# 1970 Giro d'Italia

The 1970 Giro d'Italia was the 53rd edition of the Giro, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The 3,292-kilometre (2,046 mi) race consisted of 20 stages, starting in San Pellegrino Terme on 18 May and finishing Bolzano on 7 June. There was one time trial stage and a single rest day. Eddy Merckx of the Faemino team won the overall general classification, his second victory. Italians Felice Gimondi (Salvarani) placed second, 3 min and 14 s slower than Merckx, and Martin Van Den Bossche (Molteni) was third, nearly five minutes behind Merckx.

## Teams

A total of 13 teams were invited to participate in the 1970 Giro d'Italia. Each team sent a squad of ten riders, so the Giro began with a peloton of 130 cyclists. Out of the 130 riders that started this edition of the Giro d'Italia, a total of 97 riders made it to the finish in Bolzano.
The teams that took part in the race were:
| Cosatto Dreher Faemino Ferretti Filotex | G.B.C. Germanvox La Casera Magniflex | Molteni Sagit Salvarani Scic |

## Pre-race favorites

The starting peloton did feature the previous year's winner Felice Gimondi (Salvarani). Despite an initial unwillingness to participate relating to his expulsion the year before, Eddy Merckx chose to enter the race after the race organizers agreed to send all doping controls to Rome rather than conduct them in a van that moved with the race. Merckx entered as the primary favorite to win the race. He entered the race having already won several races that season including: Paris–Nice, Paris–Roubaix, and La Flèche Wallonne, among others. Le Confédéré felt that Merckx's greatest challenge would come not from Italian riders, but the Belgian Walter Godefroot (Salvarani). Godefroot was thought to be the leader for the Salvarani team as Gimondi entered the race in poor form. Gianni Motta was absent from the race as he was recovering from a knee operation earlier in the season.

## Route and stages

The route was revealed on 31 March 1970 by race director Vincenzo Torriani. The race covered 3,311 km (2,057 mi) across twenty stages and one rest day. Compared to the previous edition, the 1970 edition was shorter and included only four stages longer than 200 km (124 mi) with stage 14 being the longest at 218 km (135 mi). In April, the route was announced to have nineteen categorized climbs that awarded points towards the mountains classification, while the final route included seven more categorized climbs. In total, 25.6 km (16 mi) were climbed.
San Pellegrino Terme hosted the race's start and then it travelled west, visiting the Alps before turning south and then east towards Treviso. A transfer then occurred to Terracina and the race moved north along the coast. The race made its way to the Dolomites for three stages before finishing in Bolzano. The route did not visit Milan for the first time in race history.
The route featured less transition stages than in previous years, which was thought to allow for more action in the race.
Stage characteristics and results :
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Type | Winner |
| 1 | 18 May | San Pellegrino Terme to Biandronno | 115 km (71 mi) | | Plain stage | Franco Bitossi (ITA) |
| 2 | 19 May | Comerio to Saint-Vincent | 164 km (102 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Eddy Merckx (BEL) |
| 3 | 20 May | Saint-Vincent to Aosta | 162 km (101 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Franco Bitossi (ITA) |
| 4 | 21 May | Saint-Vincent to Lodi | 205 km (127 mi) | | Plain stage | Marino Basso (ITA) |
| 5 | 22 May | Lodi to Zingonia [it] | 155 km (96 mi) | | Plain stage | Patrick Sercu (BEL) |
| 6 | 23 May | Zingonia to Malcesine | 212 km (132 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Enrico Paolini (ITA) |
| 7 | 24 May | Malcesine to Brentonico | 130 km (81 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Eddy Merckx (BEL) |
| 8 | 25 May | Rovereto to Bassano del Grappa | 130 km (81 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Walter Godefroot (BEL) |
| 9 | 26 May | Bassano del Grappa to Treviso | 56 km (35 mi) | | Individual time trial | Eddy Merckx (BEL) |
| | 27 May | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day |
| 10 | 28 May | Terracina to Rivisondoli | 172 km (107 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Italo Zilioli (ITA) |
| 11 | 29 May | Rivisondoli to Francavilla al Mare | 180 km (112 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Michele Dancelli (ITA) |
| 12 | 30 May | Francavilla al Mare to Loreto | 175 km (109 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Miguel María Lasa (ESP) |
| 13 | 31 May | Loreto to Faenza | 188 km (117 mi) | | Plain stage | Michele Dancelli (ITA) |
| 14 | 1 June | Faenza to Casciana Terme | 218 km (135 mi) | | Plain stage | Michele Dancelli (ITA) |
| 15 | 2 June | Casciana Terme to Mirandola | 215 km (134 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Marino Basso (ITA) |
| 16 | 3 June | Mirandola to Lido di Jesolo | 195 km (121 mi) | | Plain stage | Dino Zandegù (ITA) |
| 17 | 4 June | Lido di Jesolo to Arta Terme | 165 km (103 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Franco Bitossi (ITA) |
| 18 | 5 June | Arta Terme to Marmolada | 180 km (112 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Michele Dancelli (ITA) |
| 19 | 6 June | Rocca Pietore to Dobbiaco | 120 km (75 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Franco Bitossi (ITA) |
| 20 | 7 June | Dobbiaco to Bolzano | 155 km (96 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Luciano Armani (ITA) |
| | Total | Total | 3,292 km (2,046 mi) | 3,292 km (2,046 mi) | 3,292 km (2,046 mi) | 3,292 km (2,046 mi) | 3,292 km (2,046 mi) |

## Classification leadership

Two different jerseys were worn during the 1970 Giro d'Italia. The leader of the general classification – calculated by adding the stage finish times of each rider – wore a pink jersey. This classification is the most important of the race, and its winner is considered as the winner of the Giro.
For the points classification, which awarded a cyclamen jersey to its leader, cyclists were given points for finishing a stage in the top 15. Before the start of the 1970, Termozeta replaced Dreher Brewery as the sponsor of the points classification and so the color of the leader's jersey changed from red to cyclamen. The mountains classification leader. The climbs were ranked in first and second categories, the former awarded 50, 30, and 20 points while the latter awarded 30, 20, and 10 points. In this ranking, points were won by reaching the summit of a climb ahead of other cyclists. In addition there was the Cima Coppi, the Passo Pordoi, which was the highest mountain crossed in this edition of the race, which gave 200, 100, 80, 70, and 50 points to the first five riders summit the climb. The first rider over the Passo Pordoi was Luciano Armani. 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.
Classification leadership by stage :
| Stage | Winner | General classification | Points classification | Mountains classification | Team classification |
| 1 | Franco Bitossi | Franco Bitossi | Franco Bitossi | not awarded | ? |
| 2 | Eddy Merckx | Franco Bitossi | Franco Bitossi | not awarded | ? |
| 3 | Franco Bitossi | Franco Bitossi | Franco Bitossi | Italo Zilioli | ? |
| 4 | Marino Basso | Franco Bitossi | Franco Bitossi | Italo Zilioli | ? |
| 5 | Patrick Sercu | Franco Bitossi | Franco Bitossi | Italo Zilioli | ? |
| 6 | Enrico Paolini | Franco Bitossi | Franco Bitossi | Martin Van Den Bossche | ? |
| 7 | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Franco Bitossi | Eddy Merckx | ? |
| 8 | Walter Godefroot | Eddy Merckx | Franco Bitossi | Eddy Merckx | ? |
| 9 | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Franco Bitossi | Eddy Merckx | ? |
| 10 | Italo Zilioli | Eddy Merckx | Franco Bitossi | Martin Van Den Bossche | ? |
| 11 | Michele Dancelli | Eddy Merckx | Franco Bitossi | Martin Van Den Bossche | ? |
| 12 | Miguel María Lasa | Eddy Merckx | Franco Bitossi | Martin Van Den Bossche | ? |
| 13 | Michele Dancelli | Eddy Merckx | Franco Bitossi | Martin Van Den Bossche | ? |
| 14 | Michele Dancelli | Eddy Merckx | Michele Dancelli | Martin Van Den Bossche | ? |
| 15 | Marino Basso | Eddy Merckx | Michele Dancelli | Martin Van Den Bossche | ? |
| 16 | Dino Zandegù | Eddy Merckx | Michele Dancelli | Martin Van Den Bossche | ? |
| 17 | Franco Bitossi | Eddy Merckx | Franco Bitossi | Martin Van Den Bossche | Faemino |
| 18 | Michele Dancelli | Eddy Merckx | Michele Dancelli | Italo Zilioli | Faemino |
| 19 | Franco Bitossi | Eddy Merckx | Franco Bitossi | Martin Van Den Bossche | Faemino |
| 20 | Luciano Armani | Eddy Merckx | Franco Bitossi | Martin Van Den Bossche | Faemino |
| Final | Final | Eddy Merckx | Franco Bitossi | Martin Van Den Bossche | Faemino |

