1971 Giro d'Italia#Points classification

{{main|List of teams and cyclists in the 1971 Giro d'Italia}}

Tour de France organizer Félix Lévitan and the Mars-Flandria were in disagreements over the team's participation in the coming Tour de France and there was speculation that the team would instead race the Giro d'Italia.{{cite news|title=Mogelijk geen Tour voor Mars-Flandria|trans-title=Possibly no Tour for Mars-Flandria|url=https://krantenbankzeeland.nl/issue/stm/1971-05-15/edition/null/page/9|work=de Stem|page=9|date=15 May 1971|language=nl|via=Delpher}} The team chose to wait for Lévitan's decision regarding their entry, which came following the Giro's start, and therefore did not participate in the Giro.{{cite news|title=Mars Flandria start in Tour de France |trans-title=Mars Flandria starts in Tour de France|url=https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=ddd:011198303:mpeg21:p027|work=De Telegraaf|page=27|date=21 May 1971|language=nl|via=Delpher}} Ultimately, Lévitian requested the team to pay extra money, on top of the 25,000 franc entry fee, to participate in the Tour. A total of 10 teams were invited to participate in the 1971 Giro d'Italia.{{cite web|url=http://dlib.coninet.it/bookreader.php?&c=1&f=12910&p=1#page/3/mode/1up|title=I 100 partenti|newspaper=Corriere dello Sport|date=20 May 1971|page=3|access-date=7 July 2013|language=it|trans-title=100 Participants|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231203205/http://dlib.coninet.it/bookreader.php?&c=1&f=12910&p=1|archive-date=31 December 2014|url-status=live}} Each team sent a squad of ten riders, so the Giro began with a peloton of 100 cyclists.

Twenty-seven of the starters participated in the Giro d'Italia for the first time.{{cite web|title=Giro d'Italia – 1971 Debutants|url=https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/giro-d-italia/1971/startlist/debutants|website=ProCyclingStats|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250529211021/https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/giro-d-italia/1971/startlist/debutants|archive-date=29 May 2025|access-date=13 October 2016}} The majority of riders were Italian (72), while 28 riders were foreign.{{cite news |url=https://archivio.unita.news/assets/main/1971/05/20/page_010.pdf |title=Etusiasmo a Lecce|language=it |date=20 May 1971 |page=10 |newspaper=l'Unità |publisher=PCI |access-date=22 June 2018|author=Gino Sala|format=PDF |trans-title=Enthusiasm in Lecce |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428173959/https://archivio.unita.news/assets/main/1971/05/20/page_010.pdf |archive-date=28 April 2019 |url-status=live }} Of the non-Italians, Belgians had the most with twelve riders, 10 Spaniards which comprised the whole KAS team, 3 Swedes, 2 Swiss, and one French rider. Only two of the ten teams entering the race were not based in Italy: KAS (Spain) and Magniflex (Belgium).{{cite news|url=http://doc.rero.ch/record/105272/files/1971-05-19.pdf|title=Gianni Motta et Felice Gimondi sont grands favoris|trans-title=Gianni Motta and Felice Gimondi are great favorites|language=fr|newspaper=L'Impartial|date=19 May 1971|page=18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010063309/http://doc.rero.ch/record/105272/files/1971-05-19.pdf|archive-date=10 October 2019|via=RERO}} The average age of riders was 26.69 years,{{cite web|title=Giro d'Italia – 1971 Peloton averages|url=https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/giro-d-italia/1971/startlist/peloton-averages|website=ProCyclingStats|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250529210747/https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/giro-d-italia/1971/startlist/peloton-averages|archive-date=29 May 2025|access-date=13 October 2016}} ranging from 21–year–old Mario Lanzafame (Cosatto) to 37–year–old Aldo Moser (G.B.C.).{{cite web|title=Giro d'Italia – 1971 Youngest and Oldest competitors|url=https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/giro-d-italia/1971/startlist/youngest-oldest|website=ProCyclingStats|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250529211105/https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/giro-d-italia/1971/startlist/youngest-oldest|archive-date=29 May 2025|access-date=13 October 2016}} The team with the youngest average rider age was Cosatto (24), while the oldest was Salvarani (28).{{cite web|title=Giro d'Italia – 1971 Youngest Team|url=https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/giro-d-italia/1971/teams/youngest-team|website=ProCyclingStats|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250529211243/https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/giro-d-italia/1971/teams/youngest-team|archive-date=29 May 2025|access-date=13 October 2016}}

