page_title: 2012 Giro d'Italia
section_title: Classification leadership
hierarchical_section_title: 2012 Giro d'Italia / Classification leadership
caption_attribution_description: Passo dello Stelvio, Augustus 2005
context_page_description: The 2012 Giro d'Italia was the 95th edition of Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started in the Danish city of Herning, and ended in Milan. The complete route of the 2012 Giro d'Italia was announced in mid October. For the first time since the 2007 edition no climbing time trial was included in the route. The colour of the jersey for the mountains classification was changed for this year's edition from green to blue. The move came at the behest of sponsor Banca Mediolanum, who renewed its support of the mountains classification for a further four years.
  The race was won by Canada's Ryder Hesjedal of Garmin–Barracuda, becoming the first Canadian rider to win a Grand Tour event and the second non-European rider to win the Giro; he also became only the second rider to take the leader's jersey from another rider on the final day, after Francesco Moser did so in 1984.
context_section_description: In the 2012 Giro d'Italia, four different jerseys were awarded. For the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, and allowing time bonuses for the first three finishers on mass-start stages, the leader received a pink jersey. This classification was considered the most important of the Giro d'Italia, and the winner was considered the winner of the Giro.
  Additionally, there was a points classification, which awarded a red jersey. In the points classification, cyclists got points for finishing in the top 15 in a stage. Unlike in the better known points classification in the Tour de France, the type of stage had no effect on what points were on offer – each stage had the same points available on the same scale. The win earned 25 points, second place earned 20 points, third 16, fourth 14, fifth 12, sixth 10, and one point fewer per place down to a single point for 15th. In addition, points could be won in intermediate sprints.
  There was also a mountains classification, the leadership of which was marked by a blue jersey. The jersey had been green since the jersey was first awarded, but with a sponsorship change, the jersey color was changed to blue. In the mountains classifications, points were won by reaching the top of a climb before other cyclists. Each climb was categorized as either first, second, third, or fourth-category, with more points available for the higher-categorized climbs. The Cima Coppi, the race's highest point of elevation, awarded still more points than the other first-category climbs. The Cima Coppi for the 2012 Giro d'Italia was the Passo dello Stelvio. The first rider to cross the Stelvio was Thomas De Gendt.
  The fourth jersey represented the young rider classification, marked by a white jersey. This was decided the same way as the general classification, but only riders born after 1 January 1987 were eligible.
  There were also two classifications for teams. In the Trofeo Fast Team classification, the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added; the leading team was the team with the lowest total time; the Trofeo Super Team was a team points classification, with the top 20 placed riders on each stage earning points (20 for first place, 19 for second place and so on, down to a single point for 20th) for their team.
  The rows in the following table correspond to the jerseys awarded after that stage was run.
caption: Some of the 48 hairpin turns near the top of the eastern ramp of the Passo dello Stelvio
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