A pictorial look back at the first Grand Tour of 2016, a dramatic edition of the Giro d’Italia.
All photos supplied by RCS, courtesy of ANSA, Claudio Peri, Alessandro Di Meo, Luca Zennaro and Matteo Bazzi.
Big crowds welcomed the Giro d’Italia for the race presentation in AppeldoornMadrina of the Giro Giorgia Palmas poses with the Trofeo Senza Fine at the race presentationThe start of three weeks of racing – a rider heads off on the opening time trial in AppeldoornHome favourite Tom Dumoulin won the time trial, taking the first pink jersey of the raceA fan takes in the action on the second day of the race, from Arnhem to NijmegenEtixx-QuickStep’s Marcel Kittel was dominant in the sprint, easily winning in NijmegenThere was more home success on stage three as LottoNL-Jumbo’s Maarten Tjallingii took the blue mountain jersey after starring in the day’s breakawayWhile Marcel Kittel won once again in Arnhem, the third and final stage held in the NetherlandsUpon the race’s return to Italy in the coastal town of Praia a Mare, Lampre-Merida’s Diego Ulissi won his fifth stage of the GiroSchoolchildren cheer on the peloton on stage fiveWith Kittel gone, it was André Greipel’s turn to dominate, winning in Benevento on stage fivePink jersey Dumoulin rides among the pelotonThe peloton descending on the road to Foligno, stage sevenStage eight’s strade bianche climb of Alpe di Poti. Here, Tom Dumoulin would lose the pink jersey to stage winner Gianluca BrambillaBrambilla soloed to victory in Arezzo, attacking from the breakawayPrimož Roglič of LottoNL-Jumbo surprised everyone to win the wet Chianti time trialItalian singer Francesco Guccini greets the peloton on stage ten to SestolaBardiani-CSF’s neo-pro Giulio Ciccone celebrates with Mario Cipollini after winning stage ten with a late attackBob Jungels became the first Luxembourgish rider to wear pink since Charly Gaul in 1959Trek-Segafredo riders pass a villa on the road to Bibione, stage twelveNippo-Vini Fantini’s Damiano Cunego experienced a mini-renaissance during the Giro, leading the mountains classification for much of the raceThe peloton rides through an well-decorated town on stage thirteen to Cividale del FriuliMikel Nieve won the day while Movistar’s Andrey Amador became the first Costa Rican to ever wear pinkAlejandro Valverde and Vincenzo Nibali ride the mammoth Dolomite stage fourteen. Both would lose major time on the road to CorvaraThe peloton riding the high, scenic DolomitesOrica-GreenEdge’s Esteban Chaves won the day, after he and Steven Kruijswijk dropped Nibali on the Passo ValparolaMeanwhile Kruijswijk took the pink jersey, and a 41 second lead over NibaliNibali was in more trouble on stage fifteen, changing his bike and losing minutes in the Alpe di Siusi mountain time trialGazprom-Rusvelo’s Alexander Foliforov was the surprise victor, edging out Kruijswijk by fractions of a secondMovistar’s Alejandro Valverde won the next stage to Andalo, moving up to third overall at his first-ever Giro as Nibali flounderedRoger Kluge can’t believe his victory on stage seventeen, coming as it did two days after IAM announced the team would fold after 2016. The German held off the peloton with a late attackThe peloton struggle up the steep cobbled Via Principi d’Acaja in Pinerolo on stage eighteenMeanwhile, Etixx-QuickStep continued their great race as Matteo Trentin came from behind to surprise Cannondale’s Moreno MoserStage nineteen saw the race’s big turning point as Kruijwsijk crashed trying to follow Nibali down the Colle d’Agnello
Kruijswijk would end up losing five minutes to stage winner Nibali. He dedicated his victory to a rider from his youth team who was killed a week earlierChaves took pink but lost 53 seconds to Nibali on the day’s final climb. Kruijswijk ended the day 1:05 down
The peloton on the penultimate stage of the Giro, from Guillestre to Sant’Anna di VinadioNibali and his Astana teammates played the stage to perfection. Here, they prepare to mount an assault on Chaves’ 52 second advantageNibali made his move on the Colle della Lombarda, dropping Chaves and eventually taking the race lead in the most dramatic wayThe final podium in Turin. 1st – Nibali, 2nd – Chaves, 3rd – ValverdeSky’s Mikel Nieve won the mountains jersey thanks to his Dolomite breakawaysConsistent finishes from Trek’s Giacomo Nizzolo saw him win the points jersey, though a stage win would still elude him after he was demoted on the final stage due to irregular sprintingJungels was a revelation, taking the young rider’s jersey and finishing sixth overallNibali is hoisted aloft by his team as he clings onto the Trofeo Senza Fine, his for a second time
Emma Johansson (Orica-AIS)Emilia Fahlin (Wiggle-Honda)
Molly Weaver (Liv-Plantur)
Danielle King & Annette Edmondson (Wiggle-Honda)
