# 1989 Giro d'Italia

The 1989 Giro d'Italia was the 72nd edition of the race. It started off in Taormina on 21 May with a 123 km (76.4 mi) flat stage that ended in Catania. The race concluded in Florence with a 53 km (32.9 mi) individual time trial on 11 June. Twenty-two teams entered the race, which was won by the Frenchman Laurent Fignon of the Super U team. Second and third respectively were the Italian Flavio Giupponi and the American rider, Andrew Hampsten.
In the race's other classifications, Vladimir Poulnikov of the Alfa Lum-STM finished the Giro as the best neo-professional in the general classification, finishing in eleventh place overall; Café de Colombia rider Luis Herrera won the mountains classification, Giovanni Fidanza of the Chateau d'Ax-Salotti team won the points classification, and Carrera Jeans–Vagabond rider Jure Pavlič won the inaugural intergiro classification. Fagor - MBK finished as the winners of the Trofeo Fast Team classification, ranking each of the twenty-two teams contesting the race by lowest cumulative time.

## Teams

There were 22 teams that were invited to compete in the 1989 Giro d'Italia. Each team consisted of nine riders, so the Giro started with 198 riders. Of the 198 riders that started the race, 141 of them reached the finish line in Florence. The peloton featured for the first time Soviet riders as a ban on cyclists becoming professional. These Soviet cyclists competed for Alfa Lum, a team of nine Soviets.
The teams entering the race were:
| 7-Eleven AD Renting–W-Cup–Bottecchia Alfa Lum–STM Ariostea Atala–Campagnolo Café de Colombia Caja Rural Carrera Jeans–Vagabond | Chateau d'Ax Del Tongo Fagor–MBK Frank–Toyo–Magniflex Gewiss–Bianchi Hitachi–Zonca Jolly Componibili–Club 88 | Malvor Panasonic–Isostar–Colnago–Agu Pepsi Cola–Alba Cucine Selca Seur Super U–Raleigh–Fiat TVM–Ragno |

## Pre-race favorites

Many expected the winner of the race to be a foreign, non-Italian rider. Several riders were seen as contenders for the overall crown. La Liberté named the following contenders: Hampsten, Greg LeMond, Luis Herrera, Erik Breukink, Laurent Fignon, Phil Anderson, Urs Zimmermann, and Claude Criquielion. De Telegraaf listed the three favorites to be Breukink, Hampsten, and Roche. Former winner Stephen Roche returned to the Giro following a year absence and recently visited a doctor in Munich to treat one of his knees. Roche was anticipated to receive a poor welcome due to how he won the Giro in 1987 by taking the lead from Italian and teammate Roberto Visentini. Reigning champion Hampsten entered the Giro after showing good forming in the early calendar races. Hampsten himself stated he felt good entering the race and stated the route did not offer many opportunities to recover. In addition, Hampsten had been specifically training for the individual time trial in his home in Boulder, Colorado in the weeks preceding the race's start. When asked about the inclusion of the Passo di Gavia – which was crossed the previous year in blizzard conditions on a day where Hampsten secured the race lead – Hampsten hoped to "... cross that mountain when the sun shines." Breukink was seen as the best hope for a Dutch rider to win the Giro due to third and second-place finishes in 1987 and 1988, respectively. Fignon and Zimmmermann were seen as strong contenders to compete for the victory following their joint attack on the Col de la Croix in the Tour de Romandie. Fignon, a two-time winner of the Tour de France, entered the Giro for the first time since his controversial loss to Francesco Moser in 1984. In the years after his first Tour victory in 1984, Fignon's seasons were plagued by poor performances due to a variety of injuries. He had returned to form starting in 1988 with a win in Milan–San Remo, which he repeated as champion in 1989. Fignon's teammates were regarded as a weak point for his title hopes as they were felt to be weaker than his previous teams in the early 1980s.
Urs Freuler was seen as a rider to contend for his fourteenth Giro stage win, while Dutch sprinter Jean-Paul van Poppel was seen as a prominent challenger for Freuler in the sprint stages. Zimmermann was seen as a candidate to win if he could limit his losses in the time trials. Herrera, Criquielion, and Maurizio Fondriest all rode their first Giro. Limburgsch dagblad felt the race attracted most top tier riders to participate except for Pedro Delgado, Charly Mottet, and Steven Rooks, among others. Luis Gómez of El País felt the main novelty of the race was the presence of the Alfa Lum team rostered with Soviet riders, including the likes of 23-year old Dimitri Konyshev whom they hoped would finish high overall. He also felt LeMond's form was poor. Herrera came to the Giro hoping for success as the stages were shorter than the Tour's and the general pace of the Giro is slower than the Tour. Lejaretta hoped to challenge for stage wins in the mountains due to the toughness climbs. Fondriest was seen as the main Italian hope as he was an all-rounder who was only 24-years of age.

