1978 Giro d'Italia

The 1978 Giro d'Italia was the 61st running of the Giro, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started in Saint-Vincent, on 7 May, with a 2 km (1.2 mi) prologue and concluded in Milan, on 28 May, with a 220 km (136.7 mi) mass-start stage. A total of 130 riders from thirteen teams entered the 20-stage race, that was won by Belgian Johan de Muynck of the Bianchi team. The second and third places were taken by Italians Gianbattista Baronchelli and Francesco Moser, respectively.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]} As of the beginning of the 2021 cycling season this was the last time a Belgian rider won a Grand Tour.

1978 Giro d'Italia

Race details
Dates	7-28 May 1978
Stages	20 + Prologue, including one split stage
Distance	3,610.5 km (2,243 mi)
Winning time	101h 31' 22"
Results
Winner  Johan De Muynck (BEL) (Bianchi)   Second  Gianbattista Baronchelli (ITA) (Scic)   Third  Francesco Moser (ITA) (Sanson) Points  Francesco Moser (ITA) (Sanson) Mountains  Ueli Sutter (SUI) (Zonca)   Youth  Roberto Visentini (ITA) (Vibor)   Combination  Giuseppe Saronni (ITA) (Scic)   Team Bianchi - Faema
← 1977 1979 →

Amongst the other classifications that the race awarded, Sanson's Moser won the points classification, Ueli Sutter of Zonca won the mountains classification, and Vibor's Roberto Visentini completed the Giro as the best neo-professional in the general classification, finishing fifteenth overall. Bianchi finishing as the winners of the team points classification.

Teams

For a more comprehensive list, see List of teams and cyclists in the 1978 Giro d'Italia.

A total of 13 teams were invited to participate in the 1978 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 90 riders made it to the finish in Milan.^[7][8]

The teams entering the race were:

Bianchi Fiorella Gis Gelati Ijsboerke-Gios Intercontinentale Assicurazioni

Magniflex-Torpado Mecap-Selle Italia Sanson Scic

Selle Royal-Inoxpran Teka Vibor Zonca

Route and stages

The route for the race was revealed on 8 March 1978.^[9][10] The start of the race was moved up one week and three stage were cancelled so the race did not interfere with the World Cup that started on 1 June in Argentina.^[11] The fourteenth stage took the race into the Venice for a time trial.^[12] As the city was not conducive to the event, four ramps were created to allow for riders to ride up and down on canal crossings, as well as one floating bridge over the Grand Canal.^[12]

Stage results^[7]

Stage	Date	Course	Distance	Type		Winner
P	7 May	Saint-Vincent	2 km (1 mi)		Individual time trial	Dietrich Thurau (GER)
1	8 May	Saint-Vincent to Novi Ligure	175 km (109 mi)		Plain stage	Rik Van Linden (BEL)
2	9 May	Novi Ligure to La Spezia	195 km (121 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Giuseppe Saronni (ITA)
3	10 May	La Spezia to Càscina	183 km (114 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Johan De Muynck (BEL)
4	11 May	Larciano to Pistoia	25 km (16 mi)		Individual time trial	Dietrich Thurau (GER)
5	12 May	Prato to Cattolica	200 km (124 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Rik Van Linden (BEL)
6	13 May	Cattolica to Silvi Marina	218 km (135 mi)		Plain stage	Rik Van Linden (BEL)
7	14 May	Silvi Marina to Benevento	242 km (150 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Giuseppe Saronni (ITA)
8	15 May	Benevento to Ravello	175 km (109 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Giuseppe Saronni (ITA)
9	16 May	Amalfi to Latina	248 km (154 mi)		Plain stage	Enrico Paolini (ITA)
10	17 May	Latina to Lago di Piediluco	220 km (137 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Giuseppe Martinelli (ITA)
11a	18 May	Terni to Assisi	74 km (46 mi)		Plain stage	Bruno Zanoni (ITA)
11b		Assisi to Siena	145 km (90 mi)		Plain stage	Francesco Moser (ITA)
12	19 May	Poggibonsi to Monte Trebbio	204 km (127 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Giancarlo Bellini (ITA)
13	20 May	Modigliana to Padua	183 km (114 mi)		Plain stage	Francesco Moser (ITA)
14	21 May	Venezia to Venezia	12 km (7 mi)		Individual time trial	Francesco Moser (ITA)
	22 May	Rest day
15	23 May	Treviso to Canazei	234 km (145 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Gianbattista Baronchelli (ITA)
16	24 May	Mazzin to Cavalese	48 km (30 mi)		Individual time trial	Francesco Moser (ITA)
17	25 May	Cavalese to Monte Bondone	205 km (127 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Wladimiro Panizza (ITA)
18	26 May	Mezzolombardo to Sarezzo	245 km (152 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Giuseppe Perletto (ITA)
19	27 May	Brescia to Inverigo	175 km (109 mi)		Stage with mountain(s)	Vittorio Algeri (ITA)
20	28 May	Inverigo to Milan	220 km (137 mi)		Plain stage	Pierino Gavazzi (ITA)
	Total		3,610 km (2,243 mi)

Classification leadership

The Passo Valles was the Cima Coppi for the 1978 running of the Giro d'Italia.

