# 1968 Giro d'Italia

The 1968 Giro d'Italia was the 51st running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. The Giro started in Campione d'Italia, on 20 May, with a 5.7 km (3.5 mi) stage and concluded in Naples, on 11 June, with a 235 km (146.0 mi) mass-start stage. A total of 130 riders from 13 teams entered the 22-stage race, which was won by Belgian Eddy Merckx of the Faema team. The second and third places were taken by Italians Vittorio Adorni and Felice Gimondi, respectively.

## Teams

At the route's announcement on 21 March, the organizers announced twelve teams of ten would participate; however, one more team (Peugeot) was later invited. 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 98 riders made it to the finish in Naples where eight riders were subsequently disqualified for testing positive for drugs leaving the general classification tally at 90 riders. The starting peloton consisted of 70 Italians, 16 Belgians, 15 Frenchmen, 11 Spanish, 7 Swiss, four Germans, three Dutch, two Danes, one English, and one Luxembourgian rider. The presentation of the teams – where each team's roster and manager were introduced in front the media and local dignitaries – took place on 20 May, in the Campione d'Italia at 9:30 AM local time.
The teams entering the race were:
| Bic Faema Fagor–Fargas Filotex G.B.C. | Germanvox–Wega Kelvinator Max Meyer Molteni | Pepsi–Cola Peugeot–BP–Michelin Salvarani Smith's |

## Pre-race favorites

The starting peloton did include the previous year's winner Felice Gimondi. Eddy Merckx was confirmed to participate with his Faema team. Eight-time Grand Tour winner Jacques Anquetil did not participate in the race because of a dispute over pay.

## Route and stages

The race route was revealed to the public on 21 March 1968 by race director Vincenzo Torriani. The starting date of the event was moved from 18 or 19 May to the 20th because of the general election taking place within Italy that ended on 19 May. The race was broadcast by RAI throughout Italy. l'Unita writer Gino Sala's felt the route was geared towards climbers, referencing the inclusion of Tre Cime di Lavaredo which had been the previous year and eliminated several riders. Former racer Cino Cinelli felt the Tre Cime di Lavaredo would be the decisive stage, while three-time champion Gino Bartali felt the Spanish would benefit from the route. The average length of the stages was 178 km (111 mi). The second individual time trial, in San Marino, was seen as an important stage as it featured inclines of 5-6%. Gianni Motta commented that "I've never seen so many mountains in a row one after another." Four mountains approached or exceeded 2,000 m (6,562 ft): Monte Grappa, Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Rocca di Cambio, and Blockhaus. Following the route's unveil, El Mundo Deportivo author Juan Plans Bosch wrote that the Giro would always be second to the Tour de France as it was the first premier bike race, while he felt the Giro had better "historical and geographical illustrations."
To begin race festivities there was a parade through the streets of Campione d'Italia before the prologue started during the night. The race started with a 5.7 km (4 mi) prologue, which consisted of a 2.875 km (2 mi) circuit being crossed twice. The times from this stage were not included in the final times for the general classification, but were just done to determine the first person to wear the race leader's maglia rosa (English: pink jersey). This was the first Giro d'Italia to have a prologue to open the race. The 130 starting riders were divided into thirteen groups of ten, with each group of ten contesting the course at the same time. The times of the fastest riders from each group were put together and the fastest of those times was the rider that would wear the first pink jersey. The route finished for the first time in Naples near Mount Vesuvius along the Mediterranean Ocean.
Stage characteristics and winners :
| Stage | Date | Course | Distance | Type | Type | Winner |
| P | 20 May | Campione d'Italia | 5.7 km (4 mi) | | Individual time trial | Charly Grosskost (FRA) |
| 1 | 21 May | Campione d'Italia to Novara | 128 km (80 mi) | | Plain stage | Eddy Merckx (BEL) |
| 2 | 22 May | Novara to Saint-Vincent | 189 km (117 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Eddy Merckx (BEL) |
| 3 | 23 May | Saint-Vincent to Alba | 168 km (104 mi) | | Plain stage | Guido Reybrouck (BEL) |
| 4 | 24 May | Alba to Sanremo | 162 km (101 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Ward Sels (BEL) |
| 5 | 25 May | Sanremo to Sanremo | 149 km (93 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Italo Zilioli (ITA) |
| 6 | 26 May | Sanremo to Alessandria | 223 km (139 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | José Antonio Momeñe (ESP) |
| 7 | 27 May | Alessandria to Piacenza | 174 km (108 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Guerrino Tosello (ITA) |
| 8 | 28 May | San Giorgio Piacentino to Brescia | 225 km (140 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Eddy Merckx (BEL) |
| 9 | 29 May | Brescia to Lido di Caldonazzo | 210 km (130 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Julio Jiménez (ESP) |
| 10 | 30 May | Trento to Monte Grappa | 136 km (85 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Emilio Casalini (ITA) |
| 11 | 31 May | Bassano del Grappa to Trieste | 197 km (122 mi) | | Plain stage | Guido Reybrouck (BEL) |
| 12 | 1 June | Gorizia to Tre Cime di Lavaredo | 213 km (132 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Eddy Merckx (BEL) |
| 13 | 2 June | Cortina d'Ampezzo to Vittorio Veneto | 163 km (101 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Lino Farisato (ITA) |
| 14 | 3 June | Vittorio Veneto to Marina Romea | 199 km (124 mi) | | Plain stage | Luigi Sgarbozza (ITA) |
| 15 | 4 June | Ravenna to Imola | 141 km (88 mi) | | Plain stage | Marino Basso (ITA) |
| | 5 June | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day | Rest day |
| 16 | 6 June | Cesenatico to City of San Marino (San Marino) | 49.3 km (31 mi) | | Individual time trial | Felice Gimondi (ITA) |
| 17 | 7 June | City of San Marino (San Marino) to Foligno | 196 km (122 mi) | | Plain stage | Franco Bitossi (ITA) |
| 18 | 8 June | Foligno to Abbadia San Salvatore | 166 km (103 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Julio Jiménez (ESP) |
| 19 | 9 June | Abbadia San Salvatore to Rome | 181 km (112 mi) | | Plain stage | Luciano Dalla Bona (ITA) |
| 20 | 10 June | Rome to Rocca di Cambio | 215 km (134 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Luis Pedro Santamarina (ESP) |
| 21 | 11 June | Rocca di Cambio to Blockhaus | 198 km (123 mi) | | Stage with mountain(s) | Franco Bitossi (ITA) |
| 22 | 12 June | Chieti to Naples | 235 km (146 mi) | | Plain stage | Guido Reybrouck (BEL) |
| | Total | Total | 3,917.3 km (2,434 mi) | 3,917.3 km (2,434 mi) | 3,917.3 km (2,434 mi) | 3,917.3 km (2,434 mi) | 3,917.3 km (2,434 mi) |

## Race overview

The race's twelfth stage saw heavy rain from the start of the stage in Gorizia, which turned to snow as the race began to elevate into the Dolomites. Police lined the sides of the roads of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo as the riders passed through due to incidents that had occurred on the slopes the previous year. The leading group on the road had a ten-minute advantage on Eddy Merckx. Merckx was able to traverse the ten-minute gap, win the stage, and take the lead of the race.

### Doping

At a presentation in Campione d'Italia, Torriani announced the measures for doping controls. This was the first Giro d'Italia to administer tests in attempt to catch riders doping, To determine whether a not tests would be administered, a set of twenty-two envelopes were made with each envelope having a slip of paper inside that read either "Yes" or "No". Following the finish of each stage one envelope was opened, if it read "No," then all riders could leave immediately. If it read "Yes," then riders with high placings on the stage and in the overall classification were tested. The results from these tests, however, would be available fifteen days after the conclusion of the race. On 15 June, the Italian Cycling Federation announced that nine riders had tested positive during the race. The riders were Gimondi, Motta, Franco Balmamion, Franco Bodrero, Raymond Delise, Peter Abt, Victor van Schil, Mariano Diaz, Joaquin Galera. Balmamion was cleared of the charges as the substance found in his urine had not been officially banned. Gimondi's ban was overturned on 13 July as he persuaded the authorities he had used Reactivan. Years later, author John Foot wrote "Doubts remain about how much the influence of Gimondi's fame and his ability to employ expensive lawyers and experts had on his case," casting further doubt on the legitimacy of Gimondi's claims of innocence. The Tour de France organizers adopted the Giro's doping control scheme for their 1968 race.

## Classification Leadership

Two different jerseys were worn during the 1969 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 red jersey to its leader, cyclists were given points for finishing a stage in the top 15. The mountains classification leader. The climbs were ranked in first and second categories. In this ranking, points were won by reaching the summit of a climb ahead of other cyclists. There were a total of nineteen categorized climbs, of which the highest one, the Cima Coppi, was the Tre Cime di Lavaredo. 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.
| Stage | Winner | General classification | Points classification | Mountains classification | Team classification |
| P | Charly Grosskost | (Charly Grosskost) | not awarded | not awarded | not awarded |
| 1 | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | not awarded | Faema |
| 2 | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Julio Jiménez | Faema |
| 3 | Guido Reybrouck | Michele Dancelli | Eddy Merckx | Julio Jiménez | Faema |
| 4 | Ward Sels | Michele Dancelli | Guido Reybrouck | Julio Jiménez | Faema |
| 5 | Italo Zilioli | Michele Dancelli | Guido Reybrouck | Julio Jiménez & Eddy Merckx | Faema |
| 6 | José Antonio Momeñe | Michele Dancelli | Eddy Merckx | Julio Jiménez & Eddy Merckx | Faema |
| 7 | Guerrino Tosello | Michele Dancelli | Eddy Merckx | Mariano Díaz | Faema |
| 8 | Eddy Merckx | Michele Dancelli | Eddy Merckx | Mariano Díaz | Faema |
| 9 | Julio Jiménez | Michele Dancelli | Eddy Merckx | Julio Jiménez | Faema |
| 10 | Emilio Casalini | Michele Dancelli | Eddy Merckx | Julio Jiménez | Faema |
| 11 | Guido Reybrouck | Michele Dancelli | Eddy Merckx | Julio Jiménez | Faema |
| 12 | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Faema |
| 13 | Lino Farisato | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Faema |
| 14 | Luigi Sgarbozza | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Faema |
| 15 | Marino Basso | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Faema |
| 16 | Felice Gimondi | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Faema |
| 17 | Franco Bitossi | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Faema |
| 18 | Julio Jiménez | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Faema |
| 19 | Luciano Dalla Bona | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Faema |
| 20 | Luis Pedro Santamarina | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Faema |
| 21 | Franco Bitossi | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Faema |
| 22 | Guido Reybrouck | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Faema |
| Final | Final | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Eddy Merckx | Faema |