Maria Confalonieri (Alé-Cipollini)German champion Trixi Worrack and Lisa Brennauer (Velocio-Sram) watch the podium ceremonyMaria Confalonieri (Alé-Cipollini)Anna Christian (Wiggle-Honda)
Laura Trott (Matrix Fitness)Adele Martin (Velocio-Sram)
The winner, Barbara Guarischi (Velocio-Sram)And her bikeAnnalisa Cucinotta & Shelley Olds (Alé-Cipollini) filled out the podiumEileen Roe (Wiggle-Honda
Sacha Modolo celebrates victory on stage 13 (ANSA/Luca Zennaro)A late crash held up Alberto Contador, moving Fabio Aru into pink (Cor Vos)
Richie Porte rode the time trial with an injured knee and struggled (Cor Vos)Aru lost the lead, ‘enjoying’ only one day in pink (Cor Vos)Contador took second (and the lead) on a wet day in Veneto (ANSA/Daniel Dal Zennaro)Vasil Kiryienka tastes the local vini after his win (Cor Vos)
An interesting perspective as Martijn Keizer rolls to the start (ANSA/Luca Zennaro)Aru, Landa, Yuri Trofimov and Contador – the main men on stage 15 (ANSA/Claudio Peri)Part of the gruppetto rolls in to the finish at Madonna di Campiglio (Cor Vos)Porte withdrew from the race after losing 27 minutes to the leaders (Cor Vos)
Fabio Aru tried a bold move on Mortirolo, one which ultimately failed (Cor Vos)Steven Kruijwijk, Contador and Landa pass the Pantani monument on Mortirolo (Auletta/Pentaphoto)Landa became the first man to win back-to-back summit finishes since Emanuele Sella in 2008 (Cor Vos)
A scenic view during stage 17 (Cor Vos)The peloton enter Switzerland on the road to Lugano (ANSA/Claudio Peri)The race to the line (Cor Vos)Sacha Modolo celebrates his second stage win of the Giro (Cor Vos)
The peloton ride through the countryside (ANSA/Claudio Peri)The crash aftermath (Cor Vos)André Greipel powered to victory on stage six (Cor Vos)
An unusual view of the peloton on stage seven (ANSA/Claudio Peri)Diego Ulissi celebrates with him teammates after his win (ANSA/Luca Zennaro)
Contador’s concentration (ANSA/Claudio Peri)The peloton wind through the hills (Cor Vos)Beñat Intxausti won stage eight’s summit finish (Cor Vos)
Speeding under an overpass (Cor Vos)The pink jersey sizes up one of his major rivals (Claudio Peri)A fan watches on (Cor Vos)Paolo Tiralongo enjoying his third Giro stage win (Cor Vos)
A fan’s eye view of the peloton on stage ten (Claudio Peri)Nicola Boem is congratuled as Bardiani-CSF win their fourth stage in two years (Cor Vos)
Rain and empty stands made for a somewhat depressing finale to stage eleven (Cor Vos)The peloton speeds around a wet Imola Circuit (ANSA/Luca Zennaro)Ilnur Zakarin bears the mark of victory (Cor Vos)
The rain kept on coming on stage twelve (Cor Vos)Fabio Aru’s face says it all after stage twelve (ANSA/Luca Zennaro)While Philippe Gilbert’s smile tells a different story (Claudio Peri)
The grand prize (just the trophy, mind) (ANSA/Daniel Dal Zennaro)A team time trial opened the race. Here’s AG2R La Mondiale on the road to Sanremo (ANSA/Claudio Peri)BMC ride through one of the tunnels on the bike path (Cor Vos)Giant-Alpecin fly past the coastal foliage (Cor Vos)Masters of the discipline, Orica-GreenEdge took the win by seven seconds from Tinkoff-Saxo (Cor Vos)
The first Maglia Rosa of the race, Simon Gerrans, pictured before the first of four days in Liguria (Cor Vos)The tifosi cheer on their heroes (ANSA/Claudio Peri)The peloton en route to Genoa (Cor Vos)Splits in the peloton as the leadout trains take charge for the sprint finish (Cor Vos)Sky’s Elia Viviani timed his sprint to perfection to take his first ever Giro stage win (Cor Vos)
191 riders interrupt a peaceful countryside scene on stage three (Cor Vos)Tinkoff-Saxo and Astana massed on the front for the majority of the stage (ANSA/Claudio Peri)Adam Hansen was in the break on his birthday. It’s his eleventh Grand Tour in a row (Cor Vos)Sestri Levante saw Michael Matthews win in pink once again (Cor Vos)Rosé for the Maglia Rosa (Cor Vos)
Stage four to La Spezia saw Fabio Aru, Alberto Contador and Richie Porte go on the attack (Cor Vos)The race was shattered on the rolling hills of southern Liguria (Cor Vos)Baby-faced Davide Formolo gives the thumbs up after his solo win (ANSA/Dal Zennaro – Peri)Four days in, and a third Orica-GreenEdge rider takes the overall lead. Simon Clarke celebrates (Cor Vos)
Ivan Basso has tipped his ex-teammate Davide Formolo as a future Giro winner (Cor Vos)Sir Paul Smith, designer of the Giro’s jerseys in 2013, snaps a shot of the race (ANSA/Dal Zennaro – Peri)Stage four brought the first summit finish of the race. Contador, Aru and Porte were on the offensive again (Cor Vos)Lampre-Merida’s second year pro Jan Polanc beat his breakmates to the win on Abetone (Cor Vos)Another day, another General Classification leader. Can Alberto Contador keep his pink jersey til Milan? (Cor Vos)
Daniel Ostanek 