Giorgio Favaro was the last rider to arrive for the race because his Molteni teammate Martin Van Den Bossche was removed shortly before the race's start due to the discovery of an abscess that was operated on in a Vicenza hospital.{{cite news |url=https://archivio.unita.news/assets/main/1971/05/18/page_018.pdf |title=Van den Bossche <> al Giro|language=it |date=18 May 1971 |page=18 |newspaper=l'Unità |publisher=PCI |access-date=22 June 2018|format=PDF |trans-title=Van den Bossche <> to Giro|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428180004/https://archivio.unita.news/assets/main/1971/05/18/page_018.pdf |archive-date=28 April 2019 |url-status=live }} Out of the riders that started this edition of the Giro d'Italia, a total of 75 riders made it to the finish in Milan.{{cite web|url=http://bikeraceinfo.com/giro/giro1971.html |title=1971 Giro d'Italia |work=Bike Race Info|author= Bill and Carol McGann |publisher=Dog Ear Publishing|access-date=2012-07-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227195922/http://bikeraceinfo.com/giro/giro1971.html|archive-date=27 February 2014|url-status=live}}

The teams that took part in the race were:{{cite news|url=http://hemeroteca-paginas.mundodeportivo.com/EMD01/HEM/1971/05/20/MD19710520-014.pdf |title=Lista de inscritos|language=es |date=20 May 1971 |page=14 |publisher=El Mundo Deportivo |access-date=27 May 2012 |trans-title=Registered List|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419081016/http://hemeroteca-paginas.mundodeportivo.com/EMD01/HEM/1971/05/20/MD19710520-014.pdf |archive-date=19 April 2019 |url-status=live }}

On 15 January, it was announced that Eddy Merckx the winner of the previous year's race and the 1968 edition would not participate in the race for the first time in four years.{{cite news |url=https://archivio.unita.news/assets/main/1971/01/16/page_010.pdf |title=Merckx: no al Giro d'Italia|language=it |date=16 January 1971 |page=10 |newspaper=l'Unità |publisher=PCI |access-date=22 June 2018|format=PDF |trans-title= Merckx: No to the Tour of Italy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190428202147/https://archivio.unita.news/assets/main/1971/01/16/page_010.pdf |archive-date=28 April 2019 |url-status=live }} Instead, he would focus solely on preparing for the upcoming Tour de France, which he hoped to win for the third consecutive year. An El Mundo Deportivo writer felt Merckx's absence opened the race for other riders to win.{{cite news|url=http://hemeroteca-paginas.mundodeportivo.com/EMD01/HEM/1971/05/20/MD19710520-014.pdf |title=Un <> mas abierto, sin la sombra de Merckx|language=es |date=20 May 1971 |page=14 |author=Juan Plans Bosch|publisher=El Mundo Deportivo |access-date=27 May 2012 |trans-title=A << Giro >> more open, without the shadow of Merckx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419081016/http://hemeroteca-paginas.mundodeportivo.com/EMD01/HEM/1971/05/20/MD19710520-014.pdf |archive-date=19 April 2019 |url-status=live }} The starting peloton featured three previous winners: Franco Balmamion (1962 & 1963) riding for {{UCI team code|Scic|1971}}, Salvarani's Felice Gimondi (1965 & 1967), and Gianni Motta (1966), also of Salvarani. Gimondi had finished in the top five of the general classification in each Giro since 1965. Motta entered the Giro after having won the Tour de Romandie. Motta and Gimondi were named favorites. Salvarani announced they would be racing the Tour de France in July; however, Het Vrije Volk writer Peter Ouwerkerk questioned whether the team - which had thirteen riders total - had enough stamina for these large three-week races.{{cite news|title=Italië klaar voor Giro|trans-title=Italy Ready for Giro|url=https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=ddd:010957552:mpeg21:p021|work=Het Vrije Volk|page=7|date=19 May 1971|author=Peter Ouwerkerk|language=nl|via=Delpher}}

Ouwerkerk felt Salvarani's biggest challenger was to be the Molteni team, even without Merckx, and he specifically felt Herman Van Springel was capable of winning the race. He referenced Gimondi's previous season where he exceeded expectations as a primary reason for his support. Van Den Bossche was also thought to be a challenger for the Salvarani riders before his aforementioned withdrawal before the race. Molteni's riders Marino Basso and Romano Tumellero were thought to give the team enough support in the absence of Merckx. Italo Zilioli, Franco Bitossi, Gösta Pettersson, Patrick Sercu, and Michele Dancelli were other riders that were thought to be contenders for the overall victory.{{cite news|url=http://hemeroteca-paginas.mundodeportivo.com/EMD01/HEM/1971/05/20/MD19710520-015.pdf |title=Un <> mas abierto, sin la sombra de Merckx |language=es |date=20 May 1971 |page=15 |author=Juan Plans Bosch|publisher=El Mundo Deportivo |access-date=27 May 2012 |trans-title=A << Giro >> more open, without the shadow of Merckx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419081048/http://hemeroteca-paginas.mundodeportivo.com/EMD01/HEM/1971/05/20/MD19710520-015.pdf |archive-date=19 April 2019 |url-status=live }}

The race route was unveiled by race director Vincenzo Torriani on 24 February 1971.{{cite news |url=https://archivio.unita.news/assets/main/1971/02/25/page_010.pdf |title=Da Lecce a Milano Il Giro d'Italia 1971|language=it |date=25 February 1971 |page=10 |newspaper=l'Unità |publisher=PCI |access-date=22 June 2018|author=Gino Sala|format=PDF |trans-title=Da Lecce a Milano Il Giro d'Italia 1971|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190428200930/https://archivio.unita.news/assets/main/1971/02/25/page_010.pdf |archive-date=28 April 2019 |url-status=live }}{{cite web|url=http://dlib.coninet.it/bookreader.php?&c=1&f=12843&p=3#page/1/mode/1up|title=Partenza il 20 maggio conclusione il 10 giugno formula originale|newspaper=Corriere dello Sport|date=25 February 1971|author=Sergio Nera|page=1 & 10|access-date=7 July 2013|language=it|trans-title=Departure on May 20 conclusion June 10 original formula|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190429050319/http://dlib.coninet.it/bookreader.php?&c=1&f=12843&p=3#page/10/mode/1up|archive-date=29 April 2019|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://hemeroteca-paginas.mundodeportivo.com/EMD01/HEM/1971/02/25/MD19710225-030.pdf|title=El "Giro" 71 Esta Ya Modelado |language=es |date=25 February 1971 |page=30|publisher=El Mundo Deportivo |access-date=27 May 2012 |trans-title=The "Giro" 71 Is Already Modeled|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190429051044/http://hemeroteca-paginas.mundodeportivo.com/EMD01/HEM/1971/02/25/MD19710225-030.pdf |archive-date=29 April 2019 |url-status=live }} The start of the race was announced to be in Lecce after the officials of the city paid 20 million lira to the organization to earn the honor. The race contained 20 stages, one of which was a split stage, and one opening prologue. There were ten stages that included categorized climbs that had points to count towards the mountains classification, including the twelfth stage which was a climbing individual time trial to the Serniga di Salò. Six of the stages featured summit finishes. Together, the amount of climbing for the categorized climbs included in the race totaled to be {{convert|26.5|km|0|abbr=on}}. There were three total time trials, two individual and one team leg. The final stage of the race ended in Milan at the Vigorelli velodrome. The race was televised in an hourly program each day and also covered over the radio.

The race route traveled all the way down to the boot of the Italian countryside. The opening prologue from Lecce to Apulia time trial stage covering {{convert|62.2|km|0|abbr=on}}, was broken into ten equal {{convert|6.22|km|0|abbr=on}} segments, with one rider from each team of ten contesting one part.{{cite web |url=http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/giro-ditalia-2015/stage-1/preview/ |title=Giro d'Italia 2015: Stage 1 preview |author=Cycling News|date=29 April 2015 |work=Cycling News |publisher=Future Publishing Limited |access-date=13 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419152459/http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/giro-ditalia-2015/stage-1/preview/ |archive-date=19 April 2019 |url-status=live }} The team with the lowest total time was declared winner and all of the team's riders go to wear the race leader's maglia rosa the following day. The times did not count towards the general classification for the race. When writing about this stage's format 44 years later, rider Renato Laghi commented "Torriani was forever having strange ideas."

The race entered two countries aside from Italy, Yugoslavia and Austria.{{cite news |url=https://archivio.unita.news/assets/main/1971/05/20/page_010.pdf |title=Luciano Pezzi pronostica Zilioli ma dice: <>|language=it |date=20 May 1971 |page=10 |newspaper=l'Unità |publisher=PCI |access-date=22 June 2018|author=Gino Sala|format=PDF |trans-title=Luciano Pezzi predicts Zilioli but says: << Great thing if Vianelli or Boifava wins >>|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190428163232/https://archivio.unita.news/assets/main/1971/05/20/page_010.pdf |archive-date=28 April 2019 |url-status=live }} This was the first time the Giro entered Austria, as the race traveled through the country to finish on the Großglockner.{{cite web |url=http://www.giroditalia.it/eng/editions/1968-1977/ |title=1971 |date=2017 |work=Giro d'Italia |publisher=La Gazzetta dello Sport |access-date=13 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701114308/http://www.giroditalia.it/eng/editions/1968-1977/ |archive-date=1 July 2017 |url-status=live }} The race's entry into the Dolomites from June 7 to June 9 was expected to be the highlight. Former Italian cyclist Cino Cinelli stated that he had tried to climb the mountain several times and that the race's cars would have a hard time climbing the mountain.

There was some concern over the quality and condition of the some roads used early in the race, particularly during the second mass-start stage.{{cite news |url=https://archivio.unita.news/assets/main/1971/05/19/page_012.pdf |title=Domani da Lecce scatta il <>

|language=it |date=19 May 1971 |page=12 |newspaper=l'Unità |publisher=PCI |access-date=22 June 2018|author=Gino Sala|format=PDF |trans-title=Tomorrow from Lecce the <> is taken|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190428174849/https://archivio.unita.news/assets/main/1971/05/19/page_012.pdf |archive-date=28 April 2019 |url-status=live}} Five-time champion Alfredo Binda said "Only a climber can win it and it will remain uncertain until Ponte di Legno." El Mundo writer Bosch praised race organizer Torriani for experimenting with new routes and felt that this route was "the best."

The race started at 1:45 PM local time in front of the Piazza Sant'Oronzo, it was estimated that 200,000 people watched along the course.{{cite news |url=https://archivio.unita.news/assets/main/1971/05/21/page_010.pdf |title=Gimondi il piu veloce, quindi Crepaldi, Houbrechts, Zandegu e Motta - Basso ha lamentato disturbi gastrici L'avvocato Petrosino interroghera oggi Basso e Bitossi in relazione al litigio avuto alla Coppa Bernocchi: e prevista per entrambi una squalifica di 15 giorni

|language=it |date=21 May 1971 |page=10 |newspaper=l'Unità |publisher=PCI |access-date=22 June 2018|author=Gino Sala|format=PDF |trans-title=Gimondi the fastest, then Crepaldi, Houbrechts, Zandegu and Motta - Basso complained of gastric disorders. Petrosino, a lawyer, today asked Basso and Bitossi about the quarrel he had had at the Bernocchi Cup: a disqualification of 15 days is planned for both|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190429145800/https://archivio.unita.news/assets/main/1971/05/21/page_010.pdf|archive-date=29 April 2019 |url-status=live }} Salvarani won the team time trial event by three seconds over Molteni and one of their leaders, Gimondi, registered the fastest time over the {{convert|6.2|km|0|abbr=on}} at 8' 26 s. The favorites entering the day, Ferretti, finished in fourth, 52 s slower than Salvarani. The group remained together initially before Molteni's Luigi Castelletti attacked off the front of the peloton and gained a few minutes advantage before KAS, G.B.C., and Ferretti riders raised the tempo and caught Castelletti.{{cite news |url=https://archivio.unita.news/assets/main/1971/05/22/page_012.pdf |title=Una paurosa caduta coinvolge 50 corridor |language=it |date=22 May 1971 |page=12 |newspaper=l'Unità |publisher=PCI |access-date=22 June 2018|author=Gino Sala|format=PDF |trans-title=A scary fall involves 50 corridors|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190429151558/https://archivio.unita.news/assets/main/1971/05/22/page_012.pdf|archive-date=29 April 2019 |url-status=live }} As rain started to hit the course, Marinus Wagtmans (Molteni) won the second traguardi tricolori sprint of the leg, ahead of Attilio Rota (Dreher). The two then opened up a gap between the peloton reaching 55", but Rota refused to help with the pace and the two were with several kilometers remaining. After the day had under {{convert|30|km|0|abbr=on}} left there was a crash involving roughly 50 riders. The riders remounted and another attacked ensued by a group of riders; however, it was caught as the peloton geared up for a bunch sprint. The sprint to the line was closely contested by Franco Bitossi (Filotex) and Marino Basso (Molteni) and both celebrated as if to have won the stage, but a photo finish revealed Basso to be the victor and he assumed the lead of the general classification and points classification. The second stage of the race was the longest of the race at {{convert|260|km|0|abbr=on}}.{{cite news |url=https://archivio.unita.news/assets/main/1971/05/23/page_012.pdf |title=Paolini: tappa e primato Crolla Gimondi (a 8'40") |language=it |date=23 May 1971 |page=12 |newspaper=l'Unità |publisher=PCI |access-date=22 June 2018|author=Gino Sala|format=PDF |trans-title=Paolini: stage and primacy Crolla Gimondi (at 8'40 ")|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190429175957/https://archivio.unita.news/assets/main/1971/05/23/page_012.pdf|archive-date=29 April 2019 |url-status=live }}