## Route and stages

The route for the 1989 edition of the Giro d'Italia was revealed to the public on television by head organizer Vincenzo Torriani, on 21 January 1989. It contained four time trial events, three of which were individual and one a team event. There were fourteen stages containing thirty-five categorized climbs, of which three had summit finishes: stage 2, to Mount Etna; stage 8, to Gran Sasso d'Italia; and stage 13, to Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Another stage with a mountain-top finish was stage 18, which consisted of a climbing time trial to Monte Generoso. The organizers chose to not include any rest days. When compared to the previous year's race, the race was 161 km (100 mi) shorter, contained the number of rest days and time trials, and had one more stage. In addition, this race contained one less set of half stages. After the route had been announced in January, former winner Francesco Moser – who joined the race organizing staff – received criticism as the route was thought to be very difficult and "heavy." This criticism was due to Moser's history of complaining routes were too difficult in the past, when many viewed them not as such.
The sixteenth day of racing was thought to be the queen stage of the race as it featured several categorized climbs, including the Cima Coppi, the Passo di Gavia. Due to harsh weather the day of the sixteenth stage and beforehand, much snow had been deposited along the roads that were to be used. Organizers made the choice to cancel the stage because of the conditions that also included sub-freezing temperatures. Riders primarily agreed with the decision as it was best for rider safety, but Hampsten believed that the stage could have provided some chances to attack then race leader Fignon. A L'Impartial writer described how race organizer Torriani had been creating race routes that favored sprinters and average climbers like Francesco Moser and Giuseppe Saronni in the early 1980s and late 1970s, but had made the race more exciting as of late.
Stage characteristics and winners :
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Type | Winner |
| 1 | 21 May | Taormina to Catania | 123 km (76 mi) | | Plain stage | Jean-Paul van Poppel (NED) |
| 2 | 22 May | Catania to Mount Etna | 132 km (82 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Acácio da Silva (POR) |
| 3 | 23 May | Villafranca Tirrena to Messina | 32.5 km (20 mi) | | Team time trial | Ariostea |
| 4 | 24 May | Scilla to Cosenza | 204 km (127 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Rolf Järmann (SUI) |
| 5 | 25 May | Cosenza to Potenza | 275 km (171 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Stefano Giuliani (ITA) |
| 6 | 26 May | Potenza to Campobasso | 223 km (139 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Stefan Joho (SUI) |
| 7 | 27 May | Isernia to Rome | 208 km (129 mi) | | Plain stage | Urs Freuler (SUI) |
| 8 | 28 May | Rome to Gran Sasso d'Italia | 179 km (111 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | John Carlsen (DEN) |
| 9 | 29 May | L'Aquila to Gubbio | 221 km (137 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Bjarne Riis (DEN) |
| 10 | 30 May | Pesaro to Riccione | 36.8 km (23 mi) | | Individual time trial | Lech Piasecki (POL) |
| 11 | 31 May | Riccione to Mantua | 244 km (152 mi) | | Plain stage | Urs Freuler (SUI) |
| 12 | 1 June | Mantua to Mira | 148 km (92 mi) | | Plain stage | Mario Cipollini (ITA) |
| 13 | 2 June | Padua to Auronzo di Cadore | 207 km (129 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Luis Herrera (COL) |
| 14 | 3 June | Auronzo di Cadore to Corvara | 131 km (81 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Flavio Giupponi (ITA) |
| 15a | 4 June | Corvara to Trento | 131 km (81 mi) | | Plain stage | Jean-Paul van Poppel (NED) |
| 15b | 4 June | Trento to Trento | 83.2 km (52 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Lech Piasecki (POL) |
| 16 | 5 June | Trento to Santa Caterina di Valfurva | 208 km (129 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Stage Cancelled |
| 17 | 6 June | Sondrio to Meda | 137 km (85 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Phil Anderson (AUS) |
| 18 | 7 June | Mendrisio (Switzerland) to Monte Generoso (Switzerland) | 10.7 km (7 mi) | | Individual time trial | Luis Herrera (COL) |
| 19 | 8 June | Meda to Tortona | 198 km (123 mi) | | Plain stage | Jesper Skibby (DEN) |
| 20 | 9 June | Voghera to La Spezia | 220 km (137 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Laurent Fignon (FRA) |
| 21 | 10 June | La Spezia to Prato | 216 km (134 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Gianni Bugno (ITA) |
| 22 | 11 June | Prato to Florence | 53 km (33 mi) | | Individual time trial | Lech Piasecki (POL) |
| | Total | Total | 3,418 km (2,124 mi) | 3,418 km (2,124 mi) | 3,418 km (2,124 mi) | 3,418 km (2,124 mi) | 3,418 km (2,124 mi) |

