Gavia 2013. Bormio 88 in our mind.

The Gavia climb will be passed in the next Giro. history will come back.

This is the stage of the Giro 2013

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The importance of the Gavia in this stage is supposed to be only for breakaways and to acumulate tough kilometers, but who knows the weather, if the conditions are bad it can be a hell for cyclists.

And when we think in Gavia, hell, snow etc, a punctual moment comes to our minds........Bormio 88

5th June, 1988. 14th stage from Chiesa Valmalenco and Bormio, 120 kilometers:

The route of the stage in tracks4bikers

It was a giro with a very good participation. It had the italians, such as Saronni, Giupponi, Bugno, Chioccioli, and it had important foreigners like Delgado, Bernard, Zimmermann, Hampsten, Van der Velde, etc.

The Giro was going well for Italians, especially the leader Franco Chioccioli who was leading the race before the 5th of June.

Photo SIROTTI

Overall classification before the 14th stage to Bormio:

1º. Chioccioli........64h31'45"
2º.Zimmermann.........33"
3º.Visentini...............55"
4º. Giupponi............1'10"
5º.Hampsten...........1'18"
6º.Bernard..............1'26"
7º.Breukink............1'45"
8º.Breu..................2'48"
9º.Giovanetti..........3'07"
10º.Saronni............3'25"
11º.Winnen............4'19"
12º. Madiot...........4'27"
13º.Vona...............4'32"
14º.Delgado..........4'43"

The giro was close to Chioccioli, but was still exciting for the overall, beacuse we were facing the mountains,the weather was going to be terrible, and Vincenzo Torriani was going to allow the race to develope by itself.

120 kilometers and two main climbs, passo de Aprica (2ª), and Passo Gavia ( 1ª)

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Passo di Aprica, 12 km at 6,4%

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Passo di Gavia, climbed by its steepest face

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When riders woke up the weather was miserable, they didn´t knew how in such a short stage they were going to feel so bad.
The leader Chioccioli was hoping to keep or even to increase his lead, but there were a lot of contenders in the first positions. Riders like Delgado, Bernard, Hampsten or Zimmermann were supposed to attack.

Torriani thinks about an alternative route, but the route would stay as programmed.

The initial kilometers are quiet for the bunch, nobody moves, cold is now nothing in comparison to the one cyclists will suffer later.

The peloton face the climb to Aprica, and the first important move happens, Joho and Pagnin leave and get the summit with nearly a minute to the whole peloton.

The rythm is low and the couple increase the gap to 2 minutes at the bottom of the monster of the journey.......the Gavia climb...........

Del Tongo lead the peloton , defending his leaders Giupponi and Chioccioli, the pink jersey. Pagnin and Joho
are suffering in steep slopes that are covered by snow and mud, and with 10 kilometers to the summit they are caught.

Then Johan Van der Velde attacked and he quickly opened a gap . Hampsten accelerates, and the peloton explodes.........

The leader suffers, Chioccioli can´t resist the rythm of Hampsten and Breukink, two great contenders like Delgado and Bernard are suffering behind.

Nothing seems to matter Van der Velde who is leading the stage.......with short sleeves, and without legins...

Photo Sirotti

This is the hell, it is ununderstandable how the stage has not been cancelled.Torriani is crazy..............but one thing is sure all cylists are heroes today.

Hampsten and Breukink are more than 30" ahead of the Dutchman,not in pairs, alone, but the Giro is the only worry for them, Chioccioli is dropped and is losing nearly a minute with them............

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Delgado and Bernard are suffering more than three minutes behind............

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Photo gavia.nl

This is a torture, Van der Velde is one kilometer of the summit, if he gets to the summit in first position he can have the stage, even though the descent can be dangerous. 50" for Van der velde to Hampsteand Breukink that are separated by 10 meters..Chioccioli is with Giovanetti almost 2 minutes behind and he is in short sleevs, the same as van der velde...........last year tour contenders, Delgado and especially Bernard are losing the Giro, and remember that there are 25 kilometers still left and people cheer up the riders, but it is complicated because riders are suffering a lot.

We don´t have many images, but Van der Velde continues his "solo", he will be able to tell his grandchildren that he was the first in the summit of the Gavia...........

Photo oli-roadworks.blogspot

Van der Velde finally got to the summit of the climb, the descent started for him..................the advantage was 1 minute to Hampsten and Breukink, Giovanetti and Chioccioli more than 2'20" ahead with Zimmermann some meters in front of them, Delgado suffers but is still in contention 3 minutes behind.........Bernard is more than five minutes away, the French hope is out of the Giro options.

One of the keys of the stage was that 7 eleven team car was at the summit with clothes and hot drinks for their riders......Hampsten would thank it ( so will the rest of the team).

The descent was very dangerous.........

Van der Velde stopped a moment to get worn, and Hampsten and Breukink passed him, the descent was even more difficult than the climb, Delgado stopped too for clothes.....

The descent is a continuous line of riders who stop. With 10 kilometers to the finish line Hampsten is first with nearly 20" to Breukink and a big gap with the rest. Chioccioli is having a very bad descent due to the lack of clothes he was wearing.

And we don´t kow where is Van der Velde, but two favourites like Saronni and Visentini, two former winners of the Giro are losing more than 20 minutes. This stage will go through History, it will be remembered as a legendary day.

With five kilometers to the end Breukink is with Hampsten, the American who will be the following pink jersey is now suffering a lot.

All were questions , the situation was very confusing, no images, few references, and then, Breukink appeared in the last bend, he was going to win the stage 3h53' 8", 9", 10",11".......Breukink wins

Photo laudioartezicloturismoa.blogspot

 Hampsten is second at 7".......................new leader................the differences behind them really big differences..........

Hampsten and Breukink needed assistance.

Tomassini   a 4'39", Giupponi  a 4'55",  Giovanetti a 4'58",  Zimmermann a 5'02" ......................
.......... the leader Chioccioli at 5'05" ( disappointed and exhausted )

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Nearly all the riders had to stop during the descent, some of them descended by feet, the danger of the mud and snow was obvious.

Favourites lose a lot of time, Delgado loses a little more than 7 minutes, Bernard 9'21", and Saronni and Visentini more than 30 minutes.

Van der Velde lost 47 minutes, he entered his car and kept warm for several minutes..........it was a nonsense, a surreal stage.

The runner-up of the las Tour is nor one of the worse.....

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And after assistance, the new leader is happy, but still self conscious

The overall was like:

1º.Hampsten.......68h26'27"
2º. Breukink..............15"
3º.Chioccioli.............3'54"
4º.Zimmermann.........4'25"
5º.Giuponni...............4'55"
6º.Giovanetti.............6'55"
........
9º.Bernard................9'37"
.......
11º.Delgado.............10'41"

It was a very exciting race, Chioccioli was dissapointed with his team because they paid more attention to Giuponni than to him ( who was in pink), so the race was a duel between Hampsten and Breukink.

There were some important stages left. Hampsten and Breukink were "tied" and all was going to be sorted in time trials, but the last stage was a 43 kilometers flat trial, perfect for Breukink, so Hampsten had to force in the 18 km uphill trial to valico del vetriolo where he won by a margin close to 1'30" ( counting bonus time).

The giro was over

Photo Sirotti

Hampsten won the giro after saving the last individual time trial, losing only 24" to a tired Breukink.

The first American victory in the giro, and only 2 years after the first American win in the Tour. A victory in a grand Tour that will remain in our minds, Bormio and Gavia will never be forgotten.

The overall classification was finally...........
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_Giro_d'Italia#General_classification

1 Andrew Hampsten (USA) 7-Eleven-Hoonved97h 18' 56"
2 Erik Breukink (NED)Panasonic-Isostar-Colnago-Agu+ 1' 43"
3 Urs Zimmermann (SUI)Carrera Jeans-Vagabond+ 2' 45"
4 Flavio Giupponi (ITA)Del Tongo+ 6' 56"
5 Franco Chioccioli (ITA)Del Tongo+ 13' 20"
6 Marco Giovannetti (ITA)GIS – Ecoflam – Jolly+ 15' 20"
7 Pedro Delgado (ESP)Reynolds+ 17' 02"
8 Peter Winnen (NED)Panasonic-Isostar-Colnago-Agu+ 18' 14"
9 Stefano Tomasini (ITA) Fanini – Seven Up+ 27' 01"
10 Maurizio Vandelli (ITA)Atala – Ofmega+ 27' 02"

That July Hampsten was one of the favourites to win the Tour, but he suffered a lot, the Giro had been very exigent for him and for his team. The winner was the Spaniard Delgado after a polemic affair and accusations of doping............but above all showing a big superiority in climbs and time trials.

That 1988 Giro would be Hampsten only big Tour, but if we have to count it, we will say that this is not a normal one, it counts more, doesn´t it?