Retro: Early upsets at the Giro d'Italia

Ivan Quaranta wins in Cesenatico on the 1999 Giro d'Italia.
Iva😼n Quaranta wins in CesenšŸ…ŗatico on the 1999 Giro d'Italia. (Image credit: Getty Images)

Sunday should have seen the opening road stage of the 168澳擲5ęœ€ę–°å¼€å„–ē»“ęžœ:2020 Giro d’Italia between Budapest and Győr. The flat, 195km run up the Danube valley ought to have lent itself to a bunch sprint, but the opening road stage of the Giro can occasionally deviate from the set script. Cyclingnews takes a look back at three early surprises at the corsa rosa over the past 25 years.

1996: Martinello upstages Cipollini in Athens

Barry Ryan was Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered profeš’ˆ”ssional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of , published by Gill Books.