioccioli is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist. The highlight of his career was his overall win in the 1991 Giro d'Italia.
Maurizio Fondriest is a retired Italian professional road racing cyclist.
Pascal Richard is a French-speaking Swiss former racing cyclist. He is most notable as a former King of the Mountains winner at the Giro d'Italia and Olympic Games gold medalist. He won the Swiss National Road Race championship in 1989 and 1993.
The 1988 Giro d'Italia was the 71st running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. The race started in Urbino, on 23 May, with a 9 km (5.6 mi) individual time trial and concluded in Vittorio Veneto, on 12 June, with a 43 km (26.7 mi) individual time trial. A total of 180 riders from 20 teams entered the 21-stage race, which was won by American Andrew Hampsten of the 7-Eleven–Hoonved team. The second and third places were taken by Dutchman Erik Breukink and Swiss Urs Zimmermann, respectively. It was the third time – and second successive year – in the history of the Giro that the podium was occupied solely by non-Italian riders.
Silvano Contini is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer.
Lech Piasecki is a Polish former racing cyclist. Born in Poznań, he became the first Polish cyclist to wear the yellow jersey in the Tour de France, in 1987.
Flavio Giupponi is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist.
Acácio Mora da Silva is a Portuguese former professional road bicycle racer. He was a professional from 1982 to 1994 during which he won stages in the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia and stages in many other stage races. He won three stages in total in the Tour de France, one in 1987, one in 1988, and one in 1989. After his stage win in 1989, he wore the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification for four days. In 1986, he won the Züri-Metzgete and was also the Portuguese national road champion.
Guido Bontempi is an Italian former road bicycle racer. Bontempi's career highlights include winning the spring's classic Gent–Wevelgem two times and a total of 16 stages in the Giro d'Italia throughout his career. He also won six stages in the Tour de France and four stages in the Vuelta a España. In the 1988 Tour de France he won the prologue, allowing him to wear the yellow jersey in the first stage. He also won the points classification in the 1986 Giro d'Italia and wore the pink jersey as leader of the general classification for one stage in the 1981 Giro d'Italia. He also competed in the 1000m time trial and team pursuit events at the 1980 Summer Olympics.
Massimo Ghirotto is an Italian former road bicycle racer.
Urs Zimmermann is a Swiss former professional road racing cyclist. He stood on the podium in two of the three Grand Tour events after finishing third in 1986 Tour de France and 1988 Giro d'Italia. He also won several stage races such as the Tour de Suisse, Dauphiné Libéré and Critérium International.
Urs Freuler is a Swiss cyclist, who raced professionally between 1980 and 1997, during which he won 124 victories. He was named Swiss Sports Personality of the Year in 1982 and 1983.
Gianni Bugno is a retired Italian professional road racing cyclist.
Paolo Rosola is an Italian racing cyclist.
Stefano Allocchio is an Italian former professional racing cyclist. He rode in two editions of the Tour de France, nine editions of the Giro d'Italia and one edition of the Vuelta a España. He also competed in the points race event at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