There were four main individual classifications contested in the 1978 Giro d'Italia, as well as a team competition. Four of them awarded jerseys to their leaders. The general classification was the most important and was calculated by adding each rider's finishing times on each stage.^[13] The rider with the lowest cumulative time was the winner of the general classification and was considered the overall winner of the Giro.^[13] The rider leading the classification wore a pink jersey to signify the classification's leadership.^[13]

The second classification was the points classification. Riders received points for finishing in the top positions in a stage finish, with first place getting the most points, and lower placings getting successively fewer points.^[13] The rider leading this classification wore a purple (or cyclamen) jersey.^[13] The mountains classification was the third classification and its leader was denoted by the green jersey. 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. Most stages of the race included one or more categorized climbs, in which points were awarded to the riders that reached the summit first. The Cima Coppi, the race's highest point of elevation, awarded more points than the other first category climbs.^[13] The Cima Coppi for this Giro was the Passo Valles, which was first summitted by Italian rider Gianbattista Baronchelli. The fourth classification, the young rider classification, was decided the same way as the general classification, but exclusive to neo-professional cyclists (in their first three years of professional racing).^[13] The leader of the classification wore a white jersey.^[14]

The final classification, the team classification, awarded no jersey to its leaders. This was calculated by adding together points earned by each rider on the team during each stage through the intermediate sprints, the categorized climbs, stage finishes, etc. The team with the most points led the classification.^[13]

There were other minor classifications within the race, including the Campionato delle Regioni classification. The leader wore a blue jersey with colored vertical stripes ("maglia azzurra con banda tricolore verticale").^[15] The Fiat Ritmo classification, which was created in honor Juan Manuel Santisteban who died in stage 1A of 1976 edition.^[16] In all stages longer than 131 km (81 mi), there was a banner at that point in the stage to designate a special sprint.^[16] The winner of the sprint in each stage received a Fiat Ritmo.^[16]

Classification leadership by stage

Stage	Winner	General classification	Points classification	Mountains classification	Young rider classification	Team classification
P	Dietrich Thurau	not awarded	not awarded	not awarded	not awarded	not awarded
1	Rik Van Linden	Rik Van Linden	Rik Van Linden	?	?	?
2	Giuseppe Saronni
3	Johan De Muynck	Johan De Muynck
4	Dietrich Thurau		Giuseppe Saronni
5	Rik Van Linden		Francesco Moser
6	Rik Van Linden		Rik Van Linden
7	Giuseppe Saronni		Roger De Vlaeminck
8	Giuseppe Saronni		Giuseppe Saronni
9	Enrico Paolini		Roger De Vlaeminck
10	Giuseppe Martinelli		Giuseppe Saronni
11a	Bruno Zanoni
11b	Francesco Moser		Roger De Vlaeminck
12	Giancarlo Bellini		Francesco Moser
13	Francesco Moser
14	Francesco Moser
15	Gianbattista Baronchelli
16	Francesco Moser
17	Wladimiro Panizza			Ueli Sutter
18	Giuseppe Perletto
19	Vittorio Algeri
20	Pierino Gavazzi				Roberto Visentini	Bianchi
Final		Johan De Muynck	Francesco Moser	Ueli Sutter	Roberto Visentini	Bianchi

Final standings

Legend
	Denotes the winner of the General classification		Denotes the winner of the Mountains classification
	Denotes the winner of the Points classification

General classification

Final general classification (1–10)^[7][17][18]

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Johan De Muynck (BEL)	Bianchi	101h 31' 22"
2	Gianbattista Baronchelli (ITA)	Scic	+ 59"
3	Francesco Moser (ITA)	Sanson	+ 2' 19"
4	Wladimiro Panizza (ITA)	Vibor	+ 7' 57"
5	Giuseppe Saronni (ITA)	Scic	+ 8' 19"
6	Ronald De Witte (BEL)	Sanson	+ 8' 24"
7	Alfio Vandi (ITA)	Magniflex	+ 9' 04"
8	Claudio Bortolotto (ITA)	Sanson	+ 9' 25"
9	Bernt Johansson (SWE)	Fiorella	+ 12' 36"
10	Ueli Sutter (SUI)	Zonca	+ 12' 38"

Points classification

Final points classification (1-5)^[7][17][19]

