The first edition of the Giro d’Italia took place in 1909. Similar to the inception of the Tour de France, the Giro was organized to increase sales of the newspaper La Gazetta dello Sport.

The inaugural Giro d’Italia was an eight-day affair covering 1,521 miles, 247 of which took place on the first day. The following 100 iterations of the race saw it grow from a primarily Italian affair into the modern day grand tour we know and love. 

As the Giro has evolved over the years, it has hosted countless historic battles amongst the legends of the sport. Here, we present five memorable moments from the Giro d’Italia.

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1. 1949 Stage 17: Cuneo To Pinerolo

In one of the most dominant rides in the Giro’s history, Fausto Coppi brazenly launched the first attack of the day. He proceeded to ride nearly the entire 254-kilometer stage—complete with five mountain passes—by himself. Coppi won the stage by 11 minutes and 52 seconds and secured the maglia rosa by a handsome margin. 

A few months later, Coppi became the first person to win the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France in the same year. 

In 2019, the Giro will honor the 50th anniversary of Coppi's famous ride. Stage 12 will start in Cuneo and end in Pinerelo, and feature the grand tour's first major climb, the category one ascent of Montoso.

2. 1967 Stage 12: Caserta To Blockhaus

This was the coming-of-age race for the great Eddy Merckx. The 22-year-old crossed the finish line nearly a minute ahead of his rivals at the summit of the Blockhaus climb.

The Italian papers bemoaned their country’s defeat by a Belgian sprinter in the mountains of the Giro, as Merckx had not yet proven himself capable on the climbs. This victory foreshadowed the grand tour success that Merckx would go on to have. 

3. 1988 Stage 14: Chiesa In Valmalenco to Bormio

In blizzard conditions on the slopes of the Gavia, American Andy Hampsten left a dwindling peloton behind. As other riders fell victim to frozen bicycle components and icy roads, Hampsten plunged down the descent, being blindly chased by Dutch rider Erik Breukink. Breukink won the stage, but Hampsten’s efforts put the maglia rosa on his shoulders. 

He wore it for the remainder of the race. Hampsten remains the only American to ever win the Giro d’Italia.

4. 2014 Stage 16: Ponte Di Legno To Val Martello

The most infamous stage of modern Giro history can only be the Gavia and Stelvio day of the 2014 race. As riders climbed into the low hanging clouds atop a snow-covered Stelvio, confusion erupted as race radio communicated the descent would be neutralized due to the hazardous conditions. 

At least, that is the message that most team managers took away from the transmission. However, Nairo Quintana and a handful of other riders pressed on over the climb and gained an advantage over the disorganized peloton on the descent. Quintana went on to win the stage, taking the maglia rosa from Rigoberto Uran.

5. 2016 Stage 19: Pinerolo To Risoul

The 2016 Giro was led by Steven Kruijswijk for much of the final third of the race until he dramatically crashed into a snow bank while descending the Colle dell’Agnelo on stage 19. 

Esteban Chaves inherited the maglia rosa from the distraught Dutchman only to lose it to Vincenzo Nibali a day later. 

Kruijswijk went on to complete the Giro with a broken rib, finishing fourth overall. The final days of the 2016 Giro proved to be some of the most dramatic races of the year.

6. 2018 Stage 19: Venaria Reale To Bardonecchia

At the start of stage 19 of the 2018 Giro d'Italia, four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome sat three minutes and twenty two seconds down on race leader Simon Yates.

Froome had struggled throughout the Giro, crashing prior to the race's opening time trial and frequently losing time to the aggressive Yates. Froome was mired in fourth place overall.

But Yates had shown a glimmer of weakness in the stage 18 summit finish, and Froome and Team Sky developed a plan to crack their fellow Briton. The team set an infernal pace on the early slopes of the Colle delle Finestre, and when the road turned to gravel, Froome attacked.

With 50-miles still to go to the finish, Froome sent Yates tumbling out of pink (and the top ten overall), and time trialed to the finish ahead of the reigning Giro champion, Tom Dumoulin. At the finish, Froome donned the maglia rosa, and held the jersey to the finish in Rome.