## Classification leadership

Four different jerseys were worn during the 1989 Giro d'Italia. The leader of the general classification – calculated by adding the stage finish times of each rider, and allowing time bonuses for the first three finishers on mass-start stages – wore a pink jersey. This classification is the most important of the race, and its winner is considered as the winner of the Giro. There were no time bonuses awarded for stage placings.
For the points classification, which awarded a purple (or cyclamen) jersey to its leader, cyclists were given points for finishing a stage in the top 15; additional points could also be won in intermediate sprints. The green jersey was awarded to the mountains classification leader. 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. 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 Passo di Gavia, but due to inclement weather, the stage containing the Gavia was cancelled. The white jersey was worn by the leader of young rider classification, a ranking decided the same way as the general classification, but considering only neo-professional cyclists (in their first three years of professional racing).
The intergiro classification was introduced as a means of making the race more interesting and its leader was denoted by a blue jersey. The calculation for the intergiro is similar to that of the general classification, in each stage there is a midway point that the riders pass through a point and where their time is stopped. As the race goes on, their times compiled and the person with the lowest time is the leader of the intergiro classification and wears the blue jersey. The first three to cross the sprint line would receive five, three, and two second time bonuses towards the general classification. Although no jersey was awarded, there was also one classification for the teams, in which the stage finish times of the best three cyclists per team were added; the leading team was the one with the lowest total time.
The rows in the following table correspond to the jerseys awarded after that stage was run.
Classification leadership by stage :
| Stage | Winner | General classification | Points classification | Mountains classification | Young rider classification | Team classification |
| 1 | Jean-Paul van Poppel | Jean-Paul van Poppel | Jean-Paul van Poppel | not awarded | ? | Atala |
| 2 | Acácio da Silva | Acácio da Silva | Acácio da Silva | Acácio da Silva | Piotr Ugrumov | Chateau d'Ax |
| 3 | Ariostea | Silvino Contini | Acácio da Silva | Acácio da Silva | Piotr Ugrumov | Chateau d'Ax |
| 4 | Rolf Järmann | Silvino Contini | Acácio da Silva | ? | Piotr Ugrumov | Chateau d'Ax |
| 5 | Stefano Giuliani | Silvino Contini | Acácio da Silva | ? | Piotr Ugrumov | Chateau d'Ax |
| 6 | Stefan Joho | Silvino Contini | Acácio da Silva | ? | Piotr Ugrumov | Chateau d'Ax |
| 7 | Urs Freuler | Silvino Contini | Giovanni Fidanza | ? | Piotr Ugrumov | Chateau d'Ax |
| 8 | John Carlsen | Erik Breukink | Giovanni Fidanza | ? | Piotr Ugrumov | Fagor |
| 9 | Bjarne Riis | Acácio da Silva | Acácio da Silva | ? | Piotr Ugrumov | Fagor |
| 10 | Lech Piasecki | Erik Breukink | Rolf Sörensen | ? | Piotr Ugrumov | Alfa Lum |
| 11 | Urs Freuler | Erik Breukink | Rolf Sörensen | ? | Piotr Ugrumov | Alfa Lum |
| 12 | Mario Cipollini | Erik Breukink | Rolf Sörensen | ? | Piotr Ugrumov | Alfa Lum |
| 13 | Luis Herrera | Erik Breukink | Giovanni Fidanza | ? | Piotr Ugrumov | Fagor |
| 14 | Flavio Giupponi | Laurent Fignon | Giovanni Fidanza | ? | Vladimir Poulnikov | Fagor |
| 15a | Jean-Paul van Poppel | Laurent Fignon | Giovanni Fidanza | Luis Herrera | Piotr Ugrumov | Fagor |
| 15b | Lech Piasecki | Laurent Fignon | Giovanni Fidanza | Luis Herrera | Piotr Ugrumov | Fagor |
| 16 | Stage Cancelled | Laurent Fignon | Giovanni Fidanza | Luis Herrera | Piotr Ugrumov | Fagor |
| 17 | Phil Anderson | Laurent Fignon | Giovanni Fidanza | Luis Herrera | Piotr Ugrumov | Fagor |
| 18 | Luis Herrera | Laurent Fignon | Giovanni Fidanza | Luis Herrera | Vladimir Poulnikov | Fagor |
| 19 | Jesper Skibby | Laurent Fignon | Giovanni Fidanza | Luis Herrera | Vladimir Poulnikov | Fagor |
| 20 | Laurent Fignon | Laurent Fignon | Giovanni Fidanza | Luis Herrera | Vladimir Poulnikov | Fagor |
| 21 | Gianni Bugno | Laurent Fignon | Giovanni Fidanza | Luis Herrera | Vladimir Poulnikov | Fagor |
| 22 | Lech Piasecki | Laurent Fignon | Giovanni Fidanza | Luis Herrera | Vladimir Poulnikov | Fagor |
| Final | Final | Laurent Fignon | Giovanni Fidanza | Luis Herrera | Vladimir Poulnikov | Fagor |

## Final standings

Legend :
| Denotes the winner of the General classification | | Denotes the winner of the Mountains classification |
| Denotes the winner of the Points classification | | Denotes the winner of the Young rider classification |
| Denotes the winner of the Intergiro classification | Denotes the winner of the Intergiro classification | Denotes the winner of the Intergiro classification |

### General classification

Final general classification (1–10) :
| Rank | Name | Team | Time |
| 1 | Laurent Fignon (FRA) | Système U | 93h 30' 16" |
| 2 | Flavio Giupponi (ITA) | Malvor | + 1' 15" |
| 3 | Andrew Hampsten (USA) | 7 Eleven-American Airlines | + 2' 46" |
| 4 | Erik Breukink (NED) | Panasonic–Isostar–Colnago–Agu | + 5' 02" |
| 5 | Franco Chioccioli (ITA) | Del Tongo | + 5' 43" |
| 6 | Urs Zimmermann (SUI) | Carrera Jeans–Vagabond | + 6' 28" |
| 7 | Claude Criquielion (BEL) | Hitachi | + 6' 34" |
| 8 | Marco Giovannetti (ITA) | Seur | + 7' 44" |
| 9 | Stephen Roche (IRL) | Fagor | + 8' 09" |
| 10 | Marino Lejarreta (ESP) | Caja Rural | + 8' 09" |

