xx 51st Giro d'Italia 1968 (Italy)

MERCKX!!!

A young Belgian named Eddy Merckx raced in his first Giro d'Italia in 1967. Merckx scored 2 stage wins, finished 9th overall and 2nd in the Points Competition in 1967. In 1968 he moved to the next level.

SPECIAL NOTE: Giro organizers instituted the Prologue Time Trial (a short “opening stage” time trial) in 1968.

Merckx was impressive throughout, but his most dominating performance was on the stage 12 finishing climb of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo. "That stage win was my most memorable," he reflected. "It is hard to make parallels back to my day but this was truly a difficult day," said Merckx. The 40 seconds time gain and stage win earned Merckx an insurmountable race lead.

Eddy Merckx rolled across the finish line in Napoli and gained his first Grand Tour. The young Belgian completed his dominating performance by also winning the Points Jersey and the Mountain Prize.

SPECIAL NOTE: A year after Tom Simpson’s death on Mont Ventoux, Giro officials started drug testing (doping control). 1966 Giro winner Gianni Motta was one of the 8 riders disqualified after testing positive (or refusing the test). Motta was disqualified for doping.

SPECIAL NOTE: The race was broadcast by RAI (major Italian TV station) throughout Italy.

Teams:

At the route's announcement on March 21, 1968 the organizers announced 12 teams of ten riders each had been invited. However, one additional team (Peugeot-BP-Michelin) accepted a late invitation. Out of the 130 riders on the start list, a total of 98 riders made it to the finish in Naples. As a consequence of “doping control” eight riders were subsequently disqualified for testing positive for drugs. That left a final GC of 90 riders.

The thirteen teams that took part in the race were:

Pre-Race Notes:

The starting peloton included the defending champion Felice Gimondi and young Belgian superstar Eddy Merckx. Merckx confirmed to participate with his new Faema team. Eight-time Grand Tour winner Jacques Anquetil did not participate in the race because of a dispute over start fees.

Doping Control:

At a presentation at Milan’s Campione d'Italia, Torriani announced measures to administer drug tests to catch riders doping. This was the first Giro d'Italia to have doping controls.

The Giro’s “who gets tested?” list were chosen from a set of twenty-two envelopes (one for each stage). Each envelope having a slip of paper inside that read either "Yes" or "No". Following the finish of each stage one envelope was opened, if it read "No," then all riders could leave the area. If it read "Yes," then riders with high placings on the stage and the leaders of the General Classification were tested.

The results from these tests would be available a maximum of fifteen days after the conclusion of the race. On June 15 the Italian Cycling Federation announced that nine riders had tested positive (or 8 with 1 rider refused a test) during the race. The 9 riders were:

*1 Gianni Motta, who was fifth in GC and fourth in Points Classification, was subsequently disqualified for doping.

*2 Balmamion was cleared of the doping charges as the substance found in his urine had not been officially banned.

*3 Gimondi's doping ban was overturned on July 13. He convinced the Federation that his positive test was for the stimulant Fencamfamin. Since the substance was not on the prohibited list at the time, he kept his third place overall at the race.

Race Summary:

Stage Prologue: This was also the first Giro to have a Prologue Time Trial.

Stage 12: The race's twelfth stage saw heavy rain from the start of the stage in Gorizia, which turned to snow as the race began to elevate into the Dolomite Mountains.

Eddy Merckx, the World Road Race Champion, took the lead in stage 12 with an incredible ride ascending Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Police lined the sides of the roads on the climb to prevent fans from illegally pushing the riders. Merckx trailed the lead breakaway by almost 10 minutes before the climb. He was incredible, closing the gap on the Tre Cime di Lavaredo and dropping the group before the summit. He rode to a 40 second stage win and 6’38” ahead of the race leader. The Maglia Rosa was his.

Stage 12 (Cima Coppi): Tre Cime di Lavaredo was included in the 12th stage. A breakaway started with a ten minute advantage at the start of the climb. Experiencing a bitter rain and snow, Merckx closed the ten-minute gap to the breakaway group to win the stage and the Cima Coppi.

Stage 22: No one was in the young Belgian’s class. He won his first Grand Tour. Merckx's dominance was so superior he also won the Mountain Classification AND the Maglia Rosso (Red Points Jersey).

Prologue Campione d'Italia, 5.7 km ITT	Charly Grosskost (Fra)	Charly Grosskost (Fra)
Stage 1 Campione-Novara, 128 km	Eddy Merckx (Bel)	Eddy Merckx (Bel)
Stage 2 Novara-St Vincent, 189 km	Gianni Motta (Ita)	Eddy Merckx (Bel)
Stage 3 St Vincent-Alba, 168 km	Guido Reybrouck (Bel)	Michele Dancelli (Ita)
Stage 4 Alba-San Remo, 162 km	Edward Sels (Bel)	Michele Dancelli (Ita)
Stage 5 Circuito San Remo , 149 km	Italo Zilioli (Ita)	Michele Dancelli (Ita)
Stage 6 San Remo-Alessandria, 223 km	Jose Momene (Spa)	Michele Dancelli (Ita)
Stage 7 Alessandria-Piacenza, 174 km	Guerrino Tosello (Ita)	Michele Dancelli (Ita)
Stage 8 San Giorgio-Brescia, 225 km	Eddy Merckx (Bel)	Michele Dancelli (Ita)
Stage 9 Brescia-Lido di Caldonazzo, 210 km	Julio Jimenez (Spa)	Michele Dancelli (Ita)
Stage 10 Trento-Monte Grappa, 136 km	Emilio Casalini (Ita)	Michele Dancelli (Ita)
Stage 11 Bassano del Grap.-Trieste, 197 km	Guido Reybrouck (Bel)	Michele Dancelli (Ita)
Stage 12 Goriza-Tre C. Lavaredo, 213 km	Eddy Merckx (Bel)	Eddy Merckx (Bel)
Stage 13 C d'Ampezzo-Vitt. Veneto , 163 km	Lino Farisato (Ita)	Eddy Merckx (Bel)
Stage 14 Vitt Veneto-Marina Romea, 199 km	Luigi Sgarbozza (Ita)	Eddy Merckx (Bel)
Stage 15 Ravenna-Imola, 141 km	Marino Basso (Ita)	Eddy Merckx (Bel)
Stage 16 Cesenatico-San Marino, 43.9 km ITT	Felice Gimondi (Ita)	Eddy Merckx (Bel)
Stage 17 San Marino-Foligno, 196 km	Franco Bitossi (Ita)	Eddy Merckx (Bel)
Stage 18 Foligno-Abbadia S Salvatore, 166 km	Julio Jimenez (Spa)	Eddy Merckx (Bel)
Stage 19 Abbadia S Salvatore-Rome, 181 km	Lucciano Dalla-Bona (Ita)	Eddy Merckx (Bel)
Stage 20 Rome-Rocca di Cambio, 215 km	Pedro Santamarina (Ita)	Eddy Merckx (Bel)
Stage 21 Rocca Cambio-Blockhaus, 198 km	Franco Bodrero (Ita)	Eddy Merckx (Bel)
Stage 22 Chieti-Napoli, 235 km	Guido Reybrouck (Bel)	Eddy Merckx (Bel)
	Mountain Classification	Eddy Merckx (Bel)
	Points Classification	Eddy Merckx (Bel)

General Classification:

GdI 1967

GdI 1969

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