2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 5
It took several attempts for a successful breakaway to come clear, but by the 20 km (12 mi) mark, Luis Felipe Laverde, Johannes Fröhlinger, David Millar, Pavel Brutt, and Francisco Pérez were away. Pérez had begun the stage 1'57" behind race leader Franco Pellizotti, and as such he was the virtual race leader for much of the stage, as the breakaway held a maximum advantage over the peloton of 7'20" with 63 km (39 mi) left to race. The time gap to the leaders steadily fell from that point, such that Pellizotti's lead did not prove to be in any real danger.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 5
With a final 3 km (1.9 mi) long, uncategorized hill remaining in the stage, the fast-closing pink jersey group, 64 riders strong and containing the race's overall favorites, trailed the five leaders by 1'42". This would prove to be just enough time for the breakaway to be able to decide the stage among themselves.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 5
Just as they passed under the red kite indicating 1 km (0.62 mi) to the finish line, and just as Brutt seemed to start his attack for the stage win, the chain on Millar's bicycle snapped, halting the Scot and destroying any chance at a victory for him. An enraged Millar threw his bike over the barricade and, needing to wait for his team car for another, finished 119th on the stage, though he would be credited with the same finishing time as Pérez in fourth. Brutt's attack, which had started just as disaster struck Millar, gave him the stage win. His remaining breakaway mates finished scattered behind him, with the pink jersey group, led home by Paolo Bettini, 31 seconds back.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 6
15 May 2008 — Potenza to Peschici, 231.6 km (143.9 mi)


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 6
This stage was originally scheduled to be 265 km (165 mi) in length. After representatives from the peloton spoke to race officials, voicing concerns over the long transfers from one day's finish town to the next day's start town affording them little time to rest to prepare for such a demanding stage, the 34 km (21 mi) Circuito del Gargano was eliminated.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 6
The resultant course was still quite long, with a bumpy profile that suggested a climber or a sprinter who could climb better than his peers would be the day's winner.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 6
For the first hour, the peloton stayed together, with no breakaway attempts succeeding. On the ascent to and descent from the day's one categorized climb, at the 47 km (29 mi) mark, a twelve-rider breakaway formed, from which would come the riders who contested the stage victory. This group comprised Rene Mandri, Alan Pérez, Paul Martens, Nikolay Trusov, Jason McCartney, Magnus Bäckstedt, Daniele Nardello, Giovanni Visconti, Francesco Gavazzi, Matthias Russ, Maxim Iglinsky, and Matteo Priamo. Before the finish, Mandri was felled by a crash, and had to leave the race.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 6
The peloton let this group get a lead of 16 minutes with 45 km (28 mi) left to race, before Barloworld set to making the chase, but it was much too late to bring them back. The race lead was assured to transfer to one in the breakaway. Russ was the best-placed rider in the General Classification at the beginning of the day, but Visconti was only 13 seconds behind him, meaning their respective finishing positions would likely determine which of them got the next pink jersey.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 6
Priamo and Pérez attacked their breakaway mates in the stage's final kilometer, quickly getting an appreciable gap over them. Bäckstedt tried to follow, but much like his teammate David Millar had had the previous day, mechanical trouble kept him from following. Priamo opened the sprint first and Pérez had no answer, giving the stage win to the Italian.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 6
Visconti finished the stage 7 seconds ahead of Russ, but he had also won the day's intermediate sprint, which afforded 6 bonus seconds. This gave him the pink jersey over Russ by a margin of less than one second. He was also awarded the white jersey after the stage, as he was a few days under the age limit for that classification. Visconti went à bloc in the stage's final few hundred meters, and had to be held upright by team staff after dismounting his bicycle. The peloton, led home by Daniele Bennati, finished 11'34" behind the stage winner.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 6
Priamo's teammate Emanuele Sella, after later testing positive for methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta (better known as Mircera, an erythropoietin derivative) at an out-of-competition control run by the UCI and confessing to his doping, named Priamo as his supplier, resulting in a four-year ban for Priamo a year later and casting considerable doubt on the legitimacy of this performance.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 7
16 May 2008 — Vasto to Pescocostanzo, 180 km (112 mi)


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 7
This was the first time the Giro ever visited Pescocostanzo, in the region of Abruzzo. The course favored a strong climber, as it featured numerous uncategorized rises in elevation in the first 100 km (62 mi) and then two categorized climbs later, as well as an uphill finish.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 7
It took 55 km (34 mi) for the significant breakaway of this stage to form, after several attempts proved unsuccessful and a second selection took place among two large groups that briefly got away. The seven riders out front for the bulk of the stage were Emanuele Sella, Joan Horrach, Fortunato Baliani, Simon Špilak, Félix Cárdenas, Gabriele Bosisio and Vasil Kiryienka, who had been the original instigator of the breakaway. Numerous splits occurred among this group and the 32-strong group between them and the pink jersey's peloton, with time gaps and exact makeups of each group varying wildly as the stage went on.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 7
The stage win went to Bosisio, reaching the finish line 46 seconds ahead of Kiryienka and over a minute ahead of his fellow breakaway mates. His team LPR Brakes–Ballan had wanted to try to have their leader Danilo Di Luca take the stage win, as Di Luca is from the area where the stage ended. But when Bosisio seemed to be in a winning breakaway and informed his teammates that he had the legs to try for the stage win, the team changed their plans.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 7
The race's overall contenders, who had been in the second group on the road, closed the gap to the breakaway as the stage ended, and finished just over two minutes behind Bosisio. Another large group was led home by Davide Rebellin 2'55" back, with most of the other riders finishing alone or in pairs between that group and two large gruppetto 24 and 28 minutes back. Race leader Giovanni Visconti finished 29th, 3'52" behind the stage winners and conceding nearly two minutes to the top GC riders, but he had more than enough time in hand to retain the pink jersey.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 8
17 May 2008 — Rivisondoli to Tivoli, 208 km (129 mi)


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 8
This was a difficult stage, featuring the second-category Forca d'Acero climb at the 57 km (35 mi) mark, and numerous uncategorized climbs later in the stage. Analysis of the course expected it to favor a puncheur, a rider who is not necessarily a pure climber, but one who can put in repeated attacks on courses with such a jagged profile. Speculations for stage winner included Davide Rebellin, Paolo Bettini, and Riccardo Riccò, who went on to contest the finish in a sprint.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 8
It was at the 42 km (26 mi) mark, on the ascent of the Forca d'Acero, that Alessandro Spezialetti, Mathieu Perget, Fortunato Baliani, and Adam Hansen broke free of the peloton. Their maximum advantage hovered between five and six minutes for most of the time they were away. At the 86 km (53 mi) mark, a crash brought down pre-race favorite Alberto Contador, his teammate Steve Morabito, Nicolas Hartmann, and Lander Aperribay. Initially all continued, but Morabito later retired from the Giro, as he had already sustained injuries from a crash earlier in the race.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 8
After the intermediate sprint at the 151 km (94 mi) mark, the Quick Step-led peloton set to making the chase in earnest. This was both to protect race leader Giovanni Visconti and to try to get Paolo Bettini in position for a stage win, as the stage's uphill finish favored him. With 15 km (9.3 mi) left, the gap from the leaders to the pink jersey peloton was below one minute, prompting Hansen to try a solo escape for the stage victory.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 8
He attained thirty seconds advantage quickly, as the other four were caught by the peloton, but Hansen too was caught with some 3 km (1.9 mi) left. A 39-rider group contested a final sprint finish, won by Riccardo Riccò. The win was Riccò's second stage victory of this Giro, and gave him leadership in the points classification after the stage. Visconti finished with the leaders and retained the pink jersey.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 9
18 May 2008 — Civitavecchia to San Vincenzo, 218 km (135 mi)


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 9
This was a fairly straightforward stage that would almost assuredly end in a mass sprint. The course featured one small categorized climb, but it was no hindrance to the fast men being together at the finish.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 9
Two riders broke free of the peloton almost immediately after the stage began; these were Mickaël Buffaz and Yuriy Krivtsov. They attained a maximum advantage of over 11 minutes, but the peloton had no trouble catching them, as they did with some 20 km (12 mi) left to race. At that point, Paolo Bettini, Emanuele Sella, and Riccardo Riccò broke away. Though those three did attain a small gap, it was clear that the peloton, paced by Team High Road in the stage's final kilometers, would not allow any finish but a group sprint, so they dropped back. After Oscar Gatto opened the sprint 300 m (980 ft) from the finish line, Daniele Bennati, Bettini, Robbie McEwen, and Erik Zabel came around him to finish the stage in that order. Bennati regained the lead in the points classification from Riccò with the victory.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 10
20 May 2008 — Pesaro to Urbino, 39.4 km (24.5 mi) (individual time trial)


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 10
The Giro's first individual time trial (ITT), which took place after the Giro's first rest day, featured a course that favored specialists in the discipline. Its first half was flat. The second half included the Monte di Colbordolo, which featured a maximum gradient of 12%, but was otherwise not imposing.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 10
The early time to beat was set by Team High Road's Tony Martin, who clocked in at 58'54", one of the first to stop the clock in under an hour. Tinkoff Credit Systems rider Vasil Kiryienka, who had featured in several breakaways in past stages, passed many riders who started minutes before him, but faded toward the finish and ended up 10 seconds slower than Martin. The first rider to best Martin's time was from Astana, who were expected to excel in the ITT as they had several strong time trialists on their squad.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 10
This was Vladimir Gusev, who posted a time of 58'46". Italian national time trial champion Marco Pinotti of Team High Road quickly knocked off Gusev, finishing the course in 57'17". Shortly after Pinotti finished, Astana's Andreas Klöden and Lampre's Marzio Bruseghin were setting new best times at the intermediate time checks, with Bruseghin stopping the clock at 56'41", which held up for the stage win by a margin of 20 seconds over Klöden and 8 over Klöden's teammate and team leader Alberto Contador. Contador's performance moved him from eighth to fourth in the overall classification after the stage. The last two men on course were Matthias Russ and race leader Giovanni Visconti, still in high positions because of their Stage 6 breakaway. Visconti passed Russ on the road at one point, and gained nearly three minutes over him to extend his overall lead.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 11
21 May 2008 — Urbania to Cesena, 199 km (124 mi)