## 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) | Faema | 108h 42' 27" |
| 2 | Vittorio Adorni (ITA) | Faema | + 5' 01" |
| 3 | Felice Gimondi (ITA) | Salvarani | + 9' 05" |
| 4 | Italo Zilioli (ITA) | Filotex | + 9' 17" |
| 5 | Willy Van Neste (BEL) | Bic | + 10' 43" |
| DSQ | Gianni Motta (ITA) | Molteni | + 12' 23" |
| 6 | Michele Dancelli (ITA) | Pepsi Cola | + 12' 33" |
| 7 | Franco Balmamion (ITA) | Molteni | + 15' 43" |
| 8 | Francisco Gabica (ESP) | Fagor | + 16' 59" |
| 9 | Franco Bitossi (ITA) | Filotex | + 19' 02" |
| 10 | Julio Jiménez (ESP) | Bic | + 19' 51" |

### Points classification

Final points classification (1–5) :
| | Name | Team | Points |
| 1 | Eddy Merckx (BEL) | Faema | 198 |
| 2 | Franco Bitossi (ITA) | Filotex | 138 |
| 3 | Michele Dancelli (ITA) | Pepsi Cola | 132 |
| DSQ | Gianni Motta (ITA) | Molteni | 122 |
| 4 | Marino Basso (ITA) | Molteni | 122 |
| 5 | Guido Reybrouck (BEL) | Faema | 115 |
| 6 | Felice Gimondi (ITA) | Salvarani | 96 |
| 7 | Vittorio Adorni (ITA) | Faema | 88 |
| 8 | Italo Zilioli (ITA) | Filotex | 73 |
| 9 | Julio Jiménez (ESP) | Bic | 73 |
| 10 | Vito Taccone (ITA) | Germanvox | 60 |

### Mountains classification

Final mountains classification (1–6) :
| | Name | Team | Points |
| 1 | Eddy Merckx (BEL) | Faema | 340 |
| DSQ | Mariano Díaz (ESP) | Fagor | 210 |
| 3 | Julio Jiménez (ESP) | Bic | 180 |
| 4 | Giancarlo Polidori (ITA) | Pepsi Cola | 140 |
| 4 | Joaquín Galera (ESP) | Fagor | 140 |
| 6 | Franco Bitossi (ITA) | Filotex | 90 |

### Traguardi a sorpresa classification

Final traguardia a sorpresa classification (1–10) :
| | Name | Team | Points |
| 1 | Marino Basso (ITA) | Molteni | 22 |
| 2 | Roberto Ballini (ITA) | Max Meyer | 15 |
| 3 | Pietro Campagnari (ITA) | Molteni | 14 |
| 4 | Luciano Armani (ITA) | Faema | 13 |
| 5 | Giancarlo Polidori (ITA) | Pepsi Cola | 10 |
| 6 | Julio Jiménez (ESP) | Bic | 8 |
| 6 | Luis Santamarina (ESP) | Fagor | 8 |
| 6 | Franco Bitossi (ITA) | Filotex | 8 |
| 9 | Giuseppe Milioli (ITA) | Germanvox-Vega | 6 |
| 10 | Italo Zilioli (ITA) | Filotex | 5 |
| 10 | Rem Stefanoni (ITA) | Max Meyer | 5 |
| 10 | Mariano Díaz (ESP) | Fagor | 5 |
| 10 | Lino Farisato (ITA) | Faema | 5 |
| 10 | Raymond Delisle (FRA) | | 5 |
| 10 | Claudio Michelotto (ITA) | Max Meyer | 5 |
| 10 | Daminiano Capodivento (ITA) | G.B.C. | 5 |
| 10 | Georges Vandenberghe (BEL) | Smith's | 5 |

### Team classification

Final team classification (1–10) :
| | Team | Points |
| 1 | Faema | ? |
| 2 | Molteni | ? |
| 3 | Fagor-Fargas | ? |
| 4 | Pepsi Cola | ? |
| 5 | Filotex | ? |
| 6 | Bic | ? |
| 7 | Salvarani | ? |
| 8 | Max Meyer | ? |
| 9 | Germanvox-Vega | ? |
| 10 | Smith's | ? |

### Minor classifications

Franco Bitossi (Filotex) won the traguardi tricolori classification and Merckx won the Trofeo dei Circuiti.