Tour of the Alps

Last updated
Giro del Trentino
Giro del Trentino logo.svg
Race details
DateMid-to-Late April
Region Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino, Austria and Italy
English nameTour of Trentino
Local name(s)Giro del Trentino (in Italian)
Discipline Road
Competition UCI ProSeries
Type Stage race
Web site tourofthealps.eu OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
History
First edition1962 (1962)
Editions47 (as of 2024)
First winnerFlag of Italy.svg  Enzo Moser  (ITA)
Most winsFlag of Italy.svg  Damiano Cunego  (ITA)(3 wins)
Most recentFlag of Spain.svg  Juan Pedro López  (ESP)

The Tour of the Alps is an annual professional cycling stage race in Italy and Austria. First held in 1962, it was named Giro del Trentino (English: Tour of Trentino) until 2016, and run over four stages in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region of Italy. In 2015, the race merged with the nearby one-day race Trofeo Melinda, and the 2015 edition was called the Giro del Trentino Melinda. [1]

Contents

In 2017, the event was renamed Tour of the Alps, [2] as it addresses the entire Euroregion of Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino, formed by three different regional authorities in two countries: the Austrian state of Tyrol and the Italian autonomous provinces of South Tyrol and Trentino. It should not be confused with the similarly named Giro al Sas di Trento, an annual road running competition in the city of Trento. [3]

Since its rebranding, the race is run mid-to-late April over five stages, as a 2.HC event of the UCI Europe Tour, the level beneath the UCI World Tour. The race became part of the new UCI ProSeries in 2020.

The Tour of the Alps, typically featuring short and mountainous stages, is considered a last preparation race for the key contenders of the Giro d'Italia, which starts two weeks after the Tour of the Alps finishes. Eleven winners of the Giro del Trentino have also won the Giro d'Italia, ten of them Italians: Francesco Moser, Giuseppe Saronni, Franco Chioccioli, Gianni Bugno, Gilberto Simoni, Paolo Savoldelli, Damiano Cunego, Vincenzo Nibali, Ivan Basso and Michele Scarponi. The remaining winner of both the Tour of the Alps and the Giro d'Italia is Briton Tao Geoghegan Hart who uniquely won the Giro (2020) before winning the Tour of the Alps (2023).

Damiano Cunego holds the race record with three overall wins. [4]

History

The first edition of the race was held in 1962. It consisted of a single stage that started and finished in Trento. It was won by Enzo Moser. After a second edition in 1963, the third edition was not held until 1979. There were two unofficial races, in 1977 and 1978 but they remain disputed and usually not treated as official Giro del Trentino races. [5] The 1986 edition of the race was unusual in that there was no individual prize awarded. It was instead a team competition called the Coppa Italia and the first place went to Carrera–Inoxpran. One of the stages of the 1995 Giro del Trentino went to Innsbruck in neighbouring Austria, and stages to and from Lienz in Austria have remained a regular feature of the race since that time. In 2012, the race included a team time trial for the first time, which constituted the first stage of the race. [6] The team time-trial was retained for the 2013 edition.

List of winners

YearCountryRiderTeam
1962 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Enzo Moser San Pellegrino
1963 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Guido De Rosso Molteni
1964–
1978
No race
1979 Flag of Norway.svg  Norway Knut Knudsen Bianchi–Faema
1980 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Francesco Moser Sanson
1981 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Roberto Visentini Sammontana
1982 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Giuseppe Saronni Del Tongo
1983 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Francesco Moser Gis Gelati
1984 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Franco Chioccioli Murella–Rossin
1985 Flag of Austria.svg  Austria Harald Maier Gis Gelati
1986 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Team edition Carrera–Inoxpran
1987 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Claudio Corti Supermercati Brianzoli
1988 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland Urs Zimmermann Carrera Jeans–Vagabond
1989 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Mauro Santaromita Pepsi Cola–Alba Cucine
1990 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Gianni Bugno Chateau d'Ax–Salotti
1991 Flag of Venezuela (1954-2006).svg  Venezuela Leonardo Sierra Selle Italia–Magniarredo
1992 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Claudio Chiappucci Carrera Jeans–Vagabond
1993 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Maurizio Fondriest Lampre–Polti
1994 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Moreno Argentin Gewiss–Ballan
1995 Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland Heinz Imboden Refin
1996 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Wladimir Belli Panaria–Vinavil
1997 Flag of France.svg  France Luc Leblanc Polti
1998 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Paolo Savoldelli Saeco–Cannondale
1999 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Paolo Savoldelli Saeco–Cannondale
2000 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Simone Borgheresi Mercatone Uno–Albacom
2001 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Francesco Casagrande Fassa Bortolo
2002 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Francesco Casagrande Fassa Bortolo
2003 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Gilberto Simoni Saeco
2004 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Damiano Cunego Saeco
2005 Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico Julio Alberto Pérez Ceramica Panaria–Navigare
2006 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Damiano Cunego Lampre–Fondital
2007 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Damiano Cunego Lampre–Fondital
2008 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Vincenzo Nibali Liquigas
2009 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Ivan Basso Liquigas
2010 Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan Alexander Vinokourov Astana
2011 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Michele Scarponi Lampre–ISD
2012 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Domenico Pozzovivo Colnago–CSF Bardiani
2013 Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Vincenzo Nibali Astana
2014 Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Cadel Evans BMC Racing Team
2015 Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia Richie Porte Team Sky
2016 Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Mikel Landa Team Sky
2017 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain Geraint Thomas Team Sky
2018 Flag of France.svg  France Thibaut Pinot Groupama–FDJ
2019 Flag of Russia.svg  Russia Pavel Sivakov Team Sky
2020No race
2021 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain Simon Yates Team BikeExchange
2022 Flag of France.svg  France Romain Bardet Team DSM
2023 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain Tao Geoghegan Hart Ineos Grenadiers
2024 Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Juan Pedro López Lidl–Trek

Repeat winners

WinsRiderEditions
3Flag of Italy.svg  Damiano Cunego  (ITA)2004, 2006, 2007
2Flag of Italy.svg  Francesco Moser  (ITA)1980, 1983
Flag of Italy.svg  Paolo Savoldelli  (ITA)1998, 1999
Flag of Italy.svg  Francesco Casagrande  (ITA)2001, 2002
Flag of Italy.svg  Vincenzo Nibali  (ITA)2008, 2013

Wins per nation

WinsCountry
29
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
3
Flag of France.svg  France
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
2
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
Flag of Spain.svg  Spain
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland
1
Flag of Austria.svg  Austria
Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
Flag of Norway.svg  Norway
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia
Flag of Venezuela.svg  Venezuela

References

  1. "CyclingQuotes.com Trofeo Melinda and Giro del Trentino to merge". cyclingquotes.com.
  2. "Il Giro del Trentino diventa Tour of the Alps". trentinocorrierealpi.gelocal.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 6 December 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  3. Un balzo nel passato Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine (in Italian). Giro al Sas. Retrieved on 2010-11-03.
  4. "31st Giro del Trentino – 2.1". autobus.cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  5. "Storia del Giro del Trentino" (in Italian).
  6. Atkins, Ben (April 14, 2012). "Danilo Di Luca motivated for the Giro del Trentino". velonation.com.