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 11
This was a tough, hilly stage, containing four categorized climbs, including the first-category Monte Carpegna at the 107 km (66 mi) mark. This mountainous stage concluded with an 11.5 km (7.1 mi) finishing circuit in the hometown of Italian cycling legend Marco Pantani.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 11
This day of racing was marked by a consistent downpour of rain, making the course treacherous. At the 42 km (26 mi) mark, a break formed, comprising Laurent Mangel, Pablo Lastras, Tiziano Dall'Antonia, Jussi Veikkanen, and Alessandro Bertolini. Their maximum advantage was over nine minutes, though for the second hour of racing their speed was only 36.4 km/h (22.6 mph), as the rain and the hilly terrain made for slow going.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 11
The breakaway's lead fell more precipitously on the ascent to Monte Carpegna, as an attempted breakaway from Danilo Di Luca and other overall favorites increased the speed of the chase group for a time. At the top of Monte Carpegna, the leaders had five minutes on the main chase group of overall favorites, and seven and a half minutes on race leader Giovanni Visconti.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 11
The rainy descent proved dangerous, as Bertolini and Dall'Antonia both crashed at the 121 km (75 mi) mark, but were able to make it back to the leading group. Further crashes elsewhere resulted in Mauricio Ardila, Christian Pfannberger, Leonardo Piepoli, Levi Leipheimer, Visconti, and Emanuele Sella all taking a tumble. Gabriele Bosisio was almost able to make the bridge from the chase to the leaders, and as such was the "virtual" race leader for a short while, but after crashing he was forced to rejoin the chase pack. Fortunato Baliani, who had been with Bosisio in the bridge attempt, made it to the leaders after a further solo effort. Lastras tried four or five different times to attack the leading group and get free, but he was never able to do so.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 11
Veikkanen and Mangel were dropped by the other four leaders on the last climb of the day, and Bertolini, Lastras, Dall'Antonia, and Baliani were poised to contest a stage finish among themselves. Dall'Antonia ended up crashing in the final few kilometers, and was unable to bridge back to the other three. Baliani lost his balance on the course's last left-hand turn, momentarily disturbing Lastras behind him. This allowed Bertolini, who had been leading out the sprint (ordinarily the least advantageous position in a sprint finish), to claim the first Giro stage win of his sixteen-year career. As the Visconti group was able to finish with the Di Luca group after being two to three minutes behind them for most of the day, the young Italian retained the race lead for another day.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21
Stage 12 of the 2008 Giro d'Italia took place on May 22, and the race concluded on 1 June. As the second half of the Giro began, Italian national road race champion Giovanni Visconti had been first in the race's overall classification, but stood little chance of winning the race as he did not have sufficient climbing skills to be a contender on the high mountain stages featured in the race's final week. Stages 12 and 13 were flat and did not change the overall standings, but stages 14, 15, 19, and 20 all contained many high climbs.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21
It was after stage 15 that Alberto Contador first took the overall lead that he would eventually hold through the completion of the Giro, by finishing fifteen minutes ahead of Gabriele Bosisio, who had won the pink jersey from Visconti the day before. Through the final mountain stages, and two individual time trials, Contador held off the challenges of defending champion Danilo Di Luca and eventual runner-up Riccardo Riccò.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21
Emanuele Sella of the CSF Group–Navigare team won three stages in the Giro's final week, as well as the overall victory in the mountains classification. He would later test positive for and confess to the use of performance-enhancing drugs, casting extreme doubt on the legitimacy of these performances.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 12
22 May 2008 — Forlì to Carpi, 172 km (107 mi)


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 12
This stage was flat, and was designed to end in a mass sprint finish. The final 42.195 km (26.2 mi) occurred on a popular Italian marathon course, with the stage dedicated to Italian marathoner Dorando Pietri.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 12
Dionisio Galparsoro of Euskaltel–Euskadi broke away from the peloton immediately after the true start of the stage. As rain began to fall on what had previously been a sunny day, no one joined the Basque in his escape, and for much of the stage the peloton let his advantage balloon. His maximum time gap, fourteen minutes, gradually fell to nothing as the rain intensified as the stage went on. A crash with 20 km (12 mi) to go thinned the field somewhat, but it was no hindrance to the peloton catching Galparsoro and a sprint finish occurring.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 12
Points classification leader Daniele Bennati started the sprint first, making his attack before the race's final left-hand turn. Team High Road's Mark Cavendish reacted to Bennati's quick acceleration once around that turn and almost overtook him in the final meters, but the photo finish resulted in a third stage victory for Bennati in this Giro.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 13
23 May 2008 — Modena to Cittadella, 177 km (110 mi)


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 13
This stage was as flat as any could conceivably get. It ended with a 6 km (3.7 mi) circuit around the walled city of Cittadella, a medieval military outpost guarding Padua.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 13
It took several tries for a breakaway to successfully come clear of the peloton in this stage. The leader of the Trofeo Fuga Cervelo (the award giving points for kilometers spent in a breakaway) Mickaël Buffaz finally got away after 35 km (22 mi) and nearly an hour spent riding. Josu Agirre and Paolo Bettini followed him, though Bettini quickly dropped back to the peloton. Buffaz and Agiree took a maximum lead of 8'24", at the 66 km (41 mi) mark, but the stage's incredibly flat profile meant any breakaway was exceedingly unlikely to survive to the finish line.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 13
At the 12 km (7.5 mi) to go mark, the peloton was all together again. Liquigas and Team High Road led the field in through the stage's final 10 km (6.2 mi), much as they had in previous sprint stages. Daniele Bennati again started the sprint early, as he had the previous day, but this time Mark Cavendish had enough road to easily overtake him for the victory. The victory came two days after Cavendish's twenty-third birthday.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 13
The day unexpectedly caused a minor change to the overall standings. An extremely fast leadout, coupled with a crash with 3 km (1.9 mi) remaining meant only 48 riders had the same time as the stage winner. The rest of the main field, another 108 riders, were 13 seconds back. Andreas Klöden, Danilo Di Luca, Vincenzo Nibali, and Gilberto Simoni were able to make the selection and gained a little time over their competitors.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 14
24 May 2008 — Verona to Alpe di Pampeago, 195 km (121 mi)


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 14
This was the Giro's first stage classified as a mountain stage, though several of those previous had contained selective climbs. The first half of the stage contained three uncategorized rises in elevation, including one to 931 m (3,054 ft). In the stage's final 34 km (21 mi), there were two categorized climbs, the first-category Passo Manghen, featuring gradients of up to 15%, and a second-category summit stage finish at Alpe di Pampeago. The same climb featured in the 2003 Giro d'Italia, where the stage winner was eventual Giro winner Gilberto Simoni. Simoni had said before the stage that he would again try for victory on this climb.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 14
The day's breakaway was large, comprising 13 riders from 11 teams. The only team with more than one rider in the group was Caisse d'Epargne, who had three - Joaquim Rodríguez, José Rujano, and Francisco Pérez. Other notables in the group included Christian Vande Velde, Emanuele Sella, Paolo Bettini, and Jens Voigt. The group's maximum advantage, for the time when they were all together, was 7'40", after 90 km (56 mi). When Sella attacked out of this group to try for maximum mountains points on the Passo Manghen, it was totally shattered, sending some riders, including Vande Velde, back to the peloton and gapping others on the road.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 14
At the top of the Passo Manghen, the following groups had formed: Sella alone in front, followed at 2'42" by Vasil Kiryienka and Rodríguez, then Jure Golčer at 3'00", Rujano at 3'40", Bettini, Voigt, Rinaldo Nocentini, and Charly Wegelius at 5'28", with a group of overall favorites including Alberto Contador, Riccardo Riccò, Gilberto Simoni, and Franco Pellizotti at 10'57", and race leader Giovanni Visconti and his team a further two minutes back. Simoni's Diquigiovanni–Androni team was the one pacing the group of favorites, indicating that Simoni may have been intending to make good on his pre-stage promises to try for the win again.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 14
The groups simplified on the Pampeago climb, with Sella still well ahead out front. 5 km (3.1 mi) from the top, the first on the road 2'24" behind him were Kiryienka, Rodríguez, Rujano, and Bettini, who had consolidated into one group while Golčer, Nocentini, and Wegelius were dropped. The group of overall favorites was ten minutes back, and Visconti was eighteen minutes back, meaning his pink jersey was in jeopardy.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 14
Sella rode most of the rest of the climb out of the saddle, continuously adding to his advantage, which was four and a half minutes over Kiryienka in second on the stage. The four chasers behind him did not remain as a cohesive group; Kiryienka and Rodríguez came ahead of Rujano and Bettini, with Kiryienka attacking in the final kilometer to gain 30 seconds over Rodríguez. Bettini scarcely stayed ahead of the fast-charging group of overall favorites, finishing 49 seconds ahead of Denis Menchov, who led that group home. After the stage, Simoni criticized a perceived lack of combativeness in the riders who had been in the same group as him, calling them "a bunch of lambs."


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 14
As was expected, the stage greatly changed the overall classification, with LPR Brakes–Ballan's Gabriele Bosisio becoming the new race leader by a margin of five seconds over Contador. Contador had been unable to respond to attacks made by Menchov, Pellizotti, Riccò, and Simoni in the final kilometer, conceding some 45 seconds to them, but he was still the highest placed rider from that group in the overall standings at the end of the day.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 15
25 May 2008 — Arabba to Passo Fedaia, 153 km (95 mi)


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 15
This stage was one of the most climbing-intensive in the race, featuring six categorized climbs. These included three second category climbs, two in the third category, and a never before used uphill finish at Passo Fedaia, a first category climb.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 15
A flurry of attacks and counter-attacks on the slopes of the day's first climb, the second category Passo Pordoi, reached after just 9 km (5.6 mi) spent racing, resulted in a nine-man leading group forming. The first attacker was Joaquim Rodríguez, who drew mountains classification leader Emanuele Sella with him. Their leading group also included Félix Cárdenas, Jens Voigt, Vladimir Miholjević, Evgeni Petrov, Vladimir Karpets, Fortunato Baliani, and Paolo Bettini. Through the second category Passo San Peligrino and the third category San Tomaso Agordino, the group's advantage hovered at around two minutes, as Sella, Bettini, Rodríguez, and Karpets all potentially posed threats to the GC should the group get a large advantage.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 15
On the Passo de Giau, the course's third and final second category climb, the leading group splintered. Rodríguez, Baliani, and Sella came clear, and the other six members of the initial breakaway were absorbed by a chase group composed partly of overall contenders Alberto Contador, Danilo Di Luca, Franco Pellizotti, and Gilberto Simoni. Notably missing from this group was overnight race leader Gabriele Bosisio, who would finish the day eighteen minutes behind the stage winner and lose the pink jersey. Contador was briefly gapped on the climb, but he and Jurgen Van den Broeck caught up to the 15 others in the leading group after the summit, approximately three minutes behind the three leaders.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 15
Vincenzo Nibali and Julio Alberto Pérez came out of this group and after a lengthy chase bridged to the leaders. This gave CSF Group–Navigare three riders in the leading group, and Baliani and Pérez worked to get Sella to the top of the Passo Falzarego first for maximum mountains points and a leading gap. Sella stayed away for the stage win, while the group of favorites caught his two teammates and Nibali, and stayed between two and three minutes behind him for the remainder of the stage. In the steep final kilometer before the summit of the Passo Fedaia, Riccardo Riccò put in an attack that Di Luca, Contador, and Denis Menchov were unable to answer, gaining him time on his competition. Contador, however, took the pink jersey, by a margin of 33 seconds over Riccò.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 16
26 May 2008 — San Vigilio di Marebbe to Plan de Corones, 12.8 km (8.0 mi) (individual time trial)


