2013 German federal election, Government formation
As in the red-baiting and Red Scare campaign ("red socks") during the 1994 German federal election, Merkel scared off that the alternative was a left-wing red–red–green coalition government, since the FDP lost all its seats. Many SPD insiders did not want to work with The Left. One day after the election, Merkel announced that she had already spoken with the SPD but would not rule out other possibilities.


2013 German federal election, Government formation
An opinion poll conducted shortly after the election showed that 65% of SPD members were opposed to entering a Merkel-led grand coalition; however, the SPD executive voted to enter coalition talks with the proviso that they would seek a vote from their membership before making a final agreement on entering a coalition. The Greens were open to coalition talks with the CDU/CSU, but CSU leaders said they opposed a coalition with the Greens. The Greens announced they would not consider going into coalition with the Left.


2013 German federal election, Government formation
Formal talks began in the first week of October when Merkel met SPD leaders on 4 October. She said: "Europe is watching us, the world is watching us. We have the common responsibility to build a stable government." She also planned to hold talks with the Greens the following week. After five weeks of negotiations that culminated in an all-night session 27–28 November, the CDU/CSU reached agreement with the SPD to form a new coalition government. Issues resolved in the talks included the planned introduction of a minimum hourly wage of €8.50 in 2015 and no new taxes.


2013 German federal election, Government formation
The deal depended on approval by the SPD rank and file, with a poll set for 6 December. On 14 December, 76% of the SPD's members voted for the coalition to go ahead. The Third Merkel cabinet was sworn in on 17 December. This grand coalition continued after the 2017 German federal election.


2013 German motorcycle Grand Prix
The 2013 German motorcycle Grand Prix was the eighth round of the 2013 MotoGP season. It was scheduled to be held at the Sachsenring in Hohenstein-Ernstthal on 14 July 2013.


2013 German motorcycle Grand Prix
In Moto2, Kalex rider Xavier Siméon secured his first pole position, the first for a Belgian rider since Didier de Radiguès took pole position in the 250cc class at the 1989 Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix.


2013 German motorcycle Grand Prix
In MotoGP, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa were forced out of the event due to injuries.


2013 German motorcycle Grand Prix, Championship standings after the race (MotoGP)
Below are the standings for the top five riders and constructors after round eight has concluded.


2013 Gerry Weber Open
The 2013 Gerry Weber Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 21st edition of the event known that year as the Gerry Weber Open and was part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the 2013 ATP World Tour. It took place at the Gerry Weber Stadion in Halle, Germany, between 8 and 16 June 2013.


2013 Gerry Weber Open, Singles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following players received wildcards into the singles main draw:


2013 Gerry Weber Open, Doubles main draw entrants, Other entrants
The following pairs received wildcards into the doubles main draw:


2013 Gerry Weber Open – Doubles
Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi and Jean-Julien Rojer were the defending champions, but lost in the first round to Kei Nishikori and Milos Raonic. Santiago González and Scott Lipsky won the title, defeating Daniele Bracciali and Jonathan Erlich in the final, 6–2, 7–6(7–3).


2013 Gerry Weber Open – Singles
Tommy Haas was the defending champion but was knocked out by top seed Roger Federer in the semifinals. Federer won 6–7(5–7), 6–3, 6–4 against Mikhail Youzhny to claim a record sixth title and his first since 2008.


2013 Gerry Weber Open – Singles, Seeds
The top four seeds received a bye into the second round.


2013 Gerry Weber Open – Singles, Qualifying, Seeds
The top three seeds received byes into the second round.


2013 Geylang International FC season
The 2013 S.League season is Geylang International's 18th season in the top flight of Singapore football and 38th year in existence as a football club.


2013 Ghana Movie Awards
The 2013 Ghana Movie Awards was held at the Accra International Conference Center on 30 December, 2013. A Northern Affair and Contract were the top winners for the night.


2013 Gibraltar Darts Trophy
The 2013 Gibraltar Darts Trophy was the fifth of eight PDC European Tour events on the 2013 PDC Pro Tour. The tournament took place at the Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar, from 28–30 June 2013. It featured a field of 64 players and £100,000 in prize money, with £20,000 going to the winner. It was won by Phil Taylor, with Jamie Lewis as the runner-up.


2013 Gibraltar Darts Trophy
Also notable was the nine-dart finish hit by Ross Smith in his second round defeat by Adrian Lewis, which was the last nine darter to be hit in the PDC European Tour until June 2018.


2013 Gibraltar Darts Trophy, Course of the event
Phil Taylor won his second European Tour title with a 6–1 victory over Jamie Lewis in the final. He had previously beaten Steve Beaton 6-0 in the last eight and Dave Chisnall 6-2 in the semi-finals, recording an average score of 112.73 in the former. The £20,000 first prize was Taylor's second win in June 2013, having earlier won the 2013 UK Open title. Taylor's victory was his first European Tour win since Berlin in June 2012, adding to a career that has led to him being called the greatest ever darts player. He told the Staffordshire newspaper The Sentinel, "It's fantastic to win this and I am over the moon. It's been a great weekend for me and I've really enjoyed it in Gibraltar."


2013 Gibraltar Darts Trophy, Course of the event
The tournament's biggest surprise was Jamie Lewis' appearance in the final. He reached his first senior final after having to qualify to take part in the event, and was aiming to win one match and the £1,000 prize money, so that he would earn a place in the world top 64 and would avoid having to need to qualify for the 2014 PDC European Tour.


2013 Gibraltar Darts Trophy, Course of the event
The event was the first-ever Gibraltar Darts Trophy, sponsored by the Government of Gibraltar at a reported cost of £100,000. Although it was not broadcast live, it was covered by Sky Sports. The trophy was presented by the territory's Sports Minister, Stephen Linares. Four Gibraltarian players participated as home nation qualifiers, but were all eliminated in the opening round.


2013 Gibraltar Darts Trophy, Qualification
The top 32 players from the  on the 22 May 2013 automatically qualified for the event. The remaining 32 places went to players from three qualifying events - 20 from the UK Qualifier (held in Wigan on 24 May), eight from the European Qualifier (held at the venue in Gibraltar on 27 June) and four from the Host Nation Qualifier (held in Gibraltar on 24 April).


2013 Gibraltar by-election
The Gibraltar by-election, 2013 was a parliamentary by-election held on 4 July 2013 for the Gibraltar Parliament. The by-election was to contest the seat left vacant by the death of Government of Gibraltar Housing Minister Charles Bruzon in April 2013. The Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party (GSLP), Gibraltar Social Democrats (GSD), Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) and an independent contested the by-election. The Liberal Party of Gibraltar who is in alliance and in Government with the GSLP backed the GSLP's candidate.


2013 Gibraltar by-election
The Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation's pre-election poll gave the GSLP's candidate Albert Isola an advantage of almost 5% over the GSD's Marlene Hassan Nahon. It was also the last elections that the Progressive Democratic Party had took part before their disbandment over a month later that same year.


2013 Gibraltar by-election, Background
Charles Bruzon was a member of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party (GSLP) and the Government's Housing Minister since 9 December 2011. His seat in the Gibraltar Parliament became vacant following his death on 16 April 2013 aged 74, following a long battle with illness. On 20 May 2013, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo met with Governor Sir Adrian Johns at The Convent and asked him to issue a writ for the by-election. The Chief Minister then made the announcement in Parliament later that day calling for candidates to sign up by noon on 14 June.


2013 Gibraltar by-election, Background
Picardo confirmed that the GSLP would, in alliance with the Liberal Party field a candidate for election. He announced it would be a GSLP candidate but that the alliance would fight the election jointly. The Gibraltar Social Democrats as Opposition had initially decided not to contest the by-election considering instead a "gentleman's agreement" as the seat had been one of the GSLP which had become vacant under tragic circumstances.


2013 Gibraltar by-election, Background
The Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) which was not represented in Parliament immediately decided it would contest the by-election seeing it as an opportunity to be represented despite its poor performance at the previous two general elections. On 30 May 2013 the PDP announced its candidature of party leader Nick Cruz. At this point the GSD was reconsidering its decision not to contest the by-election as its leader, Daniel Feetham, said it would be "illogical" for the elected Opposition not to do so if the PDP signed up.


2013 Gibraltar by-election, Background
The party announced, via its Twitter account on 5 June 2013, that it had chosen former Chief Minister Sir Joshua Hassan's daughter Marlene Hassan Nahon, as its candidate. The GSLP chose former Member of the then House of Assembly Albert Isola, son of former Leader of the Opposition Peter Isola, as the party's candidate on 9 June 2013. The final candidate to sign up on 12 June 2013 was independent Bryan Zammit.


2013 Gibraltar by-election, Poll
A public opinion poll commissioned by the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) predicted a close running between Isola and Nahon. The survey was carried out over six days on 500 eligible voters through face-to-face interviews, representing 2.5% of the Gibraltarian electorate. The poll's results were published on 24 June 2013 and showed Isola with 41.4%, Nahon with 36.5%, Zammit with 11.9% and Cruz with 8.2% support amongst the interviewees with 2% of them yet undecided.


2013 Gibraltar by-election, Poll
GBC's poll also predicted that the 5.4% of voters who previously voted for the GSLP/Liberals at the 2011 general election would vote for the GSD's candidate, while only 2.4% of those who previously voted for the GSD would vote for the GSLP's candidate.


2013 Gibraltar v Slovakia football match
The international friendly between the Gibraltar and Slovakia national football teams on 19 November 2013 was the first official match played by Gibraltar after joining the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). It took place at the Estádio Algarve in Faro/Loulé, Portugal with 350 fans in attendance. The Gibraltar Football Association chose to play at the Estádio Algarve as this would be the stadium the team would use for competitive matches as their only venue the Victoria Stadium was not eligible to. The game ended in a 0–0 draw which was seen as an upset with Slovakia being heavy favourites to defeat UEFA's newest members. Gibraltar defender Danny Higginbotham received the man of the match award.


2013 Gibraltar v Slovakia football match, Background
Gibraltar first applied for UEFA membership in 1997 but was rejected because of intense opposition from Spain due to the disputed status of Gibraltar and that the territory's acceptance would inspire separatist Basque and Catalan national football teams to apply for membership as well. They reapplied unsuccessfully in 2007 with only three member nations supporting their bid after Spain threatened to withdraw Spanish teams from all UEFA competitions. They tried again in October 2012 and were granted full membership in March 2013. The team's first announced match was against Estonia in Tallinn on 5 March 2014, but in October 2013 Slovakia, who had been UEFA members since 1993, were named as Gibraltar's first opponents.


2013 Gibraltar v Slovakia football match, Background
Slovakia began 2013 with a narrow 2–1 away defeat to Belgium. This was followed by two consecutive home draws, 1–1 in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Lithuania and 0–0 in a friendly against Sweden. On 7 June 2013 they faced Liechtenstein away in a World Cup qualifier, Martin Büchel gave the host a surprise lead but Ján Ďurica equalised 60 minutes later for Slovakia, despite the late goal the match was considered an upset, co-coaches Stanislav Griga and Michal Hipp were sacked after the match as they failed to win their last six matches.


2013 Gibraltar v Slovakia football match, Background
The Slovak Football Association appointed former Slovakia midfielder Ján Kozák as the new head coach of the national team in July 2013. Kozák's first match was a friendly away to Romania which ended in a 1–1 draw. After Kozák's appointment Slovakia had four remaining World Cup qualifiers: a win, a draw and two losses saw Slovakia finish UEFA Group G in third place and failed to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The final match before facing Gibraltar was a friendly against Poland away in Wrocław, first half goals from Juraj Kucka and Róbert Mak gave Slovakia a 2–0 win.


2013 Gibraltar v Slovakia football match, Background
The Victoria Stadium is the only football stadium in Gibraltar but does not meet UEFA's standards for competitive internationals, so it was agreed they would use the Estádio Algarve in Faro/Loulé, Portugal for competitive matches until Gibraltar had an eligible stadium of their own. Even though the Victoria Stadium is eligible for friendly matches the Gibraltar Football Association decided to play the match against Slovakia at the Estádio Algarve to give them a chance to test the stadium for its future use.


2013 Gibraltar v Slovakia football match, Post-match
As Slovakia were heavy favourites for a comfortable win over Gibraltar the draw resulted in opposite feelings for both managers: Gibraltar's Allen Bula said the result was "a dream come true" while Slovakia's Ján Kozák described the result as "a huge disappointment" for him. Defender Danny Higginbotham, who qualifies for Gibraltar via his grandmother, was the recipient of the man of the match award and declared the result as "one of the best" in his career.


2013 Gibraltar v Slovakia football match, Post-match
The match was the last in 2013 for both teams; Gibraltar's next match was a friendly against the Faroe Islands at the Victoria Stadium in March 2014, the first official match played in Gibraltar since their acceptance into UEFA. They took the lead with a goal from captain Roy Chipolina before going on to lose 4–1. The result was the largest away win for the Faroes and it was also their joint largest win overall, equalling their 3–0 win over San Marino in 1995. Slovakia's next match was also a friendly, but they were away to Israel; goals from Martin Jakubko, Ján Ďurica and Róbert Mak ensured a 3–1 win for Slovakia.


2013 Gibraltar v Slovakia football match, Post-match
In 2014 Gibraltar gained their second draw and first win, 1–1 against Estonia and 1–0 against Malta — they lost the other six matches. That same year they took part in their first major international competition entering the qualifying rounds for UEFA Euro 2016. Slovakia would go through 2014 winning eight of the nine fixtures they played, losing the other 0–1 to Russia; they began their sixth qualifying campaign for the UEFA European Championship the same year. Slovakia were able to qualify for the main tournament as runners-up of Group C while Gibraltar finished bottom of Group D without a point and failed to qualify.


2013 Ginetta GT Supercup
The 2013 Ginetta GT Supercup is a multi-event, one make GT motor racing championship held across England and Scotland. The championship features a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded drivers, competing in a Ginetta G55 or Ginetta G50 that conform to the technical regulations for the championship. It forms part of the extensive program of support categories built up around the BTCC centrepiece.


2013 Ginetta GT Supercup
This season will be the third Ginetta GT Supercup, having rebranded from the Ginetta G50 Cup, which ran between 2008 and 2010.


2013 Ginetta GT Supercup, Race calendar and results
The series will last for 27 races over 10 rounds, and will support the British Touring Car Championship at all rounds.


2013 Ginetta GT Supercup, Championship standings
A driver's best 25 scores counted towards the championship, with any other points being discarded.


2013 Ginetta Junior Championship
The 2013 Ginetta Junior Championship was a multi-event, one-make motor racing championship held across England and Scotland. The championship featured a mix of professional motor racing teams and privately funded drivers, aged between 14 and 17, competing in Ginetta G40s that conformed to the technical regulations for the championship. It forms part of the extensive program of support categories built up around the British Touring Car Championship centrepiece.


2013 Ginetta Junior Championship
This season was the seventh Ginetta Junior Championship. The season commenced on 31 March 2013 at Brands Hatch – on the circuit's Indy configuration – and concluded on 13 October 2013 at the same venue, utilising the Grand Prix circuit, after twenty races held at ten meetings, all in support of the 2013 British Touring Car Championship.


2013 Ginetta Junior Championship, Regulation changes
After introducing slick racing tyres in 2012, the championship reverted to treaded road tyres from this season onwards. The switch back was made in effort to cut costs, by saving 75% on the tyre budget.


2013 Ginetta Junior Championship, Race calendar and results
The provisional calendar was announced by the British Touring Car Championship organisers on 29 August 2012.


2013 Girabola
The 2013 Girabola was the 35th season of top-tier football in Angola. The season ran from 26 February to 3 November 2013. Recreativo do Libolo are the defending champions. Kabuscorp were crowned champions having won their first title.


2013 Girabola
The league comprises 16 teams, the bottom three of which will be relegated to the 2014 Segundona.


2013 Girabola
The winner and the runner-up qualified to the CAF Champions League.


2013 Girabola, Changes from 2012 season
Relegated: Académica do Soyo, Sporting de Cabinda, Nacional de Benguela Promoted: Desportivo da Huíla, Porcelana FC, Primeiro de Maio


2013 Girls' EuroHockey Youth Championships
The 2013 Girls' EuroHockey Youth Championships was the 7th edition of the Girls' EuroHockey Youth Championship. The tournament was held from 29 July–4 August 2013 in Dublin, Ireland at the University College Dublin.


2013 Girls' EuroHockey Youth Championships
Netherlands won the tournament for the fifth time after defeating Germany 1–0 in the final.


2013 Girls' EuroHockey Youth Championships, Qualified teams
The following teams participated in the 2015 EuroHockey Youth Championship:


2013 Girls' EuroHockey Youth Championships, Format
The eight teams were split into two groups of four teams. The top two teams advanced to the semifinals to determine the winner in a knockout system. The bottom two teams played in a new group with the teams they did not play against in the group stage. The bottom two teams were relegated to the EuroHockey Youth Championship II.


2013 Girls' EuroHockey Youth Championships, Results, Classification round, Fifth to eighth place classification
Points from the preliminary round were carried over to Pool C to determine group standings.


2013 Girls' U16 South American Volleyball Championship
The 2013 Girls' U16 South American Volleyball Championship was the 2nd edition of the tournament, organised by South America's governing volleyball body, the Confederación Sudamericana de Voleibol (CSV). Held in Popayán, Cauca, Colombia from November 9 to 16, 2013.


2013 Girls' U16 South American Volleyball Championship, Competition System
All matches in the preliminary round and the semifinals were played best out of three sets, the third place match and the Gold Medal match were played best out of 5 as normal senior tournaments.


2013 Girls' U16 South American Volleyball Championship, Competition System
The competition system for the second Girls' U16 South American Championship consisted of two rounds, the first round was a Round-Robin system. Each team played once against each of the 7 remaining teams with each team playing two matches in a day against different teams.


2013 Girls' U16 South American Volleyball Championship, Competition System
According to the final ranking in the first round, the best four teams played in the semifinals (1º VS 4º and 2º VS 3º), the winners played for the Gold Medal while the losers played for the bronze medal.


2013 Girls' U16 South American Volleyball Championship, Matches, First Round
The first round matches were divided in two parts, the first part saw the top three teams plus the host (Colombia, Brazil, Peru and Argentina) play the other four teams (Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia), this part was played for two days, the second part had the remaining matches between the groups, this round was played for a day and a half.


2013 Girls' Youth African Volleyball Championship
The 2013 Girl's Africa Volleyball Championship happens in Egypt, from 25 to 27 March. The top three finishers qualify for the 2013 FIVB Girls Youth World Championship.


2013 Girls' Youth European Volleyball Championship
The 2013 Girls' Youth European Volleyball Championship was played in Serbia and Montenegro from March 30 to April 7, 2013. The top six teams qualified for the 2013 Youth World Championship.


2013 Girls' Youth European Volleyball Championship, Preliminary round
The draw was held on 18 January 2013 at Belgrade, Serbia.


2013 Girls' Youth European Volleyball Championship Qualification
The qualification for the 2013 Girls' Youth European Volleyball Championship was held from January 3–7, 2013.


2013 Girls' Youth European Volleyball Championship Qualification, Pool A
Matches of Pool A were to be played in Moscow, Russia.


2013 Girls' Youth European Volleyball Championship Qualification, Pool A, Pool B
Matches of Pool B were played in Brno, Czech Republic.


2013 Girls' Youth European Volleyball Championship Qualification, Pool A, Pool D
Matches of Pool D were played in Nova Gorica, Slovenia.


2013 Girls' Youth European Volleyball Championship Qualification, Pool A, Pool E
Matches of Pool E were played in Nea Ionia, Magnesia, Greece.


2013 Girls' Youth Pan-American Volleyball Cup
The 2013 Girls' Youth Pan-American Volleyball Cup takes place April 29 to May 4, in Guatemala City. The top ranked team of Pool B at the end of the round-robin preliminary phase will be granted a ticket to the 2013 Youth World Championship in the city of Nakhon Ratchasima, in Thailand, from July 26 to August 4.


2013 Girls' Youth Pan-American Volleyball Cup
According to the competition format, the top two ranked teams in Pool A, will advance directly to the semifinals, while the third and fourth placed squads will meet in the quarterfinals with the top teams of Pool B in cross-over matches.


2013 Giro d'Italia
The 2013 Giro d'Italia was the 96th edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started in Naples and finished in Brescia. Vincenzo Nibali of team Astana won the general classification.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Teams
As a UCI World Tour race, the Giro was obliged to invite all teams in the UCI's top division—the ProTour teams—and these teams were obliged to take part. At the beginning of the season, there were, as in recent years, 18 ProTour teams, and the race organisers issued four wildcard invitations to fill the usual quota of 22 teams for the event. However, Team Katusha successfully appealed against its loss of ProTour status to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the UCI decided against demoting any of the other teams; meaning that 23 teams took part in the Giro, as happened under a special dispensation in 2011. The participating teams were:


2013 Giro d'Italia, Teams
* : Pro Continental teams given wild card entry to this event.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Pre-race favourites
2012 Giro winner Ryder Hesjedal, Bradley Wiggins, winner of the 2012 Tour de France, and Vincenzo Nibali were among the favourites for overall victory. Other possible contenders included Michele Scarponi, Cadel Evans, Robert Gesink and Samuel Sánchez.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Route and stages
On 30 September 2012 the complete route was announced in Milan. For the first time since 2008, the first stages of the race (eight in total) took place in the south of Italy. The island of Ischia also hosted a stage for the first time in 54 years.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Route and stages
In 2013, the race paid tribute to the victims of the Vajont Dam disaster of 1963, but also to composer Giuseppe Verdi in stage 13 and to famous cyclist and triple Giro winner Gino Bartali in stage 9. There was speculation before the race that some sections of the route may also be relevant for contenders of the world championships in Florence.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Route and stages
In a revocation of a rule change in the 2012 race, all mass-start stages again awarded time bonuses to the first three riders, 20, 12, and 8 seconds respectively. In 2012, stages classified high-mountain did not award time bonuses. This Giro was also the first to feature two intermediate sprints per road stage, rather than only one. These sprints awarded points to the points classification and bonus seconds in the general classification.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
The 2013 Giro d'Italia featured cold and wet weather, leading Bicycling magazine to call it "one of the more grueling Grand Tours in recent memory." During the first week of the race it looked like it may be a close contest that came down to the final stages. On the eighth stage, a time trial, Vincenzo Nibali took over the pink jersey (given to the overall leader). Early departures by contenders Ryder Hesjedal and Bradley Wiggins took much of the drama out of the race. By the final stages, all Nibali had to do was remain upright to claim victory.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
ESPN's Andrew Hood described his performance as "three nearly perfect weeks of racing." "Nibali revealed he is a complete rider, handling the stresses and demands of racing both on and off the bike," wrote Hood. Nibali called winning the Giro "a dream" and said it was unlikely he would compete in the Tour de France. It was the first time an Italian won the race outright since 2010.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
Others with strong performance in the Giro d'Italia included Carlos Betancur, Mark Cavendish, Cadel Evans, and Rigoberto Urán. Riding in his first grand-tour event, 23-year-old Betancur finished fifth overall and won the best young rider's jersey. He had two second places on stages during the race. "I won my Giro", he said. Cavendish won five stages – all bunch sprints – and the points jersey. He became the fifth rider to win the points jersey at all three grand-tour races.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Race overview
Evans was written off by many commentators following a poor 2012 season, but bounced back with a third-place finish at the Giro. In so doing, he became the oldest rider to reach the podium since 1928. "I wasn't even planning on racing this Giro until a few weeks before it started, so to be [third] isn't so bad," he said. Urán won the tenth stage, and took second overall. His second-place finish came despite his loss of 1:30 on stage seven when he waited for teammate Bradley Wiggins to catch up to him. It was the best finish by Colombian rider since 1995.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Classification leadership
In the 2013 Giro d'Italia, four different jerseys were awarded. For the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, and allowing time bonuses for the first three finishers on mass-start stages, the leader received a pink jersey. This classification is considered the most important of the Giro d'Italia, and the winner is considered the winner of the Giro.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Classification leadership
Additionally, there was a points classification, awarding a red jersey. In the points classification, cyclists received points for finishing in the top 15 in a stage. Unlike in the better known points classification in the Tour de France, the type of stage has no effect on what points were on offer – each stage had the same points available on the same scale. The winner earned 25 points, second place earned 20 points, third 16, fourth 14, fifth 12, sixth 10, and one point fewer per place down to a single point for 15th. In addition, points could be won in intermediate sprints.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Classification leadership
There was also a mountains classification, the leadership of which was marked by a blue jersey. In the mountains classifications, points were won by reaching the top of a climb before other cyclists. Each climb was categorized as either first, second, third, or fourth-category, with more points available for the higher-categorized climbs. The Cima Coppi, the race's highest point of elevation, was worth still more points than the other first-category climbs. Initially, the Cima Coppi was scheduled to be awarded at the top of the Passo dello Stelvio but, after the cancellation of the stage containing the climb, the Cima Coppi for the 2013 Giro d'Italia was the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, at 2,304 metres (7,559 ft).


2013 Giro d'Italia, Classification leadership
The fourth jersey represents the young rider classification, marked by a white jersey. This was decided the same way as the general classification, but only riders born after 1 January 1988 were eligible.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Classification leadership
There were also two classifications for teams. In the Trofeo Fast Team classification, the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added; the leading team was the team with the lowest total time; the Trofeo Super Team was a team points classification, with the top 20 placed riders on each stage earning points (20 for first place, 19 for second place and so on, down to a single point for 20th) for their team.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Classification leadership
The rows in the following table correspond to the jerseys awarded after that stage was run. In a break with the practice of recent years, defending Giro champion Ryder Hesjedal wore the pink jersey during the first stage.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Final standings, Minor classifications
Other less well-known classifications, whose leaders did not receive a special jersey, were awarded during the Giro. These awards were based on points earned throughout the three weeks of the tour. Each mass-start stage had two intermediate sprints, the Traguardi Volante, or T.V. The T.V. sprints gave bonus seconds towards the general classification, points towards the regular points classification, and also points towards the T.V. classification. This award was known by various names in previous years, and was previously time-based. It was won by Brazilian Rafael Andriato of the Vini Fantini–Selle Italia team. Andriato also won the Premio della Fuga, which rewarded riders who took part in a breakaway at the head of the field. Each rider in an escape of ten or fewer riders received one point for each kilometre that the group stayed clear.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Final standings, Minor classifications
Other awards included the Combativity classification, which was a compilation of points gained for position on crossing intermediate sprints, mountain passes and stage finishes. Points classification winner Mark Cavendish won this award. The Azzurri d'Italia classification was based on finishing order, but points were awarded only to the top three finishers in each stage. It was likewise won, like the closely associated points classification, by Cavendish. Teams were given penalty points for minor technical infringements. Cannondale were the only team to avoid being penalised altogether over the course of the race, and so won the Fair Play classification.


2013 Giro d'Italia Femminile
The 2013 Giro d'Italia Femminile, also known as the 2013 Giro Rosa, was the 24th consecutive Giro d'Italia Femminile, the most prestigious Italian stage race in the women's road cycling calendar for 2013. It was held over eight stages between 30 June and 7 July 2013, starting in Giovinazzo, Apulia, and finishing with an individual time trial in Cremona, Lombardy.


2013 Giro d'Italia Femminile, Classification standings, Team classification
Obsolete - data not currently available for Stages 3 onwards


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11
The 2013 Giro d'Italia began on 4 May, and stage 11 occurred on 15 May. The 2013 edition began with a road stage, for the first time since 2003, around Naples before a team time trial took place the following day on the island of Ischia.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11
The rest of the opening half of the race – remaining within Italy for the duration – consisted of medium-mountain stages, save for two categorised flat stages and the first of two individual time trials during the event; the 54.8 km (34.1 mi)-long eighth stage between Gabicce Mare and Saltara, where each remaining member of the starting peloton of 207 riders competed against the clock.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11
Mark Cavendish became the first race leader, as he won the opening stage in Naples; the first of two stage wins that Cavendish achieved during the opening half of the race, along with the sixth stage. As a result, Cavendish was the only rider to win multiple stages in the opening half of the race. Cavendish lost the race lead the following day, as his Omega Pharma–Quick-Step team failed to a sufficient time for him to remain in the jersey.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11
Team Sky won the stage, which put Salvatore Puccio into the maglia rosa after he had placed highest during the opening stage, out of the five remaining members of the Team Sky train at the finish. Luca Paolini soloed into the leader's jersey after the third stage, attacking with 7 km (4.3 mi) remaining and held clear of the field to win by sixteen seconds. He held the leader's jersey for four days, before losing it on the seventh stage, held in heavy rain.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11
On that stage, Adam Hansen – a rider who had completed all three Grand Tours in 2012 – took the honours by over a minute from a stage-long breakaway, while Beñat Intxausti was able to take the leader's jersey after finishing in the group of the overall favourites for the race. Intxausti's weakness in the time trial discipline saw him surrender the lead the following day, losing three-and-a-half minutes to the stage winner, team-mate Alex Dowsett.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11
Vincenzo Nibali – a previous Grand Tour winner at the 2010 Vuelta a España – assumed the race lead, and held the lead to the end of the eleventh stage, which marked the halfway point of the race. Nibali had ended the time trial 29 seconds clear of closest challenger Cadel Evans, but he gained twelve bonus seconds on the tenth stage, the race's first summit finish, to extend his advantage to 41 seconds with the more mountainous second half of the Giro still to come.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 1
For the first time since the 2003 edition of the race, the Giro d'Italia began with a mass-start stage rather than a time trial test against the clock. Naples was announced as the starting location for the race in June 2012, with the 2013 race marking the 50th anniversary of the race's only other start in Naples; on that occasion, Vittorio Adorni soloed to victory in Potenza. The opening stage of the 2013 Giro was a circuit race in and around Naples, with two different circuits being utilised.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 1
Four laps of a 16.3 km (10.1 mi)-long circuit were completed first, with two ascents of a fourth-category climb providing any potential breakaways with the opportunity of claiming the mountains jersey on the opening day. From there, a shorter circuit of 8.1 km (5.0 mi) in length was completed eight times, with the finish of the stage at the Lungomare Caracciolo. With no major tests on the stage, it was widely expected to end in a sprint finish.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 1
Almost immediately after the race began, the breakaway was formed, with seven riders attempting to work together in order to create a sizable advantage over the field, but could not muster an advantage of much over two minutes. The Movistar Team's Giovanni Visconti and Cameron Wurf of Cannondale each led the breakaway over the summit of the climb, with Guillaume Bonnafond (Ag2r–La Mondiale) also achieving three points through minor placings on both ascents. This meant that the first maglia azzurra would be settled in the final sprint. Around halfway into the stage, Wurf moved off the front on his own, and remained clear of the field until around 19 km (11.8 mi), where the Omega Pharma–Quick-Step-led peloton moved past him.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 1
Several late crashes split the field into many groups, the last of which came inside the final 3 km (1.9 mi), ensuring that the majority of the field would receive the same time as the stage winner. For the final sprint, it came down to a select group of sprinters; Orica–GreenEDGE sat on the front with the lead-out for Matthew Goss, but Elia Viviani (Cannondale) and Omega Pharma–Quick-Step's Mark Cavendish moved ahead, with Cavendish ultimately taking the victory on the line by almost a bike length.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 1
With his 37th Grand Tour stage win, moving him into a tie for eighth place on the all-time list with Rik Van Looy, Cavendish picked up the pink and red jerseys on the podium as leader of the general and points classifications. Although disappointed with losing the sprint, Viviani became the first white jersey wearer as young rider leader, and Visconti placed highest in the sprint to take the mountains lead.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 2
For the second stage of the race, the peloton was ferried over to the volcanic island of Ischia, which was hosting the Giro d'Italia for the first time in 54 years. On that occasion, an individual time trial over a course of 31 km (19.3 mi) was contested; which was won by Antonino Catalano, taking his only Giro stage victory, beating every other member of the peloton – with the exception of Jacques Anquetil – by over a minute.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 2
For Ischia's appearance in the 2013 race, a technical, undulating parcours of 17.4 km (10.8 mi) was set aside for the team time trial, including gradients of approaching 7% for a period within the final 5 km (3.1 mi) of the course.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 2
The start order for the stage was primarily set by the reverse order of how each of the 23 teams were ranked in the Trofeo Fast Team standings after the previous day's opening stage; the only exception was that Omega Pharma–Quick-Step would set off last, as Mark Cavendish was in possession of the maglia rosa, as the general classification leader.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 2
Colombia were the first team to start – each team setting off thereafter, at three-minute intervals – and only shed one rider from their train by the time they reached the finish in a time of 23' 01", but that time was beaten by the next squad on the course, as Ag2r–La Mondiale went below 23 minutes, recording a time of 22' 55". Blanco Pro Cycling were next onto the stage, and were comfortably quicker, as they were 22 seconds faster for the course.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 2
Their time was not beaten until Team Sky hit the course, and despite early problems for several of their team, they came across the line in a time of 22' 05". As it turned out, the time was not to be beaten, giving the squad their second team time trial victory of the season after a victory in the discipline at the Giro del Trentino. By the end of the stage, only one team – the Movistar Team – remained within ten seconds, having recorded a quicker time, by two seconds, to the intermediate point in Casamicciola Terme.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 2
Cavendish surrendered the leader's jersey, as Omega Pharma–Quick-Step could only record the seventeenth best time, 48 seconds down on Team Sky. As a result, Salvatore Puccio became the race leader, as of the five remaining members of the Team Sky train at the finish, he had placed highest on the opening stage.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 3
Back on the mainland after its foray to Ischia, the third stage of the 2013 Giro was split into three distinct sections. From the start in Sorrento, the peloton completed two circuits of a 7.2 km (4.5 mi) loop before making an undulating way along the Amalfi coast to Salerno. Upon reaching Salerno – where the first of two intermediate sprint points was held, along with one at Agropoli – the route remained relatively flat for the next 80 km (49.7 mi).


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 3
The day's two categorised climbs came within the final third of the stage; the second-category San Mauro Cilento, averaging 6.7% over 7.8 km (4.8 mi), with gradients reaching 16% in the opening metres of the climb, and the third-category Sella di Catona, averaging 6.6% over 8 km (5.0 mi). From the top of the Sella di Catona, there was a near-20 km (12.4 mi) descent into the finish town of Ascea.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 3
The day's breakaway was formed immediately after the start in Sorrento, with seven riders going clear to establish an advantage; the best of which was Fabio Taborre of the Vini Fantini–Selle Italia team, who trailed the overall leader Salvatore Puccio (Team Sky) by 22 seconds overnight. Despite this, the septet was allowed to establish an advantage of over seven minutes at its maximum. On the San Mauro Cilento, the breakaway was down to six riders as Bert De Backer (Argos–Shimano) lost contact with his companions.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 3
Vacansoleil–DCM rider Willem Wauters led over the climb, while the peloton came across the top around 3' 45" down on the lead sextet, with De Backer in between. A group of sprinters fell off the back of the peloton, including Omega Pharma–Quick-Step's Mark Cavendish and Nacer Bouhanni of FDJ, but both were able to rejoin.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 3
Taborre attacked on the descent from the climb, gaining an advantage of over a minute at one point, reaching the foot of the Sella di Catona with such a lead. Garmin–Sharp upped the pace in the peloton, which enabled the group to overcome the remnants of the breakaway group, and at one point, caused a fracture in the main field which saw a group of overall contenders including Ryder Hesjedal, Vincenzo Nibali, Bradley Wiggins and Michele Scarponi to get clear. Hesjedal then attacked solo from this group, passing Taborre, before slowing up and returned to the main group.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 3
On the descent, Nibali's Astana team-mate Valerio Agnoli pushed on and had Hesjedal and Team Katusha's Luca Paolini join him. This group was brought back, with Team Sky keeping the pace high. Paolini attacked again with around 7 km (4.3 mi) remaining, and was not to be caught, taking his first stage win in his début Giro, and the maglia rosa from Puccio, who lost seven minutes. BMC Racing Team rider Cadel Evans led home a sixteen-rider select group sixteen seconds behind, ahead of Hesjedal.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 4
The race continued to make its way along the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea, heading southwards to the southernmost point of the 2013 Giro d'Italia with the finish in Serra San Bruno. With a parcours of 246 km (152.9 mi), the fourth stage was also the second longest of the entire race, with only the thirteenth stage involving a longer day in the saddle. The stage was predominantly flat, with only the final quarter of the stage involving sizable shifts in altitude, with two categorised climbs as part of the parcours, for the second day in succession.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 4
The third-category Vibo Valentia climb was slow and progressional, as it averaged only 3% over 15 km (9.3 mi), before the second-category Croce Ferrata. Incorporating the second intermediate sprint at Soriano Calabro, the climb itself was 16.8 km (10.4 mi) long, and reached a maximum gradient of 10%. A descent of almost 7 km (4.3 mi) followed towards the finish in Serra San Bruno, with most of the final kilometre being run on cobblestones.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 4
Just like the previous day, the day's main breakaway was made up of seven riders, with the best-placed among the septet being Emanuele Sella (Androni Giocattoli–Venezuela), who trailed race leader Luca Paolini of Team Katusha by 2' 39" overnight. The group managed to build up an advantage of around eight minutes at one point during the stage. Paolini's team maintained their presence at the front of the peloton, cutting the advantage by half by the time the race reached the 100 km (62.1 mi) mark. The lead group split at this point, with Sella, Ioannis Tamouridis (Euskaltel–Euskadi) and FDJ's Anthony Roux gradually falling back to the main group. The lead then went back up to 5' 10", before falling substantially prior to the first climb of the day, the Vibo Valentia, to about one minute.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 4
Tamouridis' team-mate Miguel Mínguez attacked on the climb, and was the last member of the breakaway to be brought back by the main field, eventually doing so with 42 km (26.1 mi) remaining. There were several mini-attacks from there, lasting all the way to the foot of the other climb, the Croce Ferrata, where Ag2r–La Mondiale's Sylvain Georges attacked out of a six-rider move at the bottom; he managed to establish a maximum lead of over a minute, before Team Sky moved to the front of the peloton.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 4
Vini Fantini–Selle Italia's Danilo Di Luca and Robinson Chalapud (Colombia) attacked out of the peloton and soon passed Georges on the road, maintaining a small gap over the main field. Di Luca launched a long sprint for the line, doing so from around 800 metres (2,600 ft) out, and was not caught until 250 metres (820 ft) to go.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 4
From there, Bardiani Valvole–CSF Inox's Enrico Battaglin finished strongest to take the biggest win of his short professional career, by two lengths ahead of Sella's team-mate Fabio Felline and the Movistar Team's Giovanni Visconti, who had earlier done enough to regain the mountains classification lead. Paolini retained the maglia rosa after finishing tenth on the stage.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 5
Another predominantly flat stage, the fifth stage started with a gradual downhill stretch from the start town of Cosenza, before a fourth-category ascent at Cipolletto, after around 37 km (23.0 mi) of racing. From there, the race meandered its way back to coastal roads, taking in intermediate sprint points at Villapiana Lido and Rocca Imperiale. With around 45 km (28.0 mi) remaining, the route turned away from the coast, and headed towards the finish town of Matera.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 5
On the run-in was another fourth-category climb at Montescaglioso, before a gradual uphill finish in Matera; the roads rose by 2.6% within the final kilometre before the finish on the Via Dante Alighieri. It was expected to disadvantage out-and-out sprinters, but favour sprinters with climbing capabilities, such as Argos–Shimano's John Degenkolb, and Orica–GreenEDGE rider Matthew Goss.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 5
Six riders formed the primary breakaway for the day, establishing their advantage from the 6 km (3.7 mi) points onwards. The best placed of the sextet was Stefano Pirazzi of the Bardiani Valvole–CSF Inox team, who trailed overall leader Luca Paolini (Team Katusha) by just over three minutes overnight; after he claimed maximum points at the first climb at Cipolletto, Pirazzi sat up from the lead group and returned the peloton. After Pirazzi dropped back, the peloton slowed their pace substantially, and the five-man lead group were allowed to build up a lead of almost ten minutes on the stage.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 5
The weather changed on the route; having started in bright sunshine, heavy rain hit the peloton with around 60 km (37.3 mi) making conditions treacherous on the roads. The lead group's advantage was continually brought back on the route, holding a lead of just over 30 seconds by the time they reached the final climb at Montescaglioso.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 5
The lead five riders were brought back one-by-one, with the last rider to be caught being Ricardo Mestre of the Euskaltel–Euskadi team, with about 22 km (13.7 mi) to go. Pirazzi attacked on the climb in the hope of gaining more points to the mountains classification – ultimately crossing the summit in first position – but was joined on the descent by Ag2r–La Mondiale's Ben Gastauer. Gastauer soon left Pirazzi behind and was joined by Mestre's team-mate Robert Vrečer.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 5
Lotto–Belisol rider Lars Bak also provided assistance to the group within the final 10 km (6.2 mi), but the trio were ultimately caught. Marco Canola led the field into the final kilometre for Bardiani Valvole–CSF Inox, with Degenkolb's lead-out man Luka Mezgec falling to the tarmac on the still-wet roads, meaning Degenkolb had to chase Canola on his own; he caught up with him, and soon sprinted away to his first stage win at the Giro, and his sixth Grand Tour stage win.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 6
The sixth stage of the Giro d'Italia was seen as one of the most sprinter-friendly stages of the race, with the parcours being run largely at sea level, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. The course meandered inland after the second of the day's intermediate sprint points at Barletta – the first coming 11 km (6.8 mi) prior in the town of Trani – with a slight ascent of a small hill, but nothing categorised towards the mountains classification.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 6
The route headed back to the coast for the finish in Margherita di Savoia, where around two-and-a-half laps of a 16.3 km (10.1 mi)-long circuit were completed before the expected sprint finish. The day's breakaway was all-Australian, as Blanco Pro Cycling's Jack Bobridge was joined by Cameron Wurf of Cannondale – who featured in the breakaway on the opening day – as they got clear after numerous smaller attacks had been brought back within the opening 15 km (9.3 mi), gaining an advantage of six-and-a-half minutes at one point during the stage, before the sprinters' teams started the chase.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 6
Wurf's team-mates were twice able to launch Elia Viviani to gain points on Omega Pharma–Quick-Step's Mark Cavendish, in relation to the points classification, at each of the intermediate sprint points. Prior to the first passage through the finish line, the two leaders were brought back and almost immediately after, there was a large crash in the main field, which blocked the road momentarily. The group split, but ultimately came back together within 10 km (6.2 mi) and set up the sprint finish.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 6
Argos–Shimano led into the final kilometre, but Omega Pharma–Quick-Step soon came to the fore with Gert Steegmans launching Cavendish for his second stage win of the race, and his 38th Grand Tour stage win. After praising the lead-out of his team-mates, Cavendish dedicated his victory on the podium to Wouter Weylandt, by holding a dossard with the number 108 on it, the number Weylandt had been competing with during the 2011 Giro d'Italia, when he was killed during the third stage, held on 9 May. He also regained the lead of the points classification from overall leader Luca Paolini, who maintained the maglia rosa.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 7
An undulating parcours of 177 km (110.0 mi) awaited the riders for the seventh stage of the 2013 Giro d'Italia, starting and finishing on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. However, most of the day's action was scheduled for inland, and in the second half of the stage; within the final 60 km (37.3 mi), there were four categorised climbs – two third-category and two fourth-category ascents respectively – as well as the day's two intermediate sprints, coming in Chieti (most notably, a frequent stage finishing town for the early-season Tirreno–Adriatico stage race) and in Chieti Scalo. The final climb of the San Silvestro came with just 7.4 km (4.6 mi) remaining before the pan-flat finish to in Pescara, just 3 metres (10 ft) above sea level.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 7
Fabio Taborre (Vini Fantini–Selle Italia) launched the first attack of the day, but it was not until a group of six riders had formed that the breakaway was allowed to break free and establish an advantage; the best-placed rider amongst them was Androni Giocattoli–Venezuela rider Emanuele Sella, who trailed overall leader Luca Paolini of Team Katusha by just under seven minutes. The sextet built up a lead of almost seven-and-a-half minutes around halfway through the stage, before Taborre and his team-mates – as well as Paolini's team – set about trying to reduce the lead.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 7
The lead group split on the second climb in Chieti, when Sella and Adam Hansen of Lotto–Belisol, were able to drop the four other members of the breakaway. Rain was also making riding conditions difficult, with Sella being caught out while cornering; Hansen waited for his fellow escapee before regaining the momentum to gap the main field. Hansen was able to drop Sella on the third of the four climbs, the third-category, 5.9% average gradient ascent of the Santa Maria de Criptis, reaching the top of the climb with an advantage of some 30 seconds.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 7
In the main field, Astana's Tanel Kangert and Vini Fantini–Selle Italia rider Danilo Di Luca both launched combative moves off the front, while at the bottom of the final climb, Kangert's team-mate Vincenzo Nibali fell to the ground due to the slippery conditions. The main field had split at this point, with Team Sky missing the junction, leaving Bradley Wiggins in a chasing group.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 7
Sella – who was in between the lead and the peloton – crashed with around 5 km (3.1 mi) remaining, with the same corner later catching out Wiggins, who later elected to gingerly descend the rest of the hill, losing more time to the main group. At the front, Hansen – who completed all three Grand Tours in 2012 – was still out front and soloed away to his first win since 2010. A 27-rider group came across the line just over a minute later, with Bardiani Valvole–CSF Inox's Enrico Battaglin leading the group.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 7
The majority of the race favourites were within this group, with the exception of Wiggins, who lost nearly 90 seconds more than that, dropping outside the top 20 overall. Paolini was also in that group, and thus surrendered the lead of the race to the Movistar Team's Beñat Intxausti, with Nibali and Garmin–Sharp's Ryder Hesjedal within ten seconds ahead of the following day's time trial.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 8
The first of two individual time trials to be held in the 2013 Giro d'Italia, the eighth stage was the longest such test against the clock to feature in the race since 2009. On that occasion, then-Rabobank rider Denis Menchov won the stage after completing the 60.6 km (37.7 mi) course, in the Cinque Terre, in a time just over 94 minutes. The Marche region played host to the 54.8 km (34.1 mi) parcours, with a twisty, technical course, but not overly mountainous unlike 2009.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 8
The final 3.5 km (2.2 mi) of the course was also set to test the riders; from the second intermediate time-check in Calcinelli, the riders steadily climbed towards the finish at the Villa del Balì in Saltara, with an 11.2% average gradient climb coming within the final kilometre. As was customary of time trial stages, the riders set off in reverse order from where they were ranked in the general classification at the end of the previous stage. Thus, Jack Bobridge of Blanco Pro Cycling, who, in 201st place – of the 207 riders who started the race – trailed overall leader Beñat Intxausti (Movistar Team) by one hour, twenty-four minutes and twelve seconds, was the first rider to set off on the stage.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 8
Although Bobridge was first into the stage, he was not the first to finish, as Team Katusha's Maxim Belkov – who started the stage three minutes behind Bobridge, at one-minute intervals – recorded a time of one hour, twenty-one minutes and thirty-two seconds for the course; Bobridge finished three minutes further later, losing six minutes in total to Belkov. Belkov's time remained at the top of the time-sheets for around fifteen minutes before RadioShack–Leopard rider Jesse Sergent took over at the top, beating Belkov's time by 3' 05".


