 | |
| Sport | Road Cycling |
|---|---|
| Competition | Giro d'Italia |
| Awarded for | Winning the combination classification |
| English name | Blue jersey |
| Local name | Maglia Azzurra (in Italian) |
| History | |
| First award | 1972 |
| Editions | 12 |
| Final award | 2006 |
| First winner |  Eddy Merckx (BEL) |
| Most wins | Eddy Merckx (BEL) (2 wins) |
| Most recent |  Paolo Savoldelli (ITA) |
The Combination classification was a competition in the annual Giro d'Italia bicycle race. It was first introduced in the 1985 Giro d'Italia, where it was first won by the Swiss rider Urs Freuler.[1] The classification was run annually until the 1988 Giro d'Italia, where the American Andrew Hampsten won the classification.[2] The combination classification was replaced in the 1989 Giro d'Italia by the intergiro classification. The classification reappeared after an 11-year hiatus in 2001. It was the absent from the succeeding Giro d'Italia editions until it returned in 2006, where Paolo Savoldelli won the classification.[3] The classification did not return in 2007, as it was replaced by the return of the Young rider classification.
For the 1988 and the 2006 editions of the Giro, the leader of the classification was awarded a blue jersey.[3][4][5]
- ^ "Hinault: Tres Vidas En Rosa" [Hinault: Three Lives In Pink] (PDF) (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 10 June 1985. p. 34. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
- ^ "Delgado termino septimo en la General" [Delgado finished seventh in the General] (PDF) (in Spanish). El Mundo Deportivo. 13 June 1988. p. 47. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
- ^ a b Anthony Tan (28 May 2006). ""Seven key moments"; Mission 1 of 2 complete". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 2012-08-11.
- ^ "il gavia, 5 giugno 1988" [The Gavia, June 5, 1988] (in Italian). ALBUMCICLISMO. 13 December 2009. p. 1. Archived from the original on March 21, 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
- ^ "Giro 1988: Andy's Epic Day". PezCycling News. 1 December 2007. Retrieved 27 May 2012.