During the seventeenth stage, that finished on the Großglockner, an Alpine pass.{{cite web|url=http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/the-original-swedish-sensation/|title=The original Swedish sensation|author=Tomas Nilsson|date=9 June 2009|work=Cycling News|publisher=Future Publishing Limited|access-date=13 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160728183308/http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/the-original-swedish-sensation/|archive-date=28 July 2016|url-status=live}} Race leader Claudio Michelotto held on to the back of a team car to finish the climb and was given a one-minute penalty. Following the stage, Pettersson took the race lead from Michelotto. Pettersson became the first rider born north of the Rhine to win the Giro d'Italia. In addition, he became the first Swedish rider to win a Grand Tour.

Doping controls were conducted following each stage finish. If a rider tested positive, the punishment was a ten-minute penalty and their stage results were voided. It was announced on 26 May that Gianni Motta had tested positive for ephedrine.{{cite news|title=Motta slikte Oma's kruiden|trans-title=Motta Took Grandma's Herbs|url=https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=ddd:010957604:mpeg21:p007|work=Het Vrije Volk|page=7|date=27 May 1971|language=nl|via=Delpher}} In response to the news, Motta stated that he had used his grandmother's herbs to help with his fatigue. Lucillo Lievore also tested positive.

Two different jerseys were worn during the 1971 Giro d'Italia. The leader of the general classification – calculated by adding the stage finish times of each rider – wore a pink jersey. This classification is the most important of the race, and its winner is considered as the winner of the Giro.{{cite web|author=Laura Weislo |url=http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=/features/2008/giro_classifications08 |title=Giro d'Italia classifications demystified |date=13 May 2008 |work=Cycling News |publisher=Future Publishing Limited |access-date=13 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508234448/http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=/features/2008/giro_classifications08 |archive-date=8 May 2013 |url-status=live }}

For the points classification, which awarded a cyclamen jersey to its leader,{{cite web|url=http://dlib.coninet.it/bookreader.php?&c=1&f=12929&p=1#page/2/mode/1up|title=Giro d'Italia In Cifre|work=Corriere dello Sport|date=11 June 1971|page=2|access-date=7 July 2013|language=it|trans-title=Tour of Italy In Figures|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223173805/http://dlib.coninet.it/bookreader.php?&c=1&f=12929&p=1|archive-date=23 December 2014|url-status=live}} cyclists were given points for finishing a stage in the top 15.{{cite web|url=http://dlib.coninet.it/bookreader.php?&c=1&f=12319&p=1#page/9/mode/1up|title=Regolamento|newspaper=Corriere dello Sport|date=19 May 1966|page=9|access-date=7 July 2013|language=it|trans-title=Regulation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223155321/http://dlib.coninet.it/bookreader.php?&c=1&f=12337&p=1#page/9/mode/1up|archive-date=23 December 2014|url-status=dead}} The mountains classification leader. The climbs were ranked in first and second categories, the former awarded 50, 30, and 20 points while the latter awarded 30, 20, and 10 points.{{cite web|url=http://dlib.coninet.it/bookreader.php?&c=1&f=12926&p=1#page/1/mode/1up|title=G. P. Montagna|newspaper=Corriere dello Sport|date=June 1971|page=2|access-date=7 July 2013|language=it|trans-title=G. P. Mountains|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150101210730/http://dlib.coninet.it/bookreader.php?&c=1&f=12926&p=1|archive-date=1 January 2015|url-status=live}} In this ranking, points were won by reaching the summit of a climb ahead of other cyclists. In addition there was the Cima Coppi, the Grossglockner, which was the highest mountain crossed in this edition of the race, which gave 200, 100, 80, 70, and 50 points to the first five riders summit the climb. The first rider over the Grossglockner was Pierfranco Vianelli. Although no jersey was awarded, there was also one classification for the teams, in which the stage finish times of the best three cyclists per team were added; the leading team was the one with the lowest total time.

{{columns-start}}

{{column}}

{{columns-end}}

{{columns-start}}

{{column}}

{{columns-end}}

{{reflist|group=N}}

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.oppetarkiv.se/etikett/titel/Italien_runt_1971/ The event at SVT's open archive] {{in lang|sv}}

{{1971 Super Prestige Pernod}}

{{Giro d'Italia}}

{{Cycling stage recaps|1971 Giro d'Italia|P|10|10|20b}}

{{Giro d'Italia general classification winners}}

G

Giro d'Italia

Category:Giro d'Italia by year

Giro d'Italia

Giro d'Italia

Category:1971 Super Prestige Pernod