35 years of Giro d'Italia prologues - Gallery

The 2020 Giro d'Italia was meant to begin today, on Saturday May 9, before COVID-19 pushed it back to October, a date that still seems shaky given the current grip of the pandemic. 

With no racing through Italy over the next three weeks, here on Cyclingnews we're going to be providing a taste of racing from the corsa rosa on each of the 21 would-be stages. 

We'll be delving into the race's rich history to revisit some of the most memorable storylines, as they correspond to this year's route, either in terms of stage number, location, or any other factor we deem relevant. 

Given the 2020 Giro should have begun with an 8.6km individual time trial in Budapest, we're starting by looking at opening-day time trials of the past, including their shorter cousins, prologues. 

Delving right back into Sirotti's photographic archives, we start back at the 1985 Giro, where Francesco Moser was victorious over 6.7km in Verona, and where Bernard Hinault's third overall title began. 

In between then and Primoz Roglic's resounding uphill win in Bologna last year, there have been a number of memorable moments, not to mention significant changes in bikes and kit. 

Click or swipe through the gallery above for the full selection of images.

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Patrick Fletcher
Deputy Editor

Deputy Editor. Patrick is an NCTJ-trained journalist who has seven years’ experience covering professional cycling. He has a modern languages degree from Durham University and has been able to put it to some use in what is a multi-lingual sport, with a particular focus on French and Spanish-speaking riders. After joining Cyclingnews as a staff writer on the back of work experience, Patrick became Features Editor in 2018 and oversaw significant growth in the site’s long-form and in-depth output. Since 2022 he has been Deputy Editor, taking more responsibility for the site’s content as a whole, while still writing and - despite a pandemic-induced hiatus - travelling to races around the world. Away from cycling, Patrick spends most of his time playing or watching other forms of sport - football, tennis, trail running, darts, to name a few, but he draws the line at rugby.