 Map of the 1988 Giro d'Italia route, from Urbino to Vittorio Veneto (stage courses in red, and connections between host towns in green) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Race details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Dates | 23 May – 12 June 1988 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stages | 21, including two split stages | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distance | 3,579 km (2,224 mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Winning time | 97h 18' 56" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1988 Giro d'Italia was the 71st running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. The race started in Urbino, on 23 May, with a 9 km (5.6 mi) individual time trial and concluded in Vittorio Veneto, on 12 June, with a 43 km (26.7 mi) individual time trial. A total of 180 riders from 20 teams entered the 21-stage race, which was won by American Andrew Hampsten of the 7-Eleven–Hoonved team. The second and third places were taken by Dutchman Erik Breukink and Swiss Urs Zimmermann, respectively. It was the third time – and second successive year – in the history of the Giro that the podium was occupied solely by non-Italian riders.
In the first half of the race, the overall classification had been headed for several days by Massimo Podenzana. He had participated in a breakaway during stage 4a, which won him sufficient time to hold the race leader's maglia rosa (English: pink jersey) for more than a week. Franco Chioccioli then wore the pink jersey for two stages before Hampsten took the general classification lead after the fourteenth stage. The fourteenth stage of the 1988 Giro, conducted in adverse weather including a snowstorm, has been recognized as an iconic event in the history of the Giro. After this stage, Hampsten began to build up a solid two-minute barrier against the second-placed rider, Breukink. This gap was sufficient to win Hampsten the race, despite losing around twenty seconds in the final two stages.
Hampsten became the first American, and non-European, to win the Giro. He also won the secondary mountains and combination classifications, as well as the special sprints classification. In the other classifications, Fanini–Seven Up rider Stefano Tomasini of Italy placed ninth overall to finish as the best neo-professional in the general classification, Johan van der Velde of the Gisgelati–Ecoflam team was the winner of the points classification, and Carrera Jeans–Vagabond finished as the winners of the team classification.