The 1987 Giro d'Italia was the 70th edition of the bicycle race. It began on 21 May with a prologue in San Remo, and concluded on 13 June with a individual time trial in Saint-Vincent. A total of 180 riders from 20 teams entered the 22-stage, -long race, which was won by Irishman Stephen Roche of the team. Second and third places were taken by British rider Robert Millar and Dutchman Erik Breukink, respectively. It was the second time in the history of the Giro that the podium was occupied solely by non-Italian riders. Roche's victory in the 1987 Giro was his first step in completing the Triple Crown of Cycling – winning the Giro d'Italia, the Tour de France, and the World Championship road race in one calendar year – becoming the second rider ever to do so.
Roche's teammate and defending champion Roberto Visentini took the first race leader's maglia rosa () after winning the opening prologue, only to lose it to Breukink the following stage. Roche took the overall lead after his team, Carrera Jeans–Vagabond, won the stage three team time trial. Visentini regained the lead for a two-day period after the stage 13 individual time trial. The fifteenth stage of the 1987 Giro has been recognized as an iconic event in the history of the race because Roche rode ahead of teammate Visentini, despite orders from the team management, and took the race lead. Roche successfully defended the overall lead from attacks by Visentini and other general classification contenders until the event's finish in Saint-Vincent.
Stephen Roche became the first Irishman to win the Giro d'Italia. In addition to the general classification, Roche also won the combination classification. In the other race classifications, Johan van der Velde of Gis Gelati–Jollyscarpe won the points classification, Robert Millar of took the mountains classification green jersey, and Selca–Conti's Roberto Conti completed the Giro as the best neo-professional in the general classification, finishing fifteenth overall. Panasonic–Isostar finished as the winners of the team classification, which ranks each of the twenty teams contesting the race by lowest cumulative time.
Teams
A total of 20 teams were invited to participate in the 1987 Giro d'Italia. Each team sent a squad of nine riders, which meant that the race started with a peloton of 180 cyclists. The starting peloton featured riders from 17 different countries. Italy (91), the Netherlands (16), Spain (15), Belgium (13), Switzerland (10), and France (10) all had more than 10 or more riders.
Of those starting, 74 were riding the Giro d'Italia for the first time. The average age of riders was 26.52 years, ranging from 21–year–old Andreas Kappes from to 38–year–old Hennie Kuiper of . The team with the youngest average rider age was Magniflex–Centroscarpa (23), while the oldest was (28). The presentation of the teams – where each team's roster and manager are introduced in front of the media and local dignitaries – took place on 20 May, outside the Casino of San Remo. From the riders that began this edition, 133 completed the race.
The teams entering the race were:
Atala–Ofmega
Fibok–Müller
Magniflex–Centroscarpa
Transvemij–Van Schilt–Hoonved Zahor Chocolates–Tokke
Pre-race favorites
Reigning champion Roberto Visentini returned to the race in 1987 to defend his crown, despite not winning many races in his spring campaign. Francesco Moser, who won in 1984 and finished in the top three in 1985 and 1986, did not participate because of a head trauma and bruises sustained in a crash in the weeks prior to the race. Spanish sports newspaper El Mundo Deportivo and Gian Paolo Ormezzano from Italy's La Stampa named several other riders as contenders for the overall classification, such as Giuseppe Saronni, then-world champion Moreno Argentin, Stephen Roche, and Robert Millar. Since team leader Greg LeMond did not participate in the race due to injuries sustained in a hunting accident, El Mundo Deportivo believed Jean-François Bernard to be a dark horse. L'Unità writer Gino Sala believed Roche, Saronni, and Visentini were the top three challengers for the overall crown.
Climbers Gianbattista Baronchelli, Éric Caritoux, Franco Chioccioli, Marino Lejarreta, and Millar were expected to contend for mountains classification. Several writers felt Argentin, Guido Bontempi, Urs Freuler, Eddy Planckaert, and Paolo Rosola all had a great chance to win a stage in the race. Mario Fossati of La Repubblica also thought that Bernard, Bontempi, and Phil Anderson could take a stage win. Anderson returned to cycling at the Giro following a lengthy battle with a virus. Due to Rolf Sørensen's victory at the Tirreno–Adriatico he was seen as an outside contender, but there were questions over his ability to climb in the high mountains.
There was a strong belief that the race would be a battle between Carrera Jeans–Vagabond teammates Visentini and Roche. El Mundo Deportivo stated that Visentini had the edge in the time trial discipline and sprinting, while Roche had the advantage in climbing mountains. However, unlike Visentini, Roche came into the race in great shape after winning the Tour de Romandie and placing second in the Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the Critérium International. Cycling expert and author Bill McGann thought that the race would be disputed between Visentini and Baronchelli.
Route and stages
The route for the 1987 edition of the Giro d'Italia was revealed to the public on television by head organizer Vincenzo Torriani on 21 February 1987. Covering a total of , it included five time trials (four individual and one for teams), and thirteen stages with categorized climbs that awarded mountains classification points. The course featured a total of climbing, more than the previous edition. Five of these thirteen stages had summit finishes: stage 1a, to San Romolo; stage 6, to Monte Terminillo; stage 15, to Sappada; stage 19, to Madesimo; and stage 21, to Pila. Another stage with a mountain-top finish was stage 13, which consisted of a climbing time trial to San Marino. The organizers chose to include one rest day between stages 10 and 11. When compared to the previous Giro, the race had the same number of stages – although one stage consisted of two half-stages – but was longer and contained an additional individual time trial. The sixteenth stage, which ran from Sappada to Canazei, was named the queen stage for its five categorized climbs.