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 16
This race against the clock was all uphill. It consisted entirely of the first category climb to Plan de Corones. Race organizers had tried to include this climb in 2006, but had to cut it short to a pass on lower elevation because of snow at the summit. The final 5 km (3.1 mi) were on a gravel road, and the last few hundred meters featured a grueling maximum gradient of 24%.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 16
A strict 25% time cut was enforced on this stage, meaning that the less skilled climbers and time trialists needed to put in strong efforts just to be eligible to remain in the Giro. The first man to take the course, Markus Eichler, posted a time of 49' 58". This would more than likely survive any time cut, but the second, Thomas Fothen, did not stop the clock until 53' 48" had ticked by. This was the slowest time of the day and put Fothen, along with five others, outside the time limit, leading to their disqualification from the race.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 16
The first competitive time was posted by CSF Group–Navigare rider Julio Alberto Pérez, who finished the course in 43' 22". The riders were staggered into three groups, and Pérez's time stood as best through the first two, after riders such as David Millar, Philip Deignan, and Vladimir Gusev came close but did not best it. The second rider of the third and final group was José Rujano, who posted a time of 41' 15", which easily beat the times that came before and held up for sixth at day's end.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 16
Emanuele Sella was the first rider to beat Rujano, as the top riders in the overall classification took to the course. Sella's time was 40' 32"; only Franco Pellizotti, at 40' 26", could beat him. For his stage win, Pellizotti was awarded a distinctive crown on the podium, as "King of Corones."


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 16
The remaining highly placed riders in the overall classification rounded out the top ten on the day, with race leader Alberto Contador gaining 8 seconds on Riccardo Riccò, more than 30 seconds on Marzio Bruseghin, and more than a minute on Danilo Di Luca and Denis Menchov, after they faltered on the unpaved section of the course.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 17
28 May 2008 — Sondrio to Locarno (Switzerland), 146 km (91 mi)


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 17
After the second rest day, the peloton faced the Giro's shortest road race stage, and the only stage which took the race out of its home country. It was categorized flat, with the third category Passo Monte Ceneri the only recognized climb on the course, coming 34 km (21 mi) before the finish in Switzerland.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 17
A little after the 5 km (3.1 mi) mark of the stage, three riders broke away. These were Francesco Gavazzi, Mikhail Ignatiev, and Yann Huguet. The peloton let them get a big advantage quickly, 8'10" by the 26 km (16 mi) mark. At that point, the chase began in earnest. As the stage was quite short, it was unclear at first whether they would be caught, particularly as time trial specialist Ignatiev proved an effective pace setter for the break.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 17
Huguet was dropped on the Passo Monte Ceneri, and the flat section that followed the climb proved to be all the peloton needed to bring Ignatiev and Gavazzi back into the fold. Gavazzi was caught with 20 km (12 mi) left to race, while Ignatiev fought on, but was caught with 4.5 km (2.8 mi) to go. Alberto Ongarato started his sprint with nearly a full kilometer left to race, but he was chased down by Tony Martin, as Team High Road controlled the race's final kilometers much as they had in previous flat stages.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 17
André Greipel was the first around the final turn on the course, 250 m (820 ft) from the finish line, but instead of giving way to Mark Cavendish, the big German instead took the stage win himself, which had been Team High Road's plan. Thirteen riders who aggressively sought the stage win finished 4 seconds ahead of the rest of the peloton, but the overall classification was not changed in any significant way by the day's results.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 18
29 May 2008 — Mendrisio (Switzerland) to Varese, 147 km (91 mi)


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 18
This stage was also quite short, though it was hilly enough to be categorized medium-mountain. It used much of the same course that was used later in 2008 in the world championships road race. Favorites for the stage win thus included riders believed to be favorites for the world championships, such as two-time defending world champion Paolo Bettini.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 18
A 12-rider group broke away after 6 km (3.7 mi) spent racing. This group included several notable riders – Bettini, Jens Voigt, points classification leader Daniele Bennati, and former race leaders Gabriele Bosisio and Giovanni Visconti. Voigt, the eventual stage winner, remarked after the stage that he had made it into "a good group." The peloton was uninterested in bringing them back, as none posed overall threats on such a short stage.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 18
Their advantage was just over six minutes, at the 36 km (22 mi) to go mark, when Voigt broke free of his mates and soloed over the last two laps of the circuit in Varese to reach the finish line. The remainder of the morning's escape finished scattered behind him, with Visconti 1'07" back and Nikolay Trusov in twelfth 5'19" back, as the hilly parcours took its toll on some riders. The peloton, led across the line by Lilian Jégou, finished 7'51" back.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 19
30 May 2008 — Legnano to Presolana, 238 km (148 mi)


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 19
It was back to the high mountains for Stage 19, the longest in this Giro. While the first 154 km (96 mi) of the course were mostly flat, the final 84 km (52 mi) featured three categorized climbs, two second category hills before the first category arrival at Monte Pora in Presolana. This climb had never before been visited in the Giro.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 19
The first hour of the stage covered 50 km (31 mi) and kept any escape attempts from coming clear. The seven who broke away at that point were Alexander Efimkin, Steven Cummings, Kanstantsin Sivtsov, Gabriele Missaglia, Nicki Sørensen, Giairo Ermeti, and Vasil Kiryienka. An advantage that was at first hard-fought ballooned to 21 minutes at the 120 km (75 mi) mark. Rain began to fall as the breakaway started up the Passo del Vivione, still with an advantage of nearly 20 minutes. A selective chase group of some 40 riders formed when the peloton hit the climb.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 19
At this point, Danilo Di Luca and teammate Paolo Savoldelli attacked from the group of 40 and managed to come clear, keeping an advantage of close to two minutes through the conclusion of the stage. As Di Luca began the stage 2'18" behind race leader Alberto Contador, the Spaniard's pink jersey was in jeopardy, and Di Luca was at times the "virtual" race leader, when he held an advantage of more than 2'18" over Contador's group. With 6 km (3.7 mi) left, Contador himself launched an attack, but he was unable to get away. Riccardo Riccò counter-attacked when Contador was brought back, and nearly put enough time into him to take the pink jersey.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 19
In the leading group, Kiryienka attacked his six breakaway companions at the foot of the Monte Para climb and soloed to the finish for the win, by a margin of over four minutes. Di Luca passed the other remaining breakaway riders and took second on the stage. Di Luca finished 1'45" ahead of Contador's group and Riccò crossed the line 37 seconds before them, meaning the top three were again very tightly bunched.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 20
31 May 2008 — Rovetta to Tirano, 224 km (139 mi)


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 20
This stage offered one last visit to the high mountains for the 2008 Giro. While it was the only classified mountain stage not to end on a climb, the categorization as a high mountain stage came about because it featured the highest point reached in the Giro and its steepest climb, respectively the Passo di Gavia and the Passo del Mortirolo. The visit to the Passo di Gavia marked twenty years since it was famously conquered by Andrew Hampsten in a driving blizzard en route to his overall victory in the 1988 Giro d'Italia.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 20
For over two hours, no one so much as attempted a breakaway on this stage. Gabriele Bosisio was the first rider to come clear, at the 70 km (43 mi) mark, but Astana, unwilling to let him potentially help teammate Danilo Di Luca, kept his advantage at under 30 seconds before he was eventually caught. Finally, after 100 km (62 mi) had already been covered, eight riders established leading groups.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 20
Three, Julio Alberto Pérez, José Rujano, and Evgeni Petrov were in the lead with the other five, Alessandro Spezialetti, Antonio Colom, Félix Cárdenas, Fortunato Baliani, and Charly Wegelius, behind them chasing. They did not stay as two cohesive groups for very long, and they climbed the Passo di Gavia in pairs or alone. Pérez was the first to its summit, claiming maximum points for conquering the Cima Coppi.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 20
As the ascent to the Passo del Mortirolo began, three groups had formed. Pérez, Baliani, and Colom were in the lead, as the latter two had caught Pérez shortly after he crested the Passo di Gavia. Trailing by 3'35" were Petrov, Cárdenas, Wegelius and Rujano, with a group of overall favorites and support riders from their teams at 5'20". A short while into the climb, the favorites caught the group of five.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 20
Pérez was unable to stay with either the leaders for long on the Mortirolo, and he would be dropped by the pink jersey group as well, eventually finishing the stage eleven minutes back in the first large group. Baliani was then dropped from the lead, though he was able to stay with the pink jersey group and finished the stage seventh. Eventually Colom was also caught, though he too stayed with the overall favorites to the finish.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 20
Emanuele Sella and Riccardo Riccò traded attacks and verbal jabs at the head of the group of favorites as they began the Mortirolo climb. This dropped a few riders from the pink jersey group, but most of the overall favorites remained. The notable exception was Danilo Di Luca, who lost nearly four minutes on the stage and any chance to repeat as Giro champion. Sella and Gilberto Simoni got a gap on the remaining overall favorites, with Sella safely away for the stage win in Tirano.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 20
Riccò narrowly missed the time bonus for third on the stage, which would have given him the pink jersey. He and race leader Alberto Contador entered the final stage individual time trial by only 4 seconds, but with Contador recognized as the far superior rider against the clock, the Giro was all but won by the Spaniard at this point.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 21
1 June 2008 — Milan, 28.5 km (17.7 mi) (individual time trial)


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 21
The final stage of the 2008 Giro was an individual time trial in Milan. This was the first time since 1992 that the Giro had not concluded with a road race stage. The course was on a slight downhill for its duration and was not technical, featuring only a small number of turns and several long straightaways.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 21
Though the overall victory was likely decided, as race leader Alberto Contador was seen as a superior time trialist to the second-place man Riccardo Riccò, several lower positions in the classification were up for grabs. Entering the day, Marzio Bruseghin and Franco Pellizotti were separated by only 5 seconds for the last step on the podium. Additionally, Denis Menchov trailed Emanuele Sella by 12 seconds for fifth, and Danilo Di Luca's lead over Jurgen Van den Broeck for seventh was only 8 seconds, all margins which were surmountable in the time trial.


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 21
The stage was almost won by Mikhail Ignatiev, the second man to start as the second-to-last man in the overnight standings and recognized as a solid time trialist. He finished the course in 32'55", a time which was only bested Tony Martin and his teammate Marco Pinotti, the stage winner with a time of 32'45".


2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 21
The overall favorites took the course some time later not to decide the stage, but their own battle for specific placings. Contador, who finished the stage in eleventh, was clearly the strongest of the overall contenders on the day, bettering Riccò at the first time check by 53 seconds, Bruseghin by 33 seconds, and Pellizotti by 28 seconds. This momentarily put Bruseghin and Pellizotti in a tie for third overall. Menchov and Van Den Broeck both comfortably outrode their rivals to claim fifth and seventh overall, respectively. At the second intermediate time check, Pellizotti moved five seconds ahead of Bruseghin, but by the finish, Bruseghin had reclaimed the final podium spot by a margin of just two seconds.


2008 Giro del Trentino
The 2008 Giro del Trentino was the 32nd edition of the Tour of the Alps cycle race and was held on 22 April to 25 April 2008. The race started in Arco and finished in Peio Terme. The race was won by Vincenzo Nibali.


2008 Giro della Toscana Int. Femminile – Memorial Michela Fanini
The 2008 Giro della Toscana Int. Femminile – Memorial Michela Fanini was the 15th edition of the Giro della Toscana Int. Femminile – Memorial Michela Fanini, a women's cycling stage race in Italy. It was rated by the UCI as a category 2.1 race and was held between 16 and 21 September 2008.


2008 Giro di Lombardia
The 2008 Giro di Lombardia was the 102nd edition of this single-day road bicycle racing monument race. The event took place on 18 October 2008, with Damiano Cunego winning it, his fourth victory of the year, and the third of his career in the Giro di Lombardia and his second consecutive victory. Cunego managed to break away from the peloton with 15 kilometres on the descent of the Civiglio and was able to resist the chase of the peloton to win alone on the waterfront of Como. Janez Brajkovič of Astana finished 24 seconds behind, followed by Rigoberto Urán of Caisse d'Epargne.


2008 Glasgow East by-election
The 2008 Glasgow East by-election was a by-election for the UK Parliamentary constituency of Glasgow East which was held on 24 July 2008. The election was triggered when, on 30 June 2008, the sitting MP David Marshall stood down due to ill health.


2008 Glasgow East by-election
The by-election was won by John Mason, candidate of the Scottish National Party, who defeated the Labour candidate Margaret Curran. Curran subsequently regained the seat for Labour in the 2010 general election.


2008 Glasgow East by-election
The election was significant as it was the second safe Labour seat to be contested, and to be lost, since a downturn in political fortunes for the Labour Party and incumbent UK Labour Government under the Premiership of Gordon Brown, and was also held in the wake of the resignation of the Leader of the Labour Party in the Scottish Parliament, Wendy Alexander. The seat was the third safest Labour seat in Scotland, and their 26th safest seat in the UK.


2008 Glasgow East by-election, History
The Glasgow East constituency was created for the 2005 general election. Its area came from the majority of the Glasgow Baillieston constituency, with the remainder formed from the Glasgow Shettleston constituency. It is one of the most deprived constituencies in the UK, with 30% of the working-age population on unemployment or incapacity benefit and nearly 40% of children growing up in homes where there is no adult in paid employment.


2008 Glasgow East by-election, History
In the 2005 general election the new Glasgow East seat was Labour's 26th safest seat in terms of percentage majority, and within Scotland, the seat at which it received its second highest share of the vote. In the 2005 election, Labour defeated the Scottish National Party (SNP) by a majority of 13,507 votes, who beat the Liberal Democrats to third place by 1,603 votes.


2008 Glasgow East by-election, History
Prior to his 2005 win of Glasgow East, Marshall had continually held the predecessor seat of Glasgow Shettleston since 1979. Shettleston had been held continuously by previous Labour Party members since an Independent Labour Party member defected to Labour in 1947. The Glasgow Baillieston constituency, and its predecessor seat Glasgow Provan, had always returned Labour MPs since its creation in 1955.


2008 Glasgow East by-election, History
In the 2007 Scottish parliamentary elections Labour lost power to the SNP, who formed a minority government. In this election, the SNP deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon won the neighbouring Glasgow Govan Scottish Parliament constituency with a swing from Labour of 10.7%, while all other Glasgow constituencies remained in Labour control.


2008 Glasgow East by-election, History
On 28 June 2008, Marshall informed local party leaders that he would be stepping down on medical advice, after 10 weeks of sick leave from the House of Commons. On 30 June 2008 Marshall accepted the post of Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead, a device allowing him in effect to resign as an MP, triggering the by-election


2008 Glasgow East by-election, Political situation
The election gained attention throughout the UK due to worsening results for Labour during 2008. The Daily Record had asserted that if Labour lost the by-election, further pressure would be heaped on Gordon Brown.


2008 Glasgow East by-election, Political situation
The by-election followed a run of poor results since May, in the Crewe and Nantwich and Henley by-elections in England, English and Welsh local elections and losing the London mayoralty. By the end of May, Labour had registered its worst ever independent opinion poll result since records began in 1943, of 23%. This was also the first by-election since Labour declined to field a candidate in the Haltemprice and Howden by-election in England 14 days previously, fought over a recent controversial government anti-terrorism bill. The by-election also came within days of the controversial resignation of the Scottish Labour leader Wendy Alexander, with voting for a replacement not taking place before polling.


2008 Glasgow East by-election, Political situation
Turnout is usually lower in by-elections; at the previous general election turnout was 48% but was down just under 6% at 42.25%. Voter share was likely to have been distributed differently, with nine candidates standing for this election, compared to five in 2005. Turnout was higher than expected, despite the election being held during the school holidays, and during a traditional Glasgow holiday period.


2008 Glasgow East by-election, Political situation
In a Scotland-wide opinion poll of Westminster voting intentions, released on 11 July, the SNP was on 33%, with Labour on 29%, Conservatives on 20% Lib Dem on 14%.


2008 Glasgow East by-election, Political situation
However, in an opinion poll conducted solely within the Glasgow East constituency, released on 12 July, Labour led on 47%, SNP on 33%, Liberal Democrats on 9% and the Conservatives on 7%.


2008 Glasgow East by-election, Candidates
The SNP chose John Mason, a longtime resident of the constituency, and leader of the opposition on Glasgow City Council.


2008 Glasgow East by-election, Candidates
The Labour Party had some difficulty finding a candidate. The most likely initial choice, local councillor George Ryan, failed to attend a selection meeting. The position was then offered to Steven Purcell, the Labour leader of Glasgow council, then Lesley Quinn and Frank McAveety, the party's general secretary and the MSP for Glasgow Shettleston respectively,  but all turned it down. The position was eventually accepted by fifth-choice candidate Margaret Curran, MSP for Glasgow Baillieston, on 7 July.


2008 Glasgow East by-election, Candidates
The Green Party selected Dr. Eileen Duke, a retired GP and co-convenor of the party's local branch, on 5 July. The Scottish Socialist Party stood Frances Curran, a former MSP who originally came from the east end of Glasgow. Solidarity stood Tricia McLeish, a trade union activist who lived in the constituency.


2008 Glasgow East by-election, Candidates
Howitt stood under the label "Freedom-4-Choice", a minor party of his own creation, having stood under the same title in the Haltemprice and Howden by-election.


2008 Glasgow East by-election, Aftermath
As a result of the United States diplomatic cables leak, the website WikiLeaks later disclosed that senior US diplomats perceived Gordon Brown to be "finished" following the result.


2008 Glasgow East by-election, Aftermath
Curran would subsequently defeat Mason and regain the seat for Labour in the 2010 general election with a majority of almost 12,000, only to be defeated herself by the SNP in 2015.


2008 Glenrothes by-election
The 2008 Glenrothes by-election was a by-election held in Scotland on 6 November 2008 to elect a new  Member of Parliament (MP) for the House of Commons constituency of Glenrothes in Fife, Scotland.


2008 Glenrothes by-election
The seat fell vacant when the previous MP, John MacDougall (Labour), died of pleural mesothelioma on 13 August 2008, aged 60. Pleural Mesothelioma is a rare form of lung cancer caused by prolonged exposure to asbestos.


2008 Glenrothes by-election
The by-election was won by Lindsay Roy of the Labour Party.


2008 Glenrothes by-election, Background
Fife is traditionally a stronghold for the Labour Party. MacDougall had held Glenrothes and its forerunner, Central Fife, since 2001, when he succeeded Henry McLeish. Willie Hamilton had previously represented the area, which has elected Labour MPs since Hamilton won West Fife from the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1950.


2008 Glenrothes by-election, Background
The poll followed a run of poor by-election results for the Labour Party, which included a loss to the Scottish National Party (SNP) in Glasgow East, formerly the party's twenty-fifth safest seat in Britain. Glenrothes has a considerably smaller Labour majority than Glasgow East had.


2008 Glenrothes by-election, Background
According to the Financial Times, Labour privately admitted that they expected to lose Glenrothes to the SNP. The Guardian described the constituency's main town, Glenrothes, as a "core area" for the SNP. The SNP were in second place in the seat in the 2005 general election and won the nearest equivalent seat in the 2007 Scottish Parliament election.


2008 Glenrothes by-election, Background
The SNP also ran Fife Council, which covers the constituency, in coalition with the Scottish Liberal Democrats. The Scottish Liberal Democrats won the last by-election to be held in Fife from Labour on a swing of 16%.


2008 Glenrothes by-election, Background, Polling date
By tradition, the polling date was decided by Labour, as MacDougall's party, and set for Thursday,   6 November 2008.


2008 Glenrothes by-election, Background, Polling date
Had the writ been moved immediately the by-election could have been held as early as mid-September, although this coincided with the Trades Union Congress annual conference and the following weeks were filled with various party conferences. A Labour loss during this period could have provided a particular boost for their opponents, or for dissident elements within the party. The SNP may have favoured a quick by-election, noting that Labour called the Glasgow East by-election rapidly, when commentators believed it was to Labour's advantage.


2008 Glenrothes by-election, Candidates
The Labour party candidate was Kirkcaldy High School rector Lindsay Roy. The SNP selected the leader of Fife Council, Peter Grant. The Conservative Party selected Maurice Golden while the Liberal Democrats chose Harry Wills. The Scottish Socialist Party stood Morag Balfour, their national co-chair, who lived in Glenrothes and had been a candidate in the constituency before. Solidarity stood Louise McLeary, a community activist who lived in the part of Kirkcaldy which lies inside the constituency. The UKIP candidate was Dr. Kris Seunarine a specialist in the science of biophotonics at Dundee university, and chairman of the Fife branch of UKIP.


2008 Glenrothes by-election, Candidates
Two of the minor party candidates had disabilities: Balfour was a wheelchair user and McLeary was visually impaired.


2008 Glenrothes by-election, Marked register
Some months after the election, the marked register (on which the electors who had cast their vote were marked) was discovered to be missing. In law the register ought to have been preserved for a year and a day; the Returning Officer from Fife Council had transmitted the marked register to the Sheriff Court as required by law and obtained a receipt. The SNP Constituency Organiser, Cllr John Beare, had asked for a copy of the marked register on 19 November 2008; after ten weeks, the Scottish Court Service admitted the marked register was lost. An inquiry by the Scottish Court Service identified significant failings in its handling of election documents, which had been placed in a room at the court office in Kirkcaldy to which outside contractors had access.


2008 Glenrothes by-election, Marked register
In October 2009, the Scotland Office agreed a protocol to create a substitute marked register for the election.


2008 Global Champions Tour
The 2008 Global Champions Tour was the 3rd edition of the Global Champions Tour (GCT), an important international show jumping competition series. The 2008 Global Champions Tour was the first edition of the Global Champions Tour as official series of the FEI.


2008 Global Champions Tour
The series is held mainly in Europe, one competition and also the final are held outside of Europe. All competitions are endowed with 300000 €. All GCT events were held as CSI 5*.


2008 Global Champions Tour
The competitions was held between April 10, 2008 and September 14, 2008. The final was held in São Paulo, Brazil from  October 15, 2008 to October 19, 2008.


2008 Global Champions Tour
The champion of the Global Champions Tour Final of this year is Jessica Kürten of Ireland on Libertina.


2008 Global Champions Tour, Competitions
All competitions are held as competition over two rounds against the clock with one jump-off against the clock.


2008 Global Champions Tour, Competitions
The placement of the riders, who are not qualified for the jump-off, results of the number of penalties of both rounds and the time of the first round. Competitors who are not qualified for the second round, placed behind the riders who compete in the second round.


2008 Global Champions Tour, Competitions, 1st Competition: Global Champions Tour of Qatar
April 10, 2008 to April 12, 2008 - Doha,  QatarCompetition: Saturday, April 12, 2008 - Start: 6:00 pm, prize money: 300000 €


2008 Global Champions Tour, Competitions, 2nd Competition: Global Champions Tour of Germany
April 30, 2008 to May 4, 2008 - Hamburg (German show jumping and dressage derby),  GermanyCompetition: Saturday, May 3, 2008 - Start: 2:00 pm, prize money: 300000 €


2008 Global Champions Tour, Competitions, 3rd Competition: Global Champions Tour of France
June 12, 2008 to June 14, 2008 - Cannes,  FranceCompetition: Saturday, June 14, 2008 - Start: 6:00 pm, prize money: 300000 €


2008 Global Champions Tour, Competitions, 4th Competition: Global Champions Tour of Monaco
June 26, 2008 to June 28, 2008 - shore at the marina „Port Hercule“, Monte Carlo,  MonacoCompetition: Saturday, June 28, 2008 - Start: 6:00 pm, prize money: 300000 €


2008 Global Champions Tour, Competitions, 5th Competition: Global Champions Tour of Portugal
July 10, 2008 to July 12, 2008 - Hipódromo Manuel Possolo, Cascais near Estoril,  PortugalCompetition: Saturday, July 12, 2008 - Start: 7:30 pm, prize money: 300000 €


2008 Global Champions Tour, Competitions, 6th Competition: Global Champions Tour of the Netherlands
July 31, 2008 - August 3, 2008 - Valkenswaard,  NetherlandsCompetition: Saturday, August 2, 2008 - Start: 1:45 pm, prize money: 300000 €


2008 Global Champions Tour, Competitions, 7th Competition: Global Champions Tour of Italy
September 11, 2008 to September 14, 2008 - Arezzo,  ItalyCompetition: Saturday, September 13, 2008 - Start: 1:00 pm, prize money: 300000 €


2008 Global Champions Tour, Global Champions Tour Final, Final
October 15, 2008 to October 19, 2008 - Hipica Paulista, São Paulo (Athina Onassis International Horse Show),  Brazil


2008 Global Champions Tour, Global Champions Tour Final, Final, First round
Competition: Thursday, October 16, 2008 - Start: 3:30 pm, prize money: 50000 €


2008 Global Champions Tour, Global Champions Tour Final, Final, Final result after second round and jump-off
Competition: Saturday, August 14, 2009 - Start: 8:00 pm, prize money: 900000 €


2008 Gloucester City Council election
The 2008 Gloucester City Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Gloucester City Council in England. No party gained overall control of the council and still no overall control.


2008 Gold Coast Titans season
The 2008 Gold Coast Titans season was the 2nd in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2008 Telstra Premiership coached by John Cartwright and co-captained by Luke Bailey and Scott Prince. After 10 rounds of the premiership the Titans found themselves leading the competition with 7 wins from 9 games before slumping to finish the regular season 13th (out of 16) and failing to make the finals. Preston Campbell was awarded the Paul Broughton Medal for the club's player of the year.


2008 Golden Globes (Portugal)
The 2008 Golden Globes (Portugal) were the 13th edition of the Golden Globes (Portugal).


2008 Golden Helmet (Poland)
The 48th Golden Helmet Polish: Turniej o Złoty Kask, ZK  was the 2008 version of the Golden Helmet organized by the Polish Motor Union (PZM). It took place on October 25 in the Olympic Stadium in Wrocław, Poland. Defending Winner is Grzegorz Walasek from Zielona Góra.


2008 Golden Helmet (Poland)
Original date of Final was October 17, but after canceled of German Grand Prix and restarted Final Grand Prix on October 18, Main Comminsion for Speedway Sport decided aboute change date. After resignations top riders, Main Commission decided that top three riders are automatically qualify for 2010 Speedway Grand Prix Qualification without Domestic Qualifications.


2008 Golden Helmet (Poland)
The Golden Helmet was won by Damian Baliński from Unia Leszno, who beat Jarosław Hampel (Unia Leszno also) and Adrian Miedziński (Unibax Toruń). It was first time in history, when Baliński won in Golden Helmet; in 2005 he was second. Hampel was third in 2003, and Miedziński never won medal in this competition.


2008 Golden Helmet (Poland), Starting positions draw
Main Commission for Speedway Sport (Główna Komisja Sportu Żużlowego, GKSŻ) which is a part of the Polish Motor Union nominated 20 riders (12+3 track reserve from Ekstraliga and 4+1 from First League). Rafał Dobrucki, Tomasz Jędrzejak and Norbert Kościuch later replaced the injured Adrian Gomólski, Tomasz Gapiński and Krzysztof Buczkowski. After changed of Final date, Janusz Kołodziej must resigned, because on October 24 he was started in friendly match United States vs. Rest of the world. A few days before The Final, Tomasz Gollob, Rune Holta, Rafał Dobrucki and Robert Kościecha resigned. Next riders who resigned was Krzysztof Kasprzak, Krzysztof Jabłoński, Tomasz Chrzanowski, Sebastian Ułamek and Wiesław Jaguś, Mariusz Węgrzyk, Marcin Rempała, Maciej Kuciapa and Patryk Pawlaszczyk.


2008 Golden Helmet (Poland), Heat details
m - exclusion for exceeding two minute time allowance •  t - exclusion for touching the tapes •  x - other exclusion •  e - retired or mechanical failure •  f - fell •  ns - non-starter •  nc - non-classify


2008 Golden Spin of Zagreb
The 2008 Golden Spin of Zagreb (Croatian: Zlatna pirueta Zagreba) was the 41st edition of an annual senior-level international figure skating competition held in Zagreb, Croatia. It was held at the Dom Sportova between November 13 and 16, 2008. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing. The compulsory dance was the Paso Doble.


2008 Gomelsky Cup
2008 Gomelsky Cup was a basketball competition in Europe that occurred in Moscow between September 22, 2008 and September 24, 2008. Four top teams from Euroleague participated in this tournament - CSKA Moscow, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Panathinaikos Athens and Žalgiris Kaunas. Žalgiris Kaunas took the gold, in the end.


2008 Goody's Cool Orange 500
The 2008 Goody's Cool Orange 500 was the sixth race of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, and was run on Sunday, March 30, 2008 at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, Virginia. This race aired on Fox starting at 1:30 PM US EDT and radio was handled by Motor Racing Network and Sirius Satellite Radio starting their programming at 1:15 PM US EDT. The race marked the start of the use of the 2008 Top 35 owners points exemption for each week's race for the 2008 season. This was the first points paying race without Dale Jarrett since the 1990 TranSouth 500.


2008 Goody's Cool Orange 500, Qualifying
Jeff Gordon won the pole for this race, the 65th in his career. Kyle Petty, who was outside the Top 35 exemption rule, failed to qualify for a race for the first time since the 2004 season.


2008 Goody's Cool Orange 500, Results
Failed to qualify: Kyle Petty (#45), Tony Raines (#08), John Andretti (#34), Joe Nemechek (#78).


2008 Gosport Borough Council election
Elections to Gosport Council in Hampshire, England were held on 1 May 2008. Half of the council was up for election and the council stayed under no overall control.


2008 Gosport Borough Council election
Before the election the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties had held power on the council with the casting vote of the mayor. The election saw the Liberal Democrats close the gap with the Conservative party after making 5 gains, while the Labour party lost four of the five seats they had held. However following the election the Conservative party said that they would take charge of the council as they remained the largest party.


2008 Governor General's Awards
The 2008 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit: Finalists in 14 categories (73 books) were announced October 21, winners announced November 18. The prize for writers and illustrators was $25,000 and "a specially bound copy of the winning book".


2008 Governor General's Awards, Controversy
The Canada Council for the Arts, the award program's administrator, faced some criticism around its nomination of the graphic novel Skim in the Children's Literature category. The nomination was credited to Mariko Tamaki, who wrote the graphic novel's text, but not to her cousin and co-creator Jillian Tamaki, who drew the illustrations.


2008 Governor General's Awards, Controversy
Two prominent Canadian graphic novelists, Chester Brown and Seth, circulated an open letter to the Canada Council asking them to revise the nomination, arguing that unlike a more traditional illustrated book, a graphic novel's text and illustration are inseparable parts of the work's narrative, and that both women should accordingly be credited as equal co-authors. Their letter was also endorsed by other prominent Canadian and American graphic novelists, including Lynda Barry, Dan Clowes, Art Spiegelman, Chris Ware and Julie Doucet, as well as by Chris Oliveros of Canadian comic and graphic novel publisher Drawn & Quarterly and Peter Birkemore of Toronto comic store The Beguiling.


2008 Governor General's Awards, Controversy
Melanie Rutledge, a spokesperson for the Canada Council, responded that it was too late to revise the nominations for the 2008 awards, but that the council would take the feedback into account in the future.


2008 Governor General's Awards, Controversy
The Canada Council later faced controversy over its selection of Jacob Scheier's More to Keep Us Warm as the winner in the poetry category. Di Brandt, one of the poetry award's jurors, was credited by Scheier as a friend and mentor in the book's creation, resulting in debate over whether Brandt should have recused herself from the judging panel.


2008 Grand National
The 2008 Grand National (officially known as the John Smith's Grand National for sponsorship reasons) was the 161st official annual running of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase which took place at Aintree Racecourse near Liverpool, England, on 5 April 2008 and attracted the maximum permitted field of 40 runners, competing for total prize money of £450,640.


2008 Grand National
Joint-favourite Comply or Die and Irish jockey Timmy Murphy won the race (it was Murphy's eleventh attempt at the National), four lengths ahead of King John's Castle in second place and Snowy Morning in third.


2008 Grand National, Competitors and betting
Cloudy Lane, ridden by Jason Maguire, was the long-time ante-post favourite but was joined just before the off by Comply or Die, ridden by Timmy Murphy; the pair sent off as 7–1 joint-favourites. The top weight of 11 stone and 12 lbs was carried by former winner Hedgehunter, ridden by Ruby Walsh. The full order of betting at the off was as follows:


2008 Grand National, Competitors and betting
Three riders were having their thirteenth ride in the race: Mick Fitzgerald, who won the race in 1996 on Rough Quest, Paul Carberry, who won the race in 1999 on Bobbyjo, and Tony McCoy. Other former winning riders competing were Ruby Walsh (Hedgehunter in 2005 and Papillon in 2000), Barry Geraghty (Monty's Pass in 2003), Tony Dobbin (Lord Gyllene in 1997) and Robbie Power (Silver Birch in 2007).


2008 Grand National, Competitors and betting
Ardaghey was listed as first reserve and was called into the race when Opera Mundi was withdrawn the day before.


2008 Grand National, The race
The runners were sent away to a clean first start with No Full leading over the first fence, which all 40 runners cleared safely. The fences leading up to the sixth, Becher's Brook, claimed seven runners as Black Apalachi fell having taken the lead at the second; L'Ami, whose rider Mick Fitzgerald had to go to hospital with neck and back injuries, and Backbeat also fell. Tumbling Dice and Iron Man both unseated their riders when taking off too soon at the third, while Ardaghey and Fundamentalist got in too close to the fourth fence and both fell, leaving 31 runners continuing to Becher's, led by Mr. Pointment and Milan Deux Mille.


2008 Grand National, The race
No Full was up in the leading dozen runners when he clipped the top of Becher's and fell, and the casualties increased at the Canal Turn where Madison Du Berlais fell and hampered Philson Run, whose rider was unseated. The 11th fence claimed two more fallers when Contraband and Kelami both failed to negotiate that obstacle, leaving 26 to complete the first circuit.


2008 Grand National, The race
The water jump (16th fence) marked the end of the first circuit and was taken with Chelsea Harbour having moved up to lead from Mr. Pointment, D'Argent, Simon and Comply Or Die next in a tightly-packed field, which was reduced by one when Point Barrow was pulled up. Five other runners all left the contest before reaching Becher's Brook for the second time; Voldka Bleu, Naunton Brook and Bob Hall were all pulled up before the 19th; Joacci fell at the next and McKelvey also unseated his rider. McKelvey then veered sharply off the course after falling when trying to negotiate the running rails and suffering fatal injuries.


2008 Grand National, The race
At Becher's Brook for the second time the first dozen remained tightly grouped consisting of Chelsea Harbour, Mr. Pointment, Comply or Die, the grey D'Argent, Butler's Cabin, Snowy Morning, Idle Talk, Bewley's Berry, Knowhere, Simon, Mon Mome and Hedgehunter; Butler's Cabin fell there.


2008 Grand National, The race
Knowhere and Simon were beginning to lose touch when unseated at Valentine's fence, where Turko also fell. Joint-favourite Cloudy Lane had never been in the front rank and now looked too far off the pace to mount a challenge, as did Nadover, Bailey Breeze and Hi Cloy, with Cornish Sett and Milan Deux Mille tailed off with five fences to jump.


2008 Grand National, The race
D'Argent also looked like he was just starting to drop away when he fell four fences from home. Comply or Die took the final fence the best and was never headed on the long run-in, winning by four lengths from King John's Castle and Snowy Morning; Slim Pickings was again fourth. Eleven others finished in the following order: Bewley's Berry, Cloudy Lane, Nadover, Baily Breeze, Chelsea Harbour, Mon Mome, Hi Cloy, Cornish Sett, Hedgehunter, Idle Talk and Milan Deux Mille. Dun Doire was pulled up before jumping the second-last fence and long-time leader Mr. Pointment pulled up before the last.


2008 Grand National, Aftermath
It was the first Grand National win for all of the connections with Comply or Die, with jockey Timmy Murphy telling reporters that the race was the highlight of his career, confessing that the trainer had said the horse was a certainty to win. Owner David Johnson was also delighted to win after having had around 20 horses compete unsuccessfully in previous Nationals.


2008 Grand National, Aftermath
All of the other jockeys to complete the course returned stating their happiness with their mounts and such was the competitive nature of the race that all had felt they still had a chance at Becher's on the second circuit, the only exception being Tom Malone, whose Milan Deux Mille was already tailed off at that stage and finished a long way behind the rest.


2008 Grand National, Aftermath
2008 was Tony Dobbin's final ride in the Grand National, having announced his retirement before the race.


2008 Grand National, Aftermath
As a result of spinal injuries suffered in the race, Mick Fitzgerald also announced his retirement from race riding later that year.


2008 Grand National, Media coverage
Commentator Jim McGrath describes the climax of the 2008 Grand National


2008 Grand National, Media coverage
The National was televised live in the United Kingdom in a four-hour-long broadcast on BBC One, presented by Clare Balding with Rishi Persad and guest presenter Richard Dunwoody. The commentary team of four commentators was Ian Bartlett, Tony O'Hehir, Darren Owen and lead commentator Jim McGrath who called the winner home for the eleventh consecutive year.


2008 Grand National, Media coverage
The action was broadcast via fifty-two cameras, including cameras situated inside fences, although the use of jockey cams, cameras placed inside riders helmets was not used this year. The famous head-on elevated shot of Becher's Brook, which became synonymous with the fence for almost 50 years was replaced with a low angle shot. This was the 49th annual broadcast of the race live by the BBC.


2008 Grand National, Jockeys
For the second consecutive year, Tony McCoy, Mick Fitzgerald and Paul Carberry weighed out as the most experienced riders in the race, each taking their thirteenth attempt at a Grand National. Both Fitzgerald (1996) and Carberry (1999) had previously won the race but McCoy joined Jeff King, Peter Scudamore and David Nicholson in having faced the starter thirteen times in the National without ever being winner or runner-up, although in Scudamore's case this included the void race of 1993. It proved to be the final race that Fitzgerald rode in as he suffered serious neck, back and knee ligament injuries from his fall from L'Ami at the second fence. It forced him to retire from race riding.


2008 Grand National, Jockeys
Eight riders made their debut in the race with Paddy Flood, Aidan Coleman and Nick Scholfield all completing the course while Wilson Renwick fell at the second fence.


2008 Grand National Party Convention bribery incident
The 2008 Grand National Party Convention is a political scandal in the South Korean politics that exposed higher-level political corruption within the ranks of the Lee Myung-bak government. The connections surrounding the Lee Myung-bak government has also affected the performance of the Grand National Party. A GNP lawmaker, Koh Seung-duk, was instrumental of exposing it by reporting his knowledge about the corruption incident to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office.


2008 Grand National Party Convention bribery incident, Development of the Investigation
At first, the SPO raided the house of a former aide to Park Hee-tae, Koh Myung-jin. Later, the SPO has also detained the key campaigner to Park Hee-tae, Ahn Byung-yong, for delivering money to other party members during the 2008 legislative election.


2008 Grand Prix (snooker)
The 2008 Royal London Watches Grand Prix was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place between 11 and 19 October 2008 at the S.E.C.C. in Glasgow, Scotland.


2008 Grand Prix (snooker)
John Higgins won his first ranking event for 18 months by defeating Ryan Day 9–7 in the final.


2008 Grand Prix (snooker), Prize fund
The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:


2008 Grand Prix (snooker), Main draw
Matches on Sunday 12 October were played on a roll on/roll off basis. Play started at the allocated time each day with a 15-minute interval between matches. The third and fourth match did not start before 3pm. The evening session did not start before the time indicated on the format.


2008 Grand Prix (snooker), Main draw
The draw for round one was made on completion of the qualifiers on 26 September 2008. The draw from round two up to and including the semi-finals was made on a random basis. The order of play and table numbers for all matches up to the semi-finals were determined once the draw for that round was made and published by the tournament director.


2008 Grand Prix (snooker), Main draw
All matches up to and including the quarter-finals were best of 9 frames, semi-finals were best of 11 frames and the final was best of 17 frames. (Seedings in parentheses. All times are BST.)


2008 Grand Prix (snooker), Qualifying rounds
These matches took place from 22 to 25 September 2008 at the Pontin's Centre, Prestatyn, Wales.