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 8
Again, Sergent held the top spot for around the same length of time as what Belkov did, before the eventual stage-winning time was recorded. British national champion Alex Dowsett (Movistar Team) set the fastest time at each of the intermediate splits, and ultimately recorded a time exactly two minutes quicker than Sergent, in a time of one hour, sixteen minutes and twenty-seven seconds. In his début Grand Tour, Dowsett achieved his first stage victory since the 2011 Tour of Britain, also in an individual time trial.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 8
Among the overall contenders, Team Sky's Bradley Wiggins was considered as the pre-stage favourite, but was not expected to take the maglia rosa after losing time the previous day into Pescara. Wiggins caught his minute-man Danilo Di Luca (Vini Fantini–Selle Italia) in the early part of the stage, but he had stop several minutes later with a puncture; he threw his bike to the ground, before receiving a new bike from his mechanics.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 8
Although he was 52 seconds down on Dowsett at the first split, Wiggins had reduced the gap to just 10 at the finish, which was the closest anyone got to Dowsett. Lampre–Merida's Michele Scarponi put in a solid performance to lose just 43 seconds to Wiggins, while the BMC Racing Team's Cadel Evans lost 29 to remain 47 seconds ahead of him, in the overall classification. Evans also moved up to second overall, as Astana's Vincenzo Nibali became the new leader. Nibali went quicker than Dowsett to the first intermediate, but faded in the second portion of the course, finishing fourth on the stage – just behind team-mate Tanel Kangert – losing eleven seconds to Wiggins, but maintained a 1' 16" lead over him overall.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 9
The ninth stage of the 2013 Giro d'Italia was the last to be contested before the first of two rest days to be held during the race, the following day. With an itinerary of 170 km (105.6 mi) through the mountains of Tuscany, it was to be expected that the breakaway would have a chance to achieve another stage victory, on roads expected to feature in September's UCI Road World Championships due to be held in the region.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 9
The parcours had a mix of categorised climbs throughout; for the four categorised climbs during the stage, each of the four categorisations available to the race organisers for ascents was implemented. The highest of these was the first-category Vallombrosa climb, but was not overly difficult at 6% over 9 km (5.6 mi). Two punchy climbs followed; the third-category Vetta le Croci averaged over 9% during the 4 km (2.5 mi) climb, while the Fiesole averaged 5.7%, before a 10 km (6.2 mi) run to the finish in Florence.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 9
After an earlier seven-rider move had been brought back early in the stage, the day's breakaway came about at the 21 km (13.0 mi) point, with a group swelling to twelve riders going clear; the best placed among the group was Blanco Pro Cycling's Juan Manuel Gárate, who trailed overall leader Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) by 5' 42" overnight.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 9
The lead group split on the day's first climb, the Consuma Pass, when Colombia's Robinson Chalapud attacked along with Stefano Pirazzi of the Bardiani Valvole–CSF Inox team, with the duo being joined by Team Katusha rider Maxim Belkov on the descent from the climb. The trio were continuing to extend their lead over the main field, holding an advantage of over five minutes at that point. Belkov lost time on the second climb – where Pirazzi led Chalapud over the top again, in order to boost his position in the mountains classification – but was able to rejoin on the descent, once more.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 9
Once Belkov had rejoined, he did not stay around long, accelerating down the road from Pirazzi and Chalapud. He had established an advantage of almost two minutes by the time that another three riders had joined up with Pirazzi and Chalapud, with around 40 km (24.9 mi) remaining of the stage; the chase group soon expanded to nine riders chasing after Belkov, who was over three-and-a-half minutes clear with 25 km (15.5 mi) remaining. Belkov tired in the closing stages, but still did enough to win the stage by 44 seconds for his first professional victory.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 9
Behind, Jarlinson Pantano (Colombia) and Argos–Shimano's Tobias Ludvigsson had attacked out of the chase group, and had vainly set off in pursuit of Belkov. Both riders were ultimately beaten to the line by Ag2r–La Mondiale's Carlos Betancur, who attacked out of the peloton on the final climb; he mistakenly believed that he had won the stage, celebrating as he came across the line. Pantano beat Ludvigsson for third, while Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team) led home the group of overall contenders not long after, taking the points classification lead in the process. One overall contender missing from the group however, was Ryder Hesjedal of Garmin–Sharp, who lost over a minute on the course, and dropped out of the top ten overall.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 10
The race's first summit finish was key to its resumption after the first rest day the previous day; the 167 km (103.8 mi) parcours from Cordenons started with a gradual climb out of the starting town, with several small hills in the opening half of the stage. The roads started to climb towards more sharply after the day's first intermediate sprint point, coming with around 64 km (39.8 mi) to go in Paularo.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 10
From there, the riders began the climb of the Passo Cason di Lanza – a 14.5 km (9.0 mi) ascent from the bottom to the top, but with a downhill portion of just over 2.1 km (1.3 mi) – averaging a gradient of around 8.5%. A long gradual descent followed, towards the town of Chiusaforte before the ascent of the Altopiano del Montasio. After a sustained approach, the climb of 10.9 km (6.8 mi) ramped up immediately with 14% sections – sections reached 20% near the top of the climb – with the average being around 8%. The final kilometre was a false flat, averaging 3.2%, before the finish at 1,519 metres (4,984 ft) up.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 10
A group of thirteen riders formed the day's breakaway, with the group being initiated at the 20 km (12.4 mi) mark of the stage, with their advantage over the main field reaching a maximum of around nine minutes at the mid-stage point. Team Sky moved to the front of the peloton as the first climb began, while at the front of the race, Androni Giocattoli–Venezuela rider Jackson Rodríguez attacked on his own. He was followed up the climb by RadioShack–Leopard's Tiago Machado, who had also attacked out of the group with Serge Pauwels of Omega Pharma–Quick-Step.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 10
The numbers in the peloton had reduced significantly thanks to the pace being set, before Rodríguez's team-mate Franco Pellizotti attacked from the group, beginning a chase of the leaders. Following his difficulties to remain with the overall contenders on the previous stage, defending Giro winner Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin–Sharp) again struggled to remain in contention, cracking on the climb. He lost almost 21 minutes by the stage's end.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 10
Rodríguez began to suffer with mechanical problems on the descent from the climb, and after a change of machinery, he was joined by Pauwels at the front, after he had moved away from Machado; the duo reached the lower slopes of the final climb with a lead of around 2' 20" over the main field, still being led by Team Sky. This gap was wiped out before the steeper segments of the climb had commenced, with around 10 km (6.2 mi) remaining.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 10
Rigoberto Urán attacked several kilometres later, with Astana forced to try and chase down the move for race leader Vincenzo Nibali, through domestique Valerio Agnoli. Urán held a lead of around 50 seconds at one point during his attack, and ultimately soloed away to the stage victory. Fellow Colombian rider Carlos Betancur (Ag2r–La Mondiale) managed to get clear with around 1.5 km (0.9 mi) to go, and finished 19 seconds behind Urán, with the rest of the overall contenders coming across the line 12 seconds later, led home by Nibali. With eight bonus seconds gained at the line, Nibali extended his overall lead to 41 seconds over BMC Racing Team's Cadel Evans, while Urán moved ahead of team-mate Bradley Wiggins into third place, by one second.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 11
The midway point of the race was marked by a transitional stage across the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, starting at the Cave del Predil around 15 km (9.3 mi) to the south of Tarvisio. After descending towards Tarvisio itself, the riders crested a small hill on the route at Camporosso, before descending gradually for around 50 km (31.1 mi). Having made their way through the feed zone at Ovaro – at the foot of the Monte Zoncolan, which featured in 2011 – the riders ascented the second-category Sella Ciampigotto, a rolling climb of around 4.5% in gradient.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 11
From there, the riders descended through the two intermediate sprint points – at Lozzo di Cadore and Pieve di Cadore – before the final kick up to the finish at Erto e Casso. The final climb was another rolling climb, with an average of around 5%, but the climb itself maxed out at 9% in places. The Vajont stage was held to commemorate victims of the Vajont Dam disaster in 1963, when a landslide caused major flooding in the Piave Valley, and the deaths of around 2,000 people.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 11
Prior to the start, it was announced that Ag2r–La Mondiale rider Sylvain Georges – who had been lying 81st overall – had tested positive for heptaminol after the seventh stage, and he failed to start the stage. With descending key to the first hour of racing, the peloton remained together for the duration, before a twenty-rider breakaway group was allowed to form at the 75 km (46.6 mi) mark; 20 of the 23 teams that started the race were represented, with only Astana, Lampre–Merida and Lotto–Belisol not represented.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 11
The highest placed rider within the group was Vini Fantini–Selle Italia's Danilo Di Luca, who trailed overnight leader Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) by almost fourteen minutes overnight. The group built up a lead of around five minutes at the halfway point, prior to the day's first climb. After Stefano Pirazzi (Bardiani Valvole–CSF Inox) extended his mountains classification lead by placing second to Jackson Rodríguez of Androni Giocattoli–Venezuela at the summit, the group continued as one down the descent. The group held a lead of around five-and-a-half minutes over the peloton, being led by Astana, who were setting the pace for Nibali.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 11
Argos–Shimano rider Patrick Gretsch attacked the group, and set off to an advantage which eventually reached almost two minutes prior to the final climb. Di Luca tried to get away twice, but was unable to gain enough ground to breach the group; however, his move was the catalyst for another three riders to counter-attack, with Ag2r–La Mondiale's Guillaume Bonnafond being joined by Ramūnas Navardauskas of Garmin–Sharp – who wore the maglia rosa during the 2012 Giro d'Italia – and Daniel Oss of the BMC Racing Team.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 11
Bonnafond could not remain with his rivals, and soon dropped back to the group while Navardauskas and Oss set off in chase of Gretsch, catching him with around 17.5 km (10.9 mi) to go. Gretsch struggled to contribute to the pace, and ultimately cracked prior to the final climb. Navardauskas dropped Oss with several sharp accelerations at the 5 km (3.1 mi) to go mark, and soloed away to his first Grand Tour stage win by over a minute from Oss.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11, Stage 11
Pirazzi broke away from the chasing group to take third – further extending his mountains lead – while the remainder of the group came home in small packs. The peloton came home almost six minutes down, although the Movistar Team's Beñat Intxausti was able to gain some time on the other overall contenders; a gap of 18 seconds was enough for Intxausti to move back into the top ten overall.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21
Stage 12 of the 2013 Giro d'Italia was contested on 16 May, and the race concluded on 26 May. The second half of the race was almost entirely situated within Italy; it started with a categorised flat stage from Longarone to Treviso, before four mountain stages – as well as a mountainous individual time trial between Mori and Polsa – en route to the finish in Brescia, where the race concluded with a road stage for the first time since 2007. The race also crossed over into France during the fifteenth stage, ending with a summit finish on the Col du Galibier. After the second rest day of the race, the peloton returned to Italy in the following stage, from Valloire in France to Ivrea.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21
Having picked up the overall race lead after the eighth stage, Astana rider Vincenzo Nibali was able to hold onto the race leadership for the entire second half of the Giro, and as a result, achieved the second Grand Tour general classification victory of his career; he had previously won the 2010 Vuelta a España for the Liquigas–Doimo team.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21
Nibali held a 41-second lead margin over BMC Racing Team's Cadel Evans until the fourteenth stage, when Nibali attacked on the final climb to the Monte Jafferau outside Bardonecchia, and was able to gain 45 seconds on Evans by finishing second to Vini Fantini–Selle Italia's Mauro Santambrogio. Nibali later won two stages during the final week of the race, further extending his overall advantage, and eventually completed the race with a winning margin of close to five minutes. Evans was unable to hold onto second place overall, as he faded on the final climb of the race to Tre Cime di Lavaredo; he ultimately finished third overall behind Team Sky rider Rigoberto Urán, who had become his squad's leader after Bradley Wiggins was forced to withdraw.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21
Aside from the overall race battle, Mark Cavendish was able to avenge his close defeat in the points classification at the 2012 race – where he lost the red jersey by a single point to Team Katusha rider Joaquim Rodríguez – by taking the classification on the final day in Brescia.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21
The Omega Pharma–Quick-Step rider's victory in Brescia, his fifth of the race – he achieved three in the second half of the race, with other victories on stages 12 and 13 – allowed him to become only the fifth rider to complete a clean sweep of points classification victories at Grand Tours. Giovanni Visconti was another rider to take multiple victories during the second half of the race, taking solo victories at the Col du Galibier and into Vicenza. The second half of the race was also adversely affected by snow, with three stages being re-routed and a fourth having to be cancelled due to heavy snow and treacherous conditions; the cancelled stage was the first due to weather since the 1989 Giro d'Italia.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 12
The second half of the race started with a stage ideally favoured towards the sprinters; with a parcours of 134 km (83.3 mi) – one of the shortest of the race – the stage was predominantly downhill from the start in Longarone, all the way to the finish in Treviso. Along the course, there were two fourth-category climbs alternating with the two intermediate sprint points – coming in the comunes of Pieve d'Alpago and Vidor respectively – within the opening two-thirds of the stage.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 12
The two categorised climbs were short and punchy; the Muro di Cà del Poggio averaged 12.2% over 1,200 metres (3,900 ft), while the Montello-Santa Maria della Vittoria ascented at an average of 6.3% over 3 km (1.9 mi). Once the riders reached Treviso, they completed a 7.5 km (4.7 mi) loop around the city; the final metres involved the crossing of a bridge, before the line on the Viale Bartolomeo Burchiellati.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 12
Wet conditions awaited the riders in Longarone, where the breakaway was initiated almost immediately after the start, with a four-rider move going clear. The breakaway was made up of ninth stage winner Maxim Belkov (Team Katusha), Androni Giocattoli–Venezuela rider Fabio Felline, Bert De Backer of Argos–Shimano and Vacansoleil–DCM's Maurits Lammertink. Lammertink's team-mate Marco Marcato bridged the gap not long after, to make it a quintet. With a lead of nearly three-and-a-half minutes, all bar De Backer fell in the treacherous conditions, but were able to get back on their bikes not long after. The sprinters' teams slowly brought the lead group back, holding a 25-second lead going into the final loop around Treviso; the quintet managed to hold off until inside the final kilometre.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 12
From there, the Omega Pharma–Quick-Step lead-out train swooped to the front, with Gert Steegmans providing the perfect launch for Mark Cavendish to take his third stage win of the race, and what was to be the 100th win of his professional career. Astana's Vincenzo Nibali maintained his 41-second overall lead ahead of the BMC Racing Team's Cadel Evans. Further behind, Team Sky rider Bradley Wiggins suffered the most notable time loss during the stage. With no fewer than four team-mates around him, Wiggins lost 3' 17" on the day to the main group, falling out of the top ten overall.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 12