### Points classification

Final points classification (1–5) :
| | Rider | Team | Points |
| 1 | Giovanni Fidanza (ITA) | Chateau d'Ax | 172 |
| 2 | Laurent Fignon (FRA) | Système U | 139 |
| 3 | Erik Breukink (NED) | Panasonic–Isostar–Colnago–Agu | 128 |
| 4 | Claudio Chiappucci (ITA) | Carrera Jeans–Vagabond | 116 |
| 5 | Acácio da Silva (POR) | Carrera Jeans–Vagabond | 111 |

### Mountains classification

Final mountains classification (1–5) :
| | Rider | Team | Points |
| 1 | Luis Herrera (COL) | Café de Colombia | 70 |
| 2 | Stefano Giuliani (ITA) | Jolly | 38 |
| 3 | Henry Cardenas (COL) | Café de Colombia | 34 |
| 3 | Jure Pavlič (YUG) | Carrera Jeans–Vagabond | 34 |
| 5 | Flavio Giupponi (ITA) | Malvor | 28 |

### Young rider classification

Final young rider classification (1–5) :
| | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Vladimir Poulnikov (URS) | Alfa Lum | 93h 40' 06" |
| 2 | Piotr Ugrumov (URS) | Alfa Lum | + 4' 37" |
| 3 | Luca Gelfi (ITA) | Del Tongo | + 27' 49" |
| 4 | Jos van Aert (NED) | Hitachi | + 31' 00" |
| 5 | Jure Pavlič (YUG) | Carrera Jeans–Vagabond | + 39' 24" |

### Intergiro classification

Final intergiro classification (1–3) :
| | Rider | Team | Time |
| 1 | Jure Pavlič (YUG) | Carrera Jeans–Vagabond | 49h 50' 00" |
| 2 | Laurent Fignon (FRA) | Système U | + 4' 07" |
| 3 | Claude Criquielion (BEL) | Hitachi | + 4' 24" |
| 4 | Flavio Giupponi (ITA) | Malvor | + 4' 32" |
| 5 | Jesper Skibby (DEN) | TVM | + 4' 54" |

### Combativity classification

Final combativity classification (1–5) :
| | Rider | Team | Points |
| 1 | Stefano Giuliani (ITA) | Jolly | 98 |
| 2 | Peter Winnen (NED) | Panasonic–Isostar–Colnago–Agu | 54 |
| 3 | Phil Anderson (AUS) | TVM | 48 |
| 4 | Jesper Worre (DEN) | Café de Colombia | 28 |
| 5 | John Carlsen (DEN) | Fagor | 24 |

### Intermediate sprints classification

Final intermediate sprints classification (1–5) :
| | Rider | Team | Points |
| 1 | Luigi Bielli (ITA) | Del Tongo | 35 |
| 2 | Alessio Di Basco (ITA) | Fanini-Seven Up | 31 |
| 3 | Stefanino Cecini (ITA) | Jolly | 21 |
| 4 | Danilo Gioia (ITA) | Atala | 18 |
| 4 | Andrei Tchmil (URS) | Alfa Lum | 12 |

### Final kilometer classification

Final final kilometer classification (1–5) :
| | Rider | Team | Points |
| 1 | Laurent Fignon (FRA) | Système U | 14 |
| 2 | Gianni Bugno (ITA) | Chateau d'Ax | 10 |
| 3 | Rolf Järmann (SUI) | Frank | 10 |
| 4 | Stefano Giuliani (ITA) | Jolly | 9 |
| 4 | Luis Herrera (COL) | Café de Colombia | 8 |

### Team classification

Final team classification (1–4) :
| | Team | Time |
| 1 | Fagor | 279h 59' 13" |
| 2 | Caja Rural | + 13' 27" |
| 3 | Alfa Lum | + 16' 11" |
| 4 | Seur | + 16' 37" |
| 5 | Del Tongo | + 20' 35" |