2014 Giro d'Italia five different categories, named A to E. The category of a stage determines the points given for the points classification, and for the maximum time allowed for cyclists to finish the stage. Category A is reserved for the flattest stages, while category D is for the stages with the highest mountains. Category E is for time-trial stages. It started in Belfast on 9 May 2014 and traveled across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. There were three rest days instead of the usual two and the race started on a Friday. In the 2014 Giro d'Italia, four different
History of the Giro d'Italia the first time that the Giro had ever left its home country of Italy. Girardengo came into the race the favorite, but injuries sustained from crashing in the second stage forced him to withdraw. During the second stage, Gaetano Belloni capitalized on Girardengo's, race leader Giuseppe Olivieri's, Carlo Galetti's withdrawal to win the second stage and take the lead. Belloni, known by many as "the Eternal Second, went on to win the Giro and proved he could win a race. Costante Girardengo won the first four stages of the 1921 Giro d'Italia and was leader after the fourth day. During