Wiggins attributed his lack of performance to an ever-worsening medical ailment; he had been taking antibiotics due to him suffering from a cold and chest infection. Due to this, Team Sky general manager Dave Brailsford stated that the team would now be backing Rigoberto Urán, lying third overall, as their best hope of winning the race.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 13
At 254 km (157.8 mi), the thirteenth stage was also the longest stage of the 2013 Giro d'Italia. The parcours, which ran through six different regions, was flat from the start to around the 175 km (108.7 mi) point. From there, there were several uncategorised hills on the route, passing through the two intermediate sprint points – which were competed at the comunes of Castagnole delle Lanze and Alba respectively – before reaching the day's only categorised climb.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 13
The third-category Tre Cuni was seen as a potential danger for the sprinters – ahead of the finish in Cherasco – with a gradual rolling climb of around 5% over 10 km (6.2 mi). From there, the riders descended towards the finish with several rolling hills in between; the expectations were still there for a sprint finish, but not a certainty. Prior to the start of the stage, former contenders for the overall classification, Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) and Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin–Sharp) both withdrew from the race.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 13
A seven-rider group broke away from the peloton after around 20 km (12.4 mi) of racing, and with no potential contenders for the overall classification, the main field allowed the breakaway members to build up a lead of almost fourteen minutes at one point during the stage. With the main contenders unwilling to pull the gap back, it was left to the teams of the sprinters to set the pace; they did so gradually, with the leaders holding an advantage of just over a minute before the climb to Tre Cuni, around 40 km (24.9 mi) from the finish.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 13
On the climb, Bardiani Valvole–CSF Inox's Nicola Boem initiated the first attack, and was joined by Pablo Lastras of the Movistar Team and Lars Bak (Lotto–Belisol), with the trio pulling clear of the remaining four members of the lead group. A small group attacked the peloton behind, but after several kilometres off the front of the bunch, this group was pulled back, leaving the three leaders around thirty seconds clear.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 13
Omega Pharma–Quick-Step – looking to set up Mark Cavendish for a fourth stage win at the race – were stationed at the front of the peloton, and slowed the pace of the chase, and allowed the lead trio to gain several seconds of an advantage, pushing the lead out to almost a minute. Boem was dropped shortly after, while Lastras and Bak were joined by another group of riders, with seven going clear from the peloton.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 13
From the group, Giampaolo Caruso (Team Katusha) attacked with 6.5 km (4.0 mi) remaining, but his solo bid for victory was stopped with 1.5 km (0.9 mi) left. Cannondale led the field into the final kilometre for Elia Viviani, but Cavendish was first to launch his sprint, and was able to hold off the rest, just edging out Giacomo Nizzolo of RadioShack–Leopard on the line. With his fourth victory of the race, Cavendish became the sixth rider to win 40 Grand Tour stages, and the first rider to take successive Giro stages since Alessandro Petacchi in 2009.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 14
Originally due to be held over a parcours of 168 km (104.4 mi), the fourteenth stage was altered on the morning of the stage, due to bad weather, which also precluded televised live pictures of the race for all but the final few hundred metres. The originally-scheduled climb to Sestriere, a second-category gradual ascent, was removed from the itinerary, with the peloton being re-routed along roads in the Susa Valley to Oulx. The race rejoined the original itinerary at Oulx; in total, 12 km (7.5 mi) was added to the stage distance.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 14
From there, the parcours rose to steadily to an intermediate sprint at Bardonecchia, before the climb to the finish on the Jafferau. A first-category climb for its third appearance in the Giro, the Jafferau averaged a 9% gradient over 7.3 km (4.5 mi), with places reaching 14% and portions of the climb being run on unsurfaced roads.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 14
A group of seven riders went clear after around 14 km (8.7 mi) of racing, but this was quickly reduced to four, as three riders fell on wet roads. When they had recovered to the main field, the lead group started to increase their advantage. The all-Italian group – former race leader Luca Paolini (Team Katusha), Daniele Pietropolli of Lampre–Merida, Bardiani Valvole–CSF Inox rider Sonny Colbrelli and Omega Pharma–Quick-Step's Matteo Trentin – were able to extend their advantage to almost ten minutes at one point before the peloton started to bring them back. As the race moved towards the Jafferau, Team Sky took up station on the front of the peloton, slimming the numbers in the main group. Before the final climb, Trentin was dropped by his three companions, and was soon caught by the main field on the climb.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 14
The leaders held a lead of around four minutes at the foot, at which point, Colbrelli attacked. Only Paolini could stay with him, as they set about trying to hold off the front. Sergio Henao (Team Sky) attacked halfway up the climb, where he was joined by Diego Rosa of Androni Giocattoli–Venezuela; Rosa's move was the precursor of an attack by his team captain Franco Pellizotti. Pellizotti caught the duo, and soon set off alone after the leaders, pulling within two minutes before being caught.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 14
Paolini dropped Colbrelli with around 1.5 km (0.9 mi) remaining, and held a 43-second lead over the fast-closing chasers. After Paolini was caught, maglia rosa wearer Vincenzo Nibali attacked for Astana, pulling Vini Fantini–Selle Italia's Mauro Santambrogio with him. The two remained clear until the end, with Santambrogio taking the stage win, his first in a Grand Tour. Nibali finished close behind, to extend his overall lead to 1' 26" over BMC Racing Team's Cadel Evans, with Santambrogio moving into fourth overall, one second behind Rigoberto Urán of Team Sky.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 15
Originally due to be held over a parcours of 149 km (92.6 mi), the stage was slightly shortened due to snow on the Col du Galibier. The snow forced organisers to move the stage finish further down the climb, to the memorial in honour of Marco Pantani. Pantani soloed to a stage victory after attacking on the Col du Galibier during the 1998 Tour de France, before winning at Les Deux Alpes; the catalyst to his overall victory in the race.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 15
At one point, both the Col du Galibier and the day's opening climb, the Col du Mont Cenis, were reportedly off the itinerary due to the atmospherical conditions, but both were eventually ascended during the stage. The first-category Col du Mont Cenis climb started in Italy, and crossed over into France with a gradual 25.7 km (16.0 mi)-long climb, averaging around 6.2%, before the race descended down towards Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne, and the start of the second-category Col du Télégraphe. The Col du Télégraphe averaged 7.2% over nearly 12 km (7.5 mi), although reaching 11% in places. After a slight descent to Valloire, the Col du Galibier ascent commenced, with almost 14 km (8.7 mi) covered before the finish.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 15
With continued uncertainty about the safety of the Col du Mont Cenis, racing was neutralised until near the top of the ascent, where mountains classification leader Stefano Pirazzi (Bardiani Valvole–CSF Inox) attacked with Colombia's Robinson Chalapud. The duo were joined on the descent by five more riders as the peloton allowed them to gain a lead of over two minutes. Orica–GreenEDGE rider Pieter Weening soon went off the front on his own, but could not force the pace by himself and soon fell back to rejoin the rest of the breakaway.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 15
The group held a maximum lead of over six minutes, but it was around a third of that by the time they reached the Col du Télégraphe. Pirazzi and Weening were strongest in the early kilometres, before Giovanni Visconti (Movistar Team) and Vini Fantini–Selle Italia's Matteo Rabottini were able to join back up with them. Visconti dropped his breakaway companions with around 23 km (14.3 mi) remaining, setting off on a solo effort. Rabottini tried to chase him on the descent from the Télégraphe, but ultimately, Visconti soloed to his first Grand Tour stage win.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 15
Rabottini's resolve lasted until inside the final kilometre when he cracked, and allowed a group of four riders to do battle for second. Ag2r–La Mondiale's Carlos Betancur won the sprint for second place ahead of Lampre–Merida's Przemysław Niemiec, and Rafał Majka of Saxo–Tinkoff; with the 12 seconds on offer for second, Betancur moved into the white jersey as young rider leader, ahead of Majka. The overall contenders group came across the line 54 seconds down on Visconti.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 16
The final week of racing commenced after the race's second rest day the previous day; the sixteenth stage was a transitional stage, returning to Italy following the Col du Galibier finish of the previous stage. Starting in Valloire, the parcours of 238 km (147.9 mi) began with a descent from the Col du Télégraphe, going in the opposite direction from the way that the peloton had climbed previously. Having reached Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne, the parcours sloped up again towards Modane and onwards to the Mont Cenis, this time in reverse, crossing back into Italy.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 16
From the foot of the climb, there was around 100 km (62.1 mi) of relatively flat terrain before reaching the finish town of Ivrea for the first time. From there, a 40 km (24.9 mi) loop was tackled, which contained a third-category climb. The climb, the Andrate, averaged around 8% in gradient – reaching 13% in places – and was expected to deny the sprinters of any chance of winning the stage. The day's breakaway was formed prior to the Mont Cenis, when an attack by Blanco Pro Cycling's Wilco Kelderman instigated a move of sixteen riders in total, while six more riders were able to bridge up towards the leaders before they had reached the summit of the climb.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 16
The 22-man lead group held an advantage of around three minutes over the top, with the lead continuing to increase on the descent into Italy. Astana were stationed on the front of the peloton, and were later joined by Team Katusha and RadioShack–Leopard to take up some of the pace-making, when the lead advantage had reached five minutes; this margin was putting the highest-placed riders from those teams – Yuri Trofimov and Robert Kišerlovski – in danger from Cannondale's Damiano Caruso, who was in the breakaway.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 16
The lead gap had been more than halved by the time the field reached the first intermediate sprint with around 54 km (33.6 mi) remaining, in the comune of Agliè. Counter-attacks were key on the run-in towards Ivrea for the first time; after several mini-attacks, Androni Giocattoli–Venezuela rider Emanuele Sella was the first to gain a manageable advantage over the rest of the breakaway.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 16
He was later joined by Kelderman and Team Sky's Danny Pate, and they were around twenty seconds clear as they hit Ivrea. A five-rider group made contact on the final climb, among whom was mountains classification leader Stefano Pirazzi (Bardiani Valvole–CSF Inox), who continued to extend his points lead. The remnants of the peloton had also caught up with the leaders, with young rider leader Carlos Betancur of Ag2r–La Mondiale leading Pirazzi over the summit.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 16
All the main contenders for the race were up front, with the exception of Vini Fantini–Selle Italia's Mauro Santambrogio, who would ultimately lose over two minutes on the day. A group of three riders managed to get clear in the closing stages, where Beñat Intxausti (Movistar Team) won the sprint ahead of Astana's Tanel Kangert and Przemysław Niemiec of Lampre–Merida. Intxausti saluted his former team-mate Xavier Tondo while coming across the line; crossing his fingers to form an X, in honour of Tondo, who was killed prior to a training ride with Intxausti in May 2011.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 17
With the exception of the final stage of the race heading into Brescia, the seventeenth stage marked one of the last opportunities for a sprinter to prevail in the 2013 Giro d'Italia. Starting in the Lombardy comune of Caravaggio, the parcours of 214 km (133.0 mi) in length, was predominantly a flat, transitional stage, except for a fourth-category climb towards the end of the stage.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 17
Following the two intermediate sprint points in San Bonifacio and Orgiano, the climb of the Crosara was narrow and technical; averaging 6.8% over the course of 5.3 km (3.3 mi) – with portions of the climb reaching 12% in gradient – meaning that teams would have to take extra care in consideration of the climb, hoping to keep their sprinters in check prior to the descent and finish into Vicenza.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 17
In the early kilometres, the day's breakaway was formed as Luke Durbridge (Orica–GreenEDGE), Maxim Belkov of Team Katusha, Lotto–Belisol rider Gert Dockx and Androni Giocattoli–Venezuela's Miguel Ángel Rubiano went clear. The quartet's lead reached a maximum of around five minutes at the midpoint of the stage, but was gradually reduced from then on. Omega Pharma–Quick-Step took station on the front of the peloton, in the hope of keeping points classification leader Mark Cavendish in contention for the stage victory; other sprinters' teams also helped to bring the time gap down.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 17
Belkov was first to be dropped, after falling into difficulty with around 30 km (18.6 mi) remaining. The other three riders from the lead group held an advantage of around one minute as they hit the foot of the Crosara. Cavendish ran into trouble on the climb, but remained as leader of the points classification overnight.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 17
Rubiano lifted the pace, which saw Dockx being dislodged from the front, while a second burst of acceleration saw his only other lead companion, Durbridge, being dropped as well. Vini Fantini–Selle Italia launched a two-pronged attack through Alessandro Proni and Danilo Di Luca, with Di Luca forcing himself clear in chase of Rubiano; he caught him with just under 20 km (12.4 mi) remaining, when Giovanni Visconti (Movistar Team) attacked from the peloton, joining quickly after bridging the 30-second gap.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 17
Visconti attacked over the top of the climb solo, gaining a maximum advantage of 35 seconds, but did enough to hold on, despite nearly crashing, for his second stage win in four days – his team's third in succession, after Beñat Intxausti's win on stage 16 – by 19 seconds. Garmin–Sharp's Ramūnas Navardauskas led the main group across the line in second, mistakenly believing he had won the stage, while the main contenders were also positioned within the group, leaving the general classification unchanged.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 18
The second of two individual time trials to be held in the 2013 Giro d'Italia, the eighteenth stage was deemed as a mountainous time trial – the form of the discipline returning to the race after a one-year hiatus – in the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol region, in northern Italy. The parcours of 20.6 km (12.8 mi) was split into several distinct sections; starting at the velodrome in Mori, the opening kilometre of the stage was on a false flat, before an 8 km (5.0 mi), 6.6% climb towards the intermediate time-check at Brentonico.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 18
An undulating false flat section in the middle portion was then covered, before a steeper climb to the finish in Polsa; the slopes hit 10% at one point during the climb, but again averaged 6.6% over around 6.5 km (4.0 mi). As was customary of time trial stages, the riders set off in reverse order from where they were ranked in the general classification at the end of the previous stage.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 18
Thus, Rafael Andriato of Vini Fantini–Selle Italia, who, in 172nd place, trailed overall leader Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) by three hours, fifty-six minutes and fifty seconds, was the first rider to set off on the stage. Andriato was not the first rider to reach the line, as Euskaltel–Euskadi rider Miguel Mínguez – who started directly behind him on the road, at a one-minute interval – passed him and went on to record a time of 48' 55" for the course.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 18
Mínguez's time held for around quarter of an hour until Steve Cummings took the lead for the BMC Racing Team, when he recorded a time for the course of 47' 08". Eros Capecchi was first to break 47 minutes for the Movistar Team, before Team Sky's Dario Cataldo – the Italian national time trial champion – assumed the top position with a time of 46' 10". Blanco Pro Cycling rider Stef Clement was the next rider to record the quickest time, achieving a time five seconds clear of Cataldo, setting a time of 46' 05".


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 18
Damiano Caruso (Cannondale) broke into the 45-minute region with the next quickest time for the course, with the weather conditions changing around the time that he was reaching the finish in Polsa. From the sun that had greeted the earlier runners on the course, the weather worsened and soon heavy rain was falling. Caruso's time was ultimately good enough for third on the stage; the first rider to beat the time was Euskaltel–Euskadi's Samuel Sánchez, who recorded a time of 45' 27", a time which enabled him to move into the top ten in the general classification.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 18
However, the best performance was left to the overall leader, Nibali. Setting the best time at the intermediate time-check, Nibali completed the course in 44' 29", to take his third Giro stage victory. He also managed to get within 24 seconds of catching his main rival for the general classification, BMC Racing Team's Cadel Evans, who had started three minutes before him. As a result, Nibali's overall lead grew to 4' 02" over Evans, with Team Sky rider Rigoberto Urán ten seconds further back in third.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 19
The nineteenth stage was scheduled to be the queen stage of the 2013 Giro d'Italia, covering a distance of 139 km (86.4 mi) between Ponte di Legno and Val Martello. However, much like the previous weekend's stages to Bardonecchia and the Col du Galibier, the scheduled route was affected by poor weather conditions; race organisers had been expecting snow to fall on the potentially key mountain stages.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 19
This materialised, and as such, the two main climbs for the day – the 16.5 km (10.3 mi)-long Passo di Gavia and the 21.7 km (13.5 mi) Passo di Stelvio (the scheduled Cima Coppi for the Giro), the highest two climbs of the race – were removed from the route. A revised route was released the night before the scheduled start of the stage.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 19
Along with the extension of the stage by 21 km (13.0 mi), two new climbs were added to the route. The second-category Passo del Tonale was set to test the riders – the 7.5% average climb of 8.3 km (5.2 mi), coming inside the opening 20 km (12.4 mi) of the stage – while the first-category Hofmahdjoch, 9.5% over 8.4 km (5.2 mi), was due to be ascented halfway through the stage.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 19
Further adverse conditions overnight dropped even more snow on the scheduled itinerary, and ultimately, race organisers cancelled the stage on safety grounds; the first weather-related cancellation of a stage in the Giro since 1989 – when the sixteenth stage was cancelled – and the first cancellation of any form since 2001, when the peloton refused to race in the eighteenth stage, after drug raids. Competing riders and teams supported the decision that the race organisers made in relation to the stage.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 19
Later in the day, it was announced that Vini Fantini–Selle Italia rider Danilo Di Luca had tested positive for the banned glycoprotein hormone erythropoietin (EPO) – which controls red blood cell production – during an out-of-competition drugs test held a week in advance of the race.


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 19
After receiving notification of his rider's positive test, team manager Angelo Citracca stated that Di Luca had been sacked – after less than a month with the squad – and that they were launching legal proceedings against Di Luca. Di Luca – who had previously served a fifteen-month suspension after testing positive for continuous erythropoietin receptor activator (CERA) at the 2009 Giro d'Italia – himself expressed his "surprise" at the positive test, while race director Michele Acquarone angrily chastised Di Luca at a press conference, describing him as "stupid".


2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage 12 to Stage 21, Stage 20
Like several other stages to be held during the second half of the 2013 Giro d'Italia, the penultimate stage of the race had to be re-routed due to unfavourable weather conditions which resulted in potentially dangerous riding conditions. The original parcours of 203 km (126.1 mi) was slightly lengthened to 210 km (130.5 mi), but it also meant that three of the five originally-scheduled climbs of the route being removed; the first-category Passo Giau was bypassed, along with the second-category ascents of the Karerpass and the Passo di San Pellegrino.