2008 Grand Prix Hassan II
The 2008 Grand Prix Hassan II was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 24th edition of the Grand Prix Hassan II, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Complexe Al Amal in Casablanca, Morocco, from 18 May through 25 May 2008.


2008 Grand Prix Hassan II
The main draw was led by Australian Open runner-up and Sydney doubles champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 2007 Bucharest semifinalist Gaël Monfils, and Houston quarterfinalist Agustín Calleri. Other seeded players were Estoril quarterfinalist Marc Gicquel, Auckland semifinalist Julien Benneteau, Chris Guccione, Florent Serra and Victor Hănescu.


2008 Grand Prix Hassan II, Finals, Doubles
Albert Montañés /  Santiago Ventura defeated  James Cerretani /  Todd Perry, 6–1, 6–2


2008 Grand Prix Hassan II – Doubles
Jordan Kerr and David Škoch were the defending champions. They were both present but did not compete together. Kerr partnered with František Čermák, but lost in the first round to Guillermo Coria and Jean-Julien Rojer. Skoch partnered with Jaroslav Levinský, but lost in the quarterfinals to Florian Mayer and Rainer Schüttler.


2008 Grand Prix Hassan II – Doubles
Albert Montañés and Santiago Ventura won in the final 6–1, 6–2, against James Cerretani and Todd Perry.


2008 Grand Prix Hassan II – Singles
Paul-Henri Mathieu was the defending champion, but chose not to participate that year.


2008 Grand Prix Hassan II – Singles
Qualifier Gilles Simon won in the final 7–5, 6–2, against fifth-seeded Julien Benneteau.


2008 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem
The 2008 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 8th edition of the Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem, and was part of the Tier IV Series of the 2008 WTA Tour. It took place in Fes, Morocco, from 28 April until 4 May 2008.


2008 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem, Singles
Milagros Sequera was the defending champion, but chose not to participate that year.


2008 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem, Singles
Gisela Dulko won in the final 7–6(2), 7–6(5), against Anabel Medina Garrigues.


2008 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem, Doubles
Vania King and Sania Mirza were the defending champions, but Mirza chose not to participate, and only King competed that year. King partnered with Lourdes Domínguez Lino, but lost in the first round to Sorana Cîrstea and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.


2008 Grand Prix SAR La Princesse Lalla Meryem, Doubles
Sorana Cîrstea and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova won in the final 6–2, 6–2, against Alisa Kleybanova and Ekaterina Makarova.


2008 Grand Prix de Denain
The 2008 Grand Prix de Denain was the 50th edition of the Grand Prix de Denain cycle race and was held on 17 April 2008. The race started in Raismes and finished in Denain. The race was won by Edvald Boasson Hagen.


2008 Grand Prix de Futsal
The 2008 Grand Prix de Futsal was the fourth edition of the international futsal competition of the same kind as the FIFA Futsal World Cup but with invited nations and held annually in Brazil. It was first held in 2005.


2008 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon
The 2008 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 22nd edition of the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Palais des Sports de Gerland in Lyon, France, from 20 October through 26 October 2008.


2008 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon
The singles line up featured ATP No. 8, US Open quarterfinalist, San Jose, Dubai and Beijing champion, Los Angeles runner-up Andy Roddick, Stuttgart finalist Richard Gasquet, and Australian Open runner-up, Bangkok winner Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Also present were Casablanca, Indianapolis and Bucharest titlist Gilles Simon, Båstad winner Tommy Robredo, Ivo Karlović, Robin Söderling and Paul-Henri Mathieu.


2008 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, Finals, Doubles
Michaël Llodra /  Andy Ram defeated  Stephen Huss /  Ross Hutchins, 6–3, 5–7, [10–8]


2008 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon – Doubles
Sébastien Grosjean and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga were the defending champions, but were forced to withdraw due to a shoulder injury for Grosjean, before their quarterfinals match against Michaël Llodra and Andy Ram.


2008 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon – Doubles
Michaël Llodra and Andy Ram won in the final 6–3, 5–7, [10–8], against Stephen Huss and Ross Hutchins.


2008 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon – Singles
Sébastien Grosjean was the defending champion, but lost in the first round to Robby Ginepri.


2008 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon – Singles
Seventh-seeded Robin Söderling won in the final 6–3, 6–7(5–7), 6–1, against Julien Benneteau.


2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season
The 2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 60th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. The season consisted out of 18 races for the MotoGP class and 17 for the 125cc and 250cc classes, beginning with the Qatar motorcycle Grand Prix on 9 March 2008 and ending with the Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix on 26 October.


2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Season review, MotoGP
The MotoGP class opened with the historic Qatar Grand Prix, the first night race held in the World Championship history. The race was won by Ducati's Casey Stoner ahead of rookie Jorge Lorenzo, who started on pole in his maiden race in the premier class, and Dani Pedrosa.


2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Season review, MotoGP
In Spain Pedrosa won his first race of the year, ahead of Rossi and Lorenzo, while Stoner struggled with technical problems on his bike and finished 11th after twice going out on the gravel. At the Portugal GP, Lorenzo started on pole and won his first MotoGP race, ahead of Pedrosa and Rossi.


2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Season review, MotoGP
In China Rossi took his first win of the season and the first of three consecutive first places, after a weekend dominated by rain and cold temperatures; he then won in France and in front of his home crowd in Italy.


2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Season review, MotoGP
Stoner won the three consecutive races in Britain, the Netherlands and Germany, also obtaining pole position and the fastest lap in all three.


2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Season review, MotoGP
The United States race at Laguna Seca was the biggest turning point of the season. Before the race Stoner trailed Rossi on the standings by only 20 points. The Australian took pole position and started the race in first position. However, Rossi passed Stoner in the middle on the first lap, and Stoner could never make a decisive pass, and he stayed behind until the 24th lap, where he fell at the last corner. He re-mounted, but finished in second place while Rossi caught the first of five consecutive wins. In the next two races, Czech Republic and San Marino, Stoner fell off while leading from Rossi, who then won both times.


2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Season review, MotoGP
The race at Indianapolis was a particularly difficult due to track conditions: the arrival of Hurricane Ike over Indiana meant cold temperatures, heavy winds and rain for the whole race duration; the race was a battle between Rossi and former World Champion Nicky Hayden, who eventually took his first podium of the season. As Rossi began to pull a gap, heavy winds began to blow and the race was ended early with Rossi leading.


2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Season review, MotoGP
Two weeks later, in Japan, Rossi clinched his sixth premier class title with three races to go, by winning the race ahead of Stoner. The Australian then won his home race and in Valencia, while Rossi won in Malaysia.


2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Season review, 250cc class
The first four races of the season showed the early form of KTM and Mika Kallio, with two wins and two other third places, with strong showings by Marco Simoncelli, Alvaro Bautista and Mattia Pasini, who won the season opener in Qatar, his first race in the class. After the initial problems, though, Simoncelli had a run of 7 consecutive races on the podium, from China to Czech Republic. He started the season on a semi-works Aprilia LE (Gilera is a subsidiary of Aprilia, so Gilera racing bikes are rebranded Aprilia bikes), but his performances led Aprilia to give him a works Aprilia RSA, making him a de facto works rider.


2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Season review, 250cc class
After his strong start, Kallio couldn't keep the pace of Simoncelli, his KTM not being able to challenge the more powerful Aprilias in most tracks. Bautista got into shape well into the season, after a series of bad races and retirements due to problems with his bike and rider errors. After that, however, he also began a streak of podiums which lasted from Catalunya to Malaysia, but Simoncelli was too far ahead of him on the standings, and he won his first World Championship with one race to go.


2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Season review, 125cc class
Reigning champion Gábor Talmácsi stayed in the class, unlike other top names from last year who moved into 250cc category. Among the pre-season favourites were also Bradley Smith, Simone Corsi and Mike di Meglio. Talmácsi had dismal start to the season, with reliability problems on his new bike. Corsi won three of first six races and despite few bad results, looked good in the championship. However, Mike di Meglio won also multiple races, and having escaped without retirement until Misano, built up strong lead. He clinched the championship two races before the end. Corsi took second ahead of Talmácsi and Bradl who failed to finish the final race.


2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Season review, 125cc class
The season saw eight riders winning races: Talmácsi, Corsi, di Meglio, Sergio Gadea and four first-time winners: Andrea Iannone, Stefan Bradl, Nicolas Terol and Scott Redding, who became the youngest ever winner in the class. The season was completely dominated by the Piaggio bikes, (Aprilia, Derbi and Gilera), as Spanish Marc Márquez was only other rider to achieve podium place with his 3rd place in Donington.


2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, 2008 Grand Prix season calendar
The following Grands Prix were scheduled to take place in 2008:


2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, 2008 Grand Prix season calendar
The 2008 race schedule was released in July 2007. The schedule was later revised, with Japan held before Australia, because of the original Australian date had a conflict with the AFL Grand Final. Two other changes were made. Portugal was moved from 20 April to 13 April and the Grand Finale in Valencia was on 26 October instead of 2 November, to avoid clashes with the F1 season finale.


2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Regulation changes
The following changes are made to the regulation for the 2008 season:


2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Regulation changes, Sporting regulations
It is also forbidden to lodge a protest against a statement of fact of the Race Direction based on a photo finish.


2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Standings, MotoGP riders' standings
Points are awarded to the top fifteen finishers. Rider has to finish the race to earn points.


2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Standings, 250cc riders' standings
Points are awarded to the top fifteen finishers. Rider has to finish the race to earn points.


2008 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Standings, 125cc riders' standings
Points are awarded to the top fifteen finishers. Rider has to finish the race to earn points.


2008 Grand Prix of Mosport
The Mobil 1 Presents Grand Prix of Mosport was the eighth round of the 2008 American Le Mans Series season. It took place at Mosport International Raceway, Ontario, Canada on August 24, 2008. Temperatures had reached a maximum of 27.1 °C (80.8 °F); with wind speeds of up to 9.9 kilometres per hour (6.2 mph) not unheard of throughout the day.


2008 Grand Prix of Mosport, Race results
Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).


2008 Grand Prix of Mosport, Race results
† - The #71 Tafel Racing entry was penalized after the race for making repeated contact with the #45 Flying Lizard Motorsports entry. 30 seconds was added to the #71's time, losing it one position in the final standings.


2008 Grand Rapids Rampage season
The 2008 Grand Rapids Rampage season is the 11th season for the franchise. The Rampage finished the regular season 6–10, earning them a spot in the playoffs as the 6th seed in the American Conference. In their Wild Card playoff game, the Rampage upset the Arizona Rattlers, 48–41. In the Divisional round, the Rampage won in a bigger upset against the top seeded Chicago Rush, 58–41. The Rampage's playoff run was cut short however, after losing the American Conference Championship to defending champion San Jose SaberCats, 55–81.


2008 Grand Rapids Rampage season, Standings
z - Clinched division and conference's best recordx - Clinched playoff berth


2008 Grand Rapids Rampage season, Final roster
Rookies in italics updated July 9, 200824 Active, 7 Inactive, 2 PS


2008 Grand Slam of Darts
The 2008 PartyPoker.com Grand Slam of Darts was the second staging of the darts tournament, the Grand Slam of Darts organised by the Professional Darts Corporation. The event took place from 15 to 23 November 2008 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, England. As with 2007, the tournament included players from both the PDC and BDO organisations.


2008 Grand Slam of Darts
Phil Taylor successfully defended the title after defeating Terry Jenkins 18–9 in the final.


2008 Grand Slam of Darts
James Wade also hit the first nine-dart finish in the history of this tournament, during his second round defeat by Gary Anderson.


2008 Grand Slam of Darts, Prize Fund
The prize fund for the 2008 tournament was as follows:


2008 Grand Slam of Darts, Qualifying
There were 15 tournaments that provided qualifying opportunities to players. Most tournaments offered a qualifying position for the winner and runner-up of the tournament, however the World Championships and the 2007 Grand Slam also offered a place in the tournament to the losing semi-finalists. There were also various other ways of qualifying for overseas players, including those from Australia and the United States of America, as well as a wildcard qualifying event open to any darts player.


2008 Grand Slam of Darts, Qualifying, Qualifying tournaments, BDO
For the second year running, Martin Adams declined his invitation to take part in the competition.


2008 Grand Slam of Darts, Pro-Celebrity Challenge
As a curtain-raiser for the main Grand Slam of Darts, a competition involving eight celebrities and eight of the professionals taking part in the Grand Slam took place on the Friday before the tournament. The winners of the tournament collected a first prize of £8,000. In a closely fought final, James Wade and Steve Backley won a final-leg decider over Phil Taylor and Neil Ruddock, with Backley's double two checkout sealing the victory. Those involved were:


2008 Grand Slam of Darts, Draw, Group stages
NB in Brackets: Number = Seeds; BDO = BDO Darts player; Q = QualifierNB: P = Played; W = Won; L = Lost; LF = Legs For; LA = Legs Against; +/- = Plus/Minus Record, in relation to legs; Average – 3-dart average; Pts = Points.


2008 Grand Slam of Darts, Draw, Group stages, Group B
With Andy Hamilton and Alan Tabern finishing level on points and leg difference, a piece of history was made, with a nine-dart shootout between the two to see who would play Phil Taylor in the second round. The match took place after the conclusion of Tuesday's second round matches.


2008 Grand Slam of Darts, Television coverage
ITV Sport again broadcast coverage throughout the championship, in the UK. Again, Matt Smith presented the coverage on ITV4, with analysis from Chris Mason and Alan Warriner-Little, commentary from Peter Drury, Stuart Pyke and John Rawling and reports from Ned Boulting and Janie Omorogbe.


2008 Grand Slam of Darts, Match fixing allegations
Five days after the tournament concluded, the PDC revealed that the organisation had received complaints concerning the Group H match between Darryl Fitton and Gary Anderson, and forwarded those complaints to the Darts Regulation Authority. On 26 January 2009 it was announced that there was no evidence of player collusion in the arranging of match outcomes.


2008 Graz local election
Local elections were held in Graz on 20 January 2008. Apart from the five parties present in the municipal council – the Austrian People's Party, the Social Democratic Party of Austria, the Communist Party of Austria, the Freedom Party of Austria and the Greens – The Green Alternative – the Alliance for the Future of Austria also contested the election.


2008 Graz local election
A poll from early December 2007 saw the lead of incumbent mayor Siegfried Nagl (ÖVP) diminish:


2008 Great Alaska Shootout
The 2008 Great Alaska Shootout was held from November 26, 2008, through November 29, 2008.


2008 Great Yarmouth Borough Council election
The 2008 Great Yarmouth Borough Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of Great Yarmouth Borough Council in Norfolk, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.


2008 Great Yarmouth Borough Council election, Background
13 seats were contested at the election with both the Conservative and Labour parties contesting every seat, while the Liberal Democrats had 6 candidates, the United Kingdom Independence Party 3 and the Green Party 2.


2008 Great Yarmouth Borough Council election, Election result
The results saw the Conservatives increase their majority on the council after gaining two seats from Labour. This took the Conservatives to 24 seats, compared to 15 for Labour, while none of the other parties who contested the election won any seats. Overall turnout at the election was 30.02%, slightly down on the over 31% in 2007.


2008 Great Yarmouth Borough Council election, Election result
One of the two Conservatives gains came in Bradwell North, where the leader of the Labour group on the council, Trevor Wainwright, lost by 48 votes. Wainwright put his defeat down to national issues and in particular the abolition of the 10p rate of income tax. The other Conservative gain came in Magdalen ward where councillor Colleen Walker was defeated by Patricia Page by 64 votes. Among those to hold their seats were the Conservative leader of the council Barry Coleman and the Conservative mayor Paul Garrod. Coleman agreed that national events had effected the election saying "You can't help but think national issues came into play in this vote".


2008 Great Yarmouth Borough Council election, Election result
Following the election Mick Castle returned as leader of the Labour group on the council, after previously having been group leader from 2004 to 2006.


2008 Greek Ice Hockey Championship season
The 2008 Greek Ice Hockey Championship season was the seventh season of the Greek Ice Hockey Championship, the first since 2000. Iptamenoi Pagodromoi Athinai won their fourth league title.


2008 Greek riots
The 2008 Greek riots started on 6 December 2008, when Alexandros Grigoropoulos (Greek: Αλέξανδρος Γρηγορόπουλος), a 15-year-old Greek student, was killed by a special officer in Exarcheia district of central Athens. The killing of the young student by police resulted in large protests and demonstrations, which escalated to widespread rioting, with numerous rioters damaging property and engaging riot police with Molotov cocktails, stones and other objects. Demonstrations and rioting soon spread to several other cities, including Thessaloniki, the country's second-largest city, and international cities in solidarity. Newspaper Kathimerini called the rioting "the worst Greece has seen since the restoration of democracy in 1974".


2008 Greek riots
While the unrest was triggered by the shooting incident, commentators described the reactions as expressing deeper causes as well, especially a widespread feeling of frustration in the younger generation about specific economic problems of the country (partly as a result of the global economic crisis), a rising unemployment rate among the young generation and a perception of general inefficiency and corruption in Greek state institutions.


2008 Greek riots, The shooting incident
The fatal shooting that triggered the riots and protests took place in the evening of 6 December 2008, shortly after 9 pm, in the Exarcheia district of central Athens.


2008 Greek riots, The shooting incident
According to press reports, two Special Guards (Ειδικοί Φρουροί) (a special category of the Greek police personnel, originally meant for guard duties on public property) had been engaged in a minor verbal clash with a small group of teenagers in a main street of Exarcheia, outside a shop. On driving away in their police car, they were then confronted by another small group at a nearby street crossing. The two guards were ordered by the Greek police center of operations to disengage immediately and withdraw from the confrontation site. However, the two guards did not comply and were later accused of insubordination. Instead, the two special guards chose to station their police vehicle outside the PASOK headquarters, left the car and went to Tzavella Street on foot, in order to confront the youngsters.


2008 Greek riots, The shooting incident
Following some exchange of verbal abuse that, according to several witnesses, was initiated by the guards, one of them, Epaminondas Korkoneas, fired his gun. The initial police's report on the incident claims that the special guard shot in response to a renewed attack by the youths, that involved throwing stones and bottles. Eyewitnesses who spoke to Greek media, however, reported that the special guards were not attacked by the youths, nor was their physical safety put in danger at any time. Instead, the special guards approached the group and verbally assaulted them in order to provoke them. The special guard said he fired three rounds, two warning shots in the air and a third aimed on the ground. Several eyewitnesses said they believed the policeman had directly targeted the youngsters.


2008 Greek riots, The shooting incident
The victim, Alexandros – Andreas Grigoropoulos (Greek: Αλέξανδρος – Ανδρέας Γρηγορόπουλος) was a 15-year-old student, who lived in the affluent northern Athens suburb of Palaio Psychiko and attended a private school (the Moraitis School). Immediately following the shooting, he was transported to the nearby Evangelismos Hospital where he was pronounced dead.


2008 Greek riots, Investigation of the shooting
A criminal investigation was initiated against the police officer who fired the shot, on a charge of murder ("intentional homicide" according to Greek law), while his partner was charged as an accomplice. Both were suspended from duty and were kept in detention. The defense counsel that was initially hired resigned shortly after accepting the case, citing personal reasons.


2008 Greek riots, Investigation of the shooting
On 10 December, Alexis Kougias, counsel for the defendants, said that preliminary results of the ballistic tests apparently show that it was indeed a ricochet and that the two policemen will only appear before the public prosecutor after the forensic, toxicological, and ballistic examinations had been completed. However, the results of forensic tests indicated that the bullet that killed Grigoropoulos had entered the youth's body directly. This cast doubt on claims, by the 37-year-old policeman charged with the boy's murder, that the bullet had been fired as a warning and ricocheted. On the morning of 11 December, Dimitris Tsovolas, former MP and economic minister under the previous government, formed by PASOK agreed to serve as the counsel for Grigoropoulos' family.


2008 Greek riots, Investigation of the shooting
On the same day, counsel for the two policemen involved in the shooting released an explanatory statement, that described the deceased as demonstrating "deviant behaviour." According to the memorandum, Grigoropoulos was a teenager from a wealthy family, he frequented the Exarcheia district, had allegedly taken part in riotous activities that took place following the end of a basketball game two hours before he was shot, and that, in general, "the victim did not show the expected behaviour and personality of a 15-year-old adolescent."


2008 Greek riots, Investigation of the shooting
Grigoropoulos' family, friends, schoolmates and high school teachers immediately condemned those statements and declared in public that the allegations in the defendants' memorandum are "completely inaccurate" and "insulting"; the private school Grigoropoulos attended also issued a public statement that denies all the allegations. Kougias' stance, as well as his comments in the explanatory memorandum, forced the Athens bar association to initiate disciplinary proceedings against him.