Race director Torriani was happy with the success the 1985 Giro d'Italia had when passing through the Aosta Valley and chose to include this mountainous region, which lies adjacent to the Rhône-Alpes, in the 1987 route. With the Giro's return to the valley, La Stampa and the regional cycling federation director, Maggiorino Ferrero, speculated that the stages taking place in this region would be critical in deciding the general classification. Carlo Champvillair, a climbing champion of Aosta Valley, believed it to be a well-constructed, technical race route. The time trial in San Marino, the sixth stage with the finish atop Monte Terminillo, and the stages including the Dolomites were seen by L'Unità writer Gino Sala as stages that would heavily influence the general classification. In addition, he said that the route was suited to well-rounded, strong, and durable riders. The prologue contained a descent of the Poggio, a mountain used frequently in the Milan–San Remo, and was considered dangerous by some critics. However, Torriani decided to include the descent.
+Stage characteristics and winnersStageDateCourseDistanceTypeWinnerP 21 MaySan Remo Individual time trial1a22 MaySan Remo to San Romolo Stage with mountain(s)1bPoggio di San Remo to San Remo Individual time trial223 MayImperia to Borgo Val di Taro Stage with mountain(s)324 MayLerici to Camaiore Team time trial425 MayCamaiore to Montalcino Stage with mountain(s)526 MayMontalcino to Terni Plain stage627 MayTerni to Monte Terminillo Stage with mountain(s)728 MayRieti to Roccaraso Stage with mountain(s)829 MayRoccaraso to San Giorgio del Sannio Plain stage930 MaySan Giorgio del Sannio to Bari Plain stage1031 MayBari to Termoli Plain stage1 June Rest day112 JuneGiulianova to Osimo Stage with mountain(s)123 JuneOsimo to Bellaria Plain stage134 JuneRimini to City of San Marino (San Marino) Individual time trial145 JuneCity of San Marino (San Marino) to Lido di Jesolo Plain stage156 JuneLido di Jesolo to Sappada Stage with mountain(s)167 JuneSappada to Canazei Stage with mountain(s)178 JuneCanazei to Riva del Garda Stage with mountain(s)189 JuneRiva del Garda to Trescore Balneario Plain stage1910 JuneTrescore Balneario to Madesimo Stage with mountain(s)2011 JuneMadesimo to Como Plain stage2112 JuneComo to Pila Stage with mountain(s)2213 JuneAosta to Saint-Vincent Individual time trial Total
Stage 20 was run as a "Giri-sprint": the stage ended with 10 laps of 4 km around Como, and a small time bonus was given every time that the finish line was crossed.
Race overview
The Giro began with a prologue through the streets of San Remo. The returning winner of the Giro, Roberto Visentini, won the prologue by two tenths of a second over the Canadian rider Steve Bauer. The next race day held two stages: a stage with a summit finish, followed by a downhill individual time trial. 's Erik Breukink took the climbing half-stage win with a solo attack. His performance earned him the race leader's maglia rosa (), which he kept until the third stage. Stephen Roche won the time trial half-stage with a three-second margin over Del Tongo's Lech Piasecki. Johan van der Velde formed a lead group with about to go in the second stage, but as he posed a threat to the race lead, he was not given a large advantage and was subsequently caught by the chasing peloton from the finish. The main field remained intact for the remaining kilometers and the race geared up for a sprint finish won by Moreno Argentin.
The third stage was a lengthy team time trial that stretched for between Lerici and Camaiore. beat out the Del Tongo squad by fifty-four seconds to win the leg. In addition to the stage victory, Carrera Jeans–Vagabond's Roche took the overall lead. As the leading group approached the fourth stage finish line, Argentin sprinted away with to go and created a two-second gap between himself and the rider in second place that was enough to earn him a second stage win. The fifth stage was relatively flat and was used to set up the race to enter the Apennine Mountains the following day. The leg culminated in a mass sprint that was won by Panasonic–Isostar's Belgian rider Eddy Planckaert, after overcoming Paolo Rosola in the closing meters.
Roche defended his race lead until stage thirteen, a climbing individual time trial to Monte Titano in San Marino, where he lost the pink jersey to his teammate and stage winner Visentini. Roche claimed his performance in the stage was hampered due to injuries sustained from a crash in the tenth stage. At , the fourteenth stage was the longest of the race. It was won in a mass sprint by Remac Fanini's Paolo Cimini, who overtook Rosola in the final meters.
The fifteenth stage saw the race enter the Dolomites and traverse three major climbs within the mountain chain. On the descent of the Monte Rest, Roche formed a leading group with two other riders after speeding away from the race leader's group. Despite orders from his team management, Roche continued with the move. The Carrera Jeans-Vagabond pack chased after the Roche group to protect the advantage of Roche's teammate and race leader Visentini. Roche crossed the finish line in twelfth place, fifty-six seconds after the stage winner van der Velde, which allowed him to don again the pink jersey by five seconds over Tony Rominger. Roche's actions, taking the race lead away from Visentini and disobeying team commands, gained him the hatred of the Italian cycling fans.