	Rider	Team	Points
1	Francesco Moser (ITA)	Sanson	275
2	Giuseppe Saronni (ITA)	Scic	274
3	Gianbattista Baronchelli (ITA)	Scic	260
4	Pierino Gavazzi (ITA)	Zonca	130
5	Johan De Muynck (BEL)	Bianchi	118

Mountains classification

Final mountains classification (1-5)^[7][17]

	Rider	Team	Points
1	Ueli Sutter (SUI)	Zonca	830
2	Gianbattista Baronchelli (ITA)	Scic	520
3	Claudio Bortolotto (ITA)	Sanson	345
4	Pedro Torres (ESP)	Teka
5	Johan De Muynck (BEL)	Bianchi	290

Young rider classification

Final young rider classification (1-5)^[7][17]

	Rider	Team	Time
1	Roberto Visentini (ITA)	Vibor	101h 50' 17"
2	Giancarlo Casiraghi (ITA)	Intercontinentale Assicurazioni	+ 41' 33"
3	Ennio Vanotti (ITA)	Zonca	+ 54' 39"
4	Claudio Corti (ITA)	Zonca	+ 1h 05' 20"
5	Vincenzo De Caro (ITA)	Mecap	+ 1h 19' 15"

Campionato delle Regioni classification

Final Campionato delle Regioni classification (1-5)^[17]

	Rider	Team	Points
1	Fiorenzo Favero (ITA)	Intercontinentale Assicurazioni	38
2	Alessio Antonini (ITA)	Selle Royal-Inoxpran	27
3	Giuseppe Martinelli (ITA)	Magniflex	19
4	Giuseppe Saronni (ITA)	Scic	17
5	Giancarlo Tartoni (ITA)	Magniflex	13

Traguardo Fiat Ritmo classification

Final Traguardo Fiat Ritmo classification (1-3)^[17][18]

	Rider	Team	Points
1	Luciano Rossignoli (ITA)	Fiorella	37
2	Walter Dusi (ITA)	Intercontinentale Assicurazioni	16
3	Ottavio Crepaldi (ITA)	Magniflex	13

Team points classification

Final team points classification (1-3)^[7]

	Team	Points
1	Bianchi	15,540
2	Sanson	9,420
3	Scic	8,107

References

Citations

1. "De Muynck, al libro de oro del "Giro"" [De Muynck, the Golden Book "Tour"] (PDF) (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 29 May 1978. p. 31. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
2. "El "Giro" Comenzia Hoy" [The "Tour" Commences Today] (PDF) (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 7 May 1978. p. 28. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 March 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
3. "Giro, oggi e domani" [Giro, today and tomorrow] (PDF). La Stampa (in Italian). Editrice La Stampa. 7 May 1978. p. 17. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
4. "<<Traguardo Rito>> al Giro d'Italia" [<<Target Rite>> the Tour of Italy] (PDF). Stampa Sera (in Italian). Editrice La Stampa. 6 May 1978. p. 16. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
5. "Il Giro d'Italia corre in coppia" [The Tour of Italy runs in pairs] (PDF). La Stampa (in Italian). Editrice La Stampa. 6 May 1978. p. 15. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
6. "Ecco il <Giro> Da St..Vincent a Milano: 20 tappe". l'Unità. 9 March 1978. p. 14. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
7. Bill and Carol McGann. "1978 Giro d'Italia". Bike Race Info. Dog Ear Publishing. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
8. "Spectaculaire chevauchée du Français Campaner" (PDF) (in French). L'Express. 7 May 1978.
9. Gino Sala (9 March 1978). "Ecco il <<Giro>>" [Here is the <<Giro>>] (PDF). l'Unità (in Italian). PCI. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 April 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
10. "Moser: <<Este <<Giro>> No Es Para Mi>>" [Moser: This <<Giro>> is not for me] (PDF) (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 10 March 1978. p. 25. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 October 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
11. "1978". Giro d'Italia. La Gazzetta dello Sport. 2017. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
12. Gregor Brown (29 April 2015). "The seven oddest Giro d'Italia stages". Cycling Weekly. Time Inc. Archived from the original on 4 July 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
13. Laura Weislo (13 May 2008). "Giro d'Italia classifications demystified". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 8 May 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
14. "1977". Giro d'Italia. La Gazzetta dello Sport. 2017. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
15. "1975". Giro d'Italia. La Gazzetta dello Sport. 2017. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
16. "1976". Giro d'Italia. La Gazzetta dello Sport. 2017. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
17. "Classifica finale" [Final classification] (PDF). l'Unità (in Italian). PCI. 29 May 1978. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 March 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
18. "le classfiche finali" [The final classifications] (PDF). La Stampa (in Italian). Editrice La Stampa. 29 May 1978. p. 17. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
19. "Il Giro di ieri e di oggi" (PDF). l'Unità. 14 March 1979. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2019.