## Final standings

Legend :
| Denotes the winner of the General classification | Denotes the winner of the Points classification |

### General classification

Final general classification (1–10) :
| Rank | Name | Team | Time |
| 1 | Eddy Merckx (BEL) | Faemino | 90h 08' 47" |
| 2 | Felice Gimondi (ITA) | Salvarani | + 3' 14" |
| 3 | Martin Van Den Bossche (BEL) | Molteni | + 4' 59" |
| 4 | Michele Dancelli (ITA) | Molteni | + 7' 07" |
| 5 | Italo Zilioli (ITA) | Faemino | + 8' 14" |
| 6 | Gösta Pettersson (SWE) | Ferretti | + 9' 20" |
| 7 | Franco Bitossi (ITA) | Filotex | + 13' 10" |
| 8 | Miguel María Lasa (ESP) | La Casera | + 19' 25" |
| 9 | Ole Ritter (DEN) | Germanvox | + 21' 17" |
| 10 | Vittorio Adorni (ITA) | Scic | + 21' 29" |

### Mountains classification

Final mountains classification (1–10) :
| | Name | Team | Points |
| 1 | Martin Van Den Bossche (BEL) | Molteni | 460 |
| 2 | Italo Zilioli (ITA) | Faemino | 420 |
| 3 | Luciano Armani (ITA) | Scic | 300 |
| 4 | Eddy Merckx (BEL) | Faemino | 210 |
| 5 | Michele Dancelli (ITA) | Molteni | 190 |
| 6 | Franco Bitossi (ITA) | Filotex | 100 |
| 7 | Felice Gimondi (ITA) | Salvarani | 70 |
| 7 | Enrico Maggioni (ITA) | Feretti | 70 |
| 9 | Giancarlo Polidori (ITA) | Scic | 60 |
| 10 | Miguel María Lasa (ESP) | La Casera | 50 |

### Points classification

Final points classification (1–10) :
| | Name | Team | Points |
| 1 | Franco Bitossi (ITA) | Filotex | 252 |
| 2 | Michele Dancelli (ITA) | Molteni | 241 |
| 3 | Eddy Merckx (BEL) | Faemino | 193 |
| 4 | Martin Van Den Bossche (BEL) | Molteni | 185 |
| 5 | Felice Gimondi (ITA) | Salvarani | 112 |
| 6 | Italo Zilioli (ITA) | Faemino | 97 |
| 7 | Walter Godefroot (ITA) | Salvarani | 97 |
| 8 | Ole Ritter (DEN) | Germanvox | 97 |
| 9 | Patrick Sercu (BEL) | Dreher | 95 |
| 10 | Miguel María Lasa (ESP) | La Casera | 94 |

### Traguardi tricolori classification

Final traguardi tricolori classification (1–10) :
| | Name | Team | Points |
| 1 | Giancarlo Polidori (ITA) | Scic | 130? |
| 2 | Roberto Ballini (ITA) | Dreher | 80 |
| 3 | Georges Vandenberghe (BEL) | Faemino | 70 |
| 4 | Luigi Sgarbozza (ITA) | Dreher | 60 |
| 5 | Michele Dancelli (ITA) | Molteni | 60 |

### Teams classification

Final team classification (1–10) :
| | Team | Points |
| 1 | Faemino | 5830 |
| 2 | Molteni | 5350 |
| 3 | Filotex | 3890 |
| 4 | Salvarani | 3380 |
| 5 | Scic | 3140 |
| 6 | Germanvox | 2390 |
| 7 | Ferretti | 2080 |
| 8 | Dreher | 2020 |
| 9 | La Casera | 1840 |
| 10 | Sagit | 1200 |