Some people chuckle at the daily list of classification heroes posted by the Giro d'Italia. With no less than 11 competitions in play each day, they titter about "everyone wins a trophy" and whatnot. This is misguided. In Italy, the enthusiasm of the fans, sponsors and organizers is so great that it cannot be contained by the usual five competitions (four jerseys and stage honors). So the list gets a bit longer. Not familiar with this? Or more likely, heard about them but have no clue what it's about? The minor classifications were last decoded in English in 2007, so let's take a look and see where things are. Oh, and if you think this is a waste of time, remember, there are thousand and thousands of Euros at stake.
Maglia Rosa
If there is some confusion about this, I invite you to explore some of SBN's blogs on college football and ultimate fighting.
Today: synonymous with the stage results.
Overall lead: Vincenzo Nibali, Liquigas, 18.55.38
Maglia Rossa
What a difference an "s" makes. This is the points competition, as you probably know. From 1969 until last year it was the maglia ciclamena, a sort of purple, but this year the Giro has gone back to the original red.
Today: Matt Lloyd, Omega Pharma, 31 points (etc...)
Overall lead: Tyler Farrar, Garmin, 43 points
Maglia Verde
KOM. Again, you probably knew this. However! Did you know that the Cima Coppi is not just the highest point in the race but offers the biggest cache of KOM points?
Today: Matt Lloyd, Omega Pharma, 13 points (etc...)
Overall lead: Same -- today yesterday was the first day KOM points were awarded.
Maglia Bianca
Young rider. Not news. This competition came back in 2007 when they ditched the ridiculous Intergiro competition. Prior to 2007, the Intergiro was awarded a blue jersey and there was no Young Rider jersey. Now the Intergiro has been replaced by the Traguardo Volante.
Today: Like the GC, they don't do a separate daily scoring; just look at the stage results
Overall lead: Valerio Agnolli, Liquigas, 18.55.58
Traguardo Volante (TV)
Meaning "flying sprint," this competition was instituted in 2007 and named the TV Garibaldi, in honor of the Risorgimento general whose 200th birthday passed that year. Seems like the Garibaldi part has been dropped, though Camille Comte di Cavour would be 200 this August. Would it have killed them to rename it the TV Cavour? Anyway, on each day's stage map you can see a "TV" symbol, showing where that day's TV sprint is. Points are 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... but in case that's easy to understand, the Giro then uses the same sprint to award points for the maglia rossa, only those points are 8, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Today: Rubens Bertogliati, Androni, 5 points (etc...)
Overall lead: Jerome Pineau, Quick Step, 9 points
Azzurri d'Italia
One nice thing is that the Giro is over just before the start of the World Cup or Euro competitions, so everyone in Italy can still rejoice in something seemingly named after the national soccer team weeks before that brand of bitterness sets in. Quite simply, the Azzurri d'Italia gives points to the stage winners. These points are 4, 2, and 1, even though the Maglia Rossa uses the stage results to give points to 15 places, with the winner getting 25.
Today: Lloyd, 4 points (etc)
Overall lead: Lloyd, Pineau, Farrar, Brad Wiggins, Wouter Weylandt, 4 points
Premio Della Fuga
This competition is simply the renamed Trofeo Fuga (sponsor name), or the Breakaway Award. For any breakaway with a maximum of ten riders and a minimum of 5km on the loose, each rider in the break scores one point per km.
Today: Lloyd, 128 points; Bertogliati 116
Overall lead: Paul Voss, Milram, 288 points
Most Combative Rider
This is like the old Tour de France combined competition, possibly the coolest jersey ever. Points are given at stage finishes (6-5-4-3-2-1), TV sprints (5-4-3-2-1) and KOM places, which vary from top two (minor climbs) to top four (Cima Coppi).
Today: Lloyd, 18 points (etc...)
Overall lead: Lloyd, 18 points.
Fast Team
Cumulative time of each team. If someone knows how many rider times they use, let me know.
Today: Omega Pharma, 13.15.30
Overall lead: Liquigas, 55.34.03
Super Team
This competition awards points to the top 20 riders (20-19-18...3-2-1) and counts the cumulative points each team scores.
Today: Colnago, 31 points (etc...)
Overall lead: HTC-Columbia, 109 points
Fair Play
This is the competition you win by NOT scoring. Basically, the Giro has a system of demerits, from the minor warning (half a point) to a doping positive (2000). The team with the cleanest sheet at the end gets paid.
Today: No daily tabulation, just cumulative.
Overall lead: Bweeg, Sky and Astana all have points. Everyone else is in good graces.