The Tour of the Alps is an annual professional cycling stage race in Italy and Austria. First held in 1962, it was named Giro del Trentino (English: Tour of Trentino) until 2016, and run over four stages in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region of Italy. In 2015, the race merged with the nearby one-day race Trofeo Melinda, and the 2015 edition was called the Giro del Trentino Melinda.[1]

Giro del Trentino
Race details
DateMid-to-Late April
RegionTyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino, Austria and Italy
English nameTour of Trentino
Local name(s)Giro del Trentino (in Italian)
DisciplineRoad
CompetitionUCI ProSeries
TypeStage race
Web sitetourofthealps.eu Edit this at Wikidata
History
First edition1962 (1962)
Editions47 (as of 2024)
First winner Enzo Moser (ITA)
Most wins Damiano Cunego (ITA) (3 wins)
Most recent Juan Pedro López (ESP)

In 2017, the event was renamed Tour of the Alps,[2] as it addresses the entire Euroregion of Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino, formed by three different regional authorities in two countries: the Austrian state of Tyrol and the Italian autonomous provinces of South Tyrol and Trentino. It should not be confused with the similarly named Giro al Sas di Trento, an annual road running competition in the city of Trento.[3]

Since its rebranding, the race is run mid-to-late April over five stages, as a 2.HC event of the UCI Europe Tour, the level beneath the UCI World Tour. The race became part of the new UCI ProSeries in 2020.

The Tour of the Alps, typically featuring short and mountainous stages, is considered a last preparation race for the key contenders of the Giro d'Italia, which starts two weeks after the Tour of the Alps finishes. Eleven winners of the Giro del Trentino have also won the Giro d'Italia, ten of them Italians: Francesco Moser, Giuseppe Saronni, Franco Chioccioli, Gianni Bugno, Gilberto Simoni, Paolo Savoldelli, Damiano Cunego, Vincenzo Nibali, Ivan Basso and Michele Scarponi. The remaining winner of both the Tour of the Alps and the Giro d'Italia is Briton Tao Geoghegan Hart who uniquely won the Giro (2020) before winning the Tour of the Alps (2023).

Damiano Cunego holds the race record with three overall wins.[4]

History

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The first edition of the race was held in 1962. It consisted of a single stage that started and finished in Trento. It was won by Enzo Moser. After a second edition in 1963, the third edition was not held until 1979. There were two unofficial races, in 1977 and 1978 but they remain disputed and usually not treated as official Giro del Trentino races.[5] The 1986 edition of the race was unusual in that there was no individual prize awarded. It was instead a team competition called the Coppa Italia and the first place went to Carrera–Inoxpran. One of the stages of the 1995 Giro del Trentino went to Innsbruck in neighbouring Austria, and stages to and from Lienz in Austria have remained a regular feature of the race since that time. In 2012, the race included a team time trial for the first time, which constituted the first stage of the race.[6] The team time-trial was retained for the 2013 edition.

List of winners

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Year Country Rider Team
1962   Italy Enzo Moser San Pellegrino
1963   Italy Guido De Rosso Molteni
1964–
1978
No race
1979   Norway Knut Knudsen Bianchi–Faema
1980   Italy Francesco Moser Sanson
1981   Italy Roberto Visentini Sammontana
1982   Italy Giuseppe Saronni Del Tongo
1983   Italy Francesco Moser Gis Gelati
1984   Italy Franco Chioccioli Murella–Rossin
1985   Austria Harald Maier Gis Gelati
1986   Italy Team edition Carrera–Inoxpran
1987   Italy Claudio Corti Supermercati Brianzoli
1988    Switzerland Urs Zimmermann Carrera Jeans–Vagabond
1989   Italy Mauro Santaromita Pepsi Cola–Alba Cucine
1990   Italy Gianni Bugno Chateau d'Ax–Salotti
1991   Venezuela Leonardo Sierra Selle Italia–Magniarredo
1992   Italy Claudio Chiappucci Carrera Jeans–Vagabond
1993   Italy Maurizio Fondriest Lampre–Polti
1994   Italy Moreno Argentin Gewiss–Ballan
1995    Switzerland Heinz Imboden Refin
1996   Italy Wladimir Belli Panaria–Vinavil
1997   France Luc Leblanc Polti
1998   Italy Paolo Savoldelli Saeco–Cannondale
1999   Italy Paolo Savoldelli Saeco–Cannondale
2000   Italy Simone Borgheresi Mercatone Uno–Albacom
2001   Italy Francesco Casagrande Fassa Bortolo
2002   Italy Francesco Casagrande Fassa Bortolo
2003   Italy Gilberto Simoni Saeco
2004   Italy Damiano Cunego Saeco
2005   Mexico Julio Alberto Pérez Ceramica Panaria–Navigare
2006   Italy Damiano Cunego Lampre–Fondital
2007   Italy Damiano Cunego Lampre–Fondital
2008   Italy Vincenzo Nibali Liquigas
2009   Italy Ivan Basso Liquigas
2010   Kazakhstan Alexander Vinokourov Astana
2011   Italy Michele Scarponi Lampre–ISD
2012   Italy Domenico Pozzovivo Colnago–CSF Bardiani
2013   Italy Vincenzo Nibali Astana
2014   Australia Cadel Evans BMC Racing Team
2015   Australia Richie Porte Team Sky
2016   Spain Mikel Landa Team Sky
2017   Great Britain Geraint Thomas Team Sky
2018   France Thibaut Pinot Groupama–FDJ
2019   Russia Pavel Sivakov Team Sky
2020 No race
2021   Great Britain Simon Yates Team BikeExchange
2022   France Romain Bardet Team DSM
2023   Great Britain Tao Geoghegan Hart Ineos Grenadiers
2024   Spain Juan Pedro López Lidl–Trek

Repeat winners

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Wins Rider Editions
3   Damiano Cunego (ITA) 2004, 2006, 2007
2   Francesco Moser (ITA) 1980, 1983
  Paolo Savoldelli (ITA) 1998, 1999
  Francesco Casagrande (ITA) 2001, 2002
  Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) 2008, 2013

Wins per nation

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Wins Country
29
  Italy
3
  France
  Great Britain
2
  Australia
  Spain
  Switzerland
1
  Austria
  Kazakhstan
  Mexico
  Norway
  Russia
  Venezuela

References

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  1. ^ "CyclingQuotes.com Trofeo Melinda and Giro del Trentino to merge". cyclingquotes.com.
  2. ^ "Il Giro del Trentino diventa Tour of the Alps". trentinocorrierealpi.gelocal.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 6 December 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  3. ^ Un balzo nel passato Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine (in Italian). Giro al Sas. Retrieved on 2010-11-03.
  4. ^ "31st Giro del Trentino – 2.1". autobus.cyclingnews.com. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  5. ^ "Storia del Giro del Trentino" (in Italian).
  6. ^ Atkins, Ben (April 14, 2012). "Danilo Di Luca motivated for the Giro del Trentino". velonation.com.
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