In winning the Giro d’Italia today, Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) has achieved something that only one other cyclist has ever achieved, and that is taking more than one victory in each of the Grand Tours. Contador has now taken his second victory in the Giro, and he already has won the Tour de France twice and the Vuelta a Espana three times.
The only other cyclist who has taken multiple victories in each of the Grand Tours is Bernard Hinault. The Frenchman won the Giro d’Italia three times, the Tour five times and the Vuelta twice. The rider with the most wins overall is Eddy Merckx who won eleven Grand Tours in total, but he “only” won the Vuelta once.
Six riders in total have now won each of the three races. The other three riders are Jacques Anquetil, Felice Gimondi and Vincenzo Nibali. Contador now moves into fourth place on the list of the riders with the most Grand Tour wins alongside Fausto Coppi and compatriot Miguel Indurain. He now has seven victories in total, just one behind Anquetil.
Contador was also stripped of his wins in the 2010 Tour de France and the 2011 Giro d’Italia having been found guilty of a doping offence. He had tested positive for clenbuterol in a control taken during the 2010 Tour. However, the Spaniard still considers these as wins on his palmares.
The overall rankings are shown below:
