Giro d'Italia

The Giro d'Italia, or Tour of Italy, is a famous bicycle race held in Italy, every spring. It is one of the most famous, and best paid bicycle races. The first race was in 1909. It started because the editor of a newspaper called La Gazzetta dello Sport wanted more people to read his newspaper. He planned a race similar to the Tour de France, which had started in 1903.

The leader of the race wears the maglia rosa, the pink jersey

The leader of the race wears a pink jersey called the ''maglia rosa''. This is because pink is the colour of La Gazzetta dello Sport. For many years, the leader of the mountain climbing competition wore a green jersey (called the maglia verde), but a change in the sponsor for that competition led to a jersey change in 2012. The mountains leader now wears a blue jersey (called the maglia azzurra). Similarly, the leader of the sprinters' competition wore a mauve jersey (called the maglia ciclamino) for many years. However, a sponsorship change in 2010 also led to a jersey change. The sprints leader now wears a red jersey (called maglia rosso passione). The leader of the young riders' competition, for riders under age 25, wears a white jersey (called the maglia bianca). This is the same as the young riders' competition in the Tour de France.