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 superiority in the Giro d'Italia. Italians dominated the race for forty years before the first non-Italian, Hugo Koblet, in 1950. After Koblet became the first foreigner to win the Giro, the Italians won the majority of the races held until 1968. In 1968, the Belgian Eddy Merckx won his first Giro d'Italia, which were soon followed by four more victories. Bernard Hinault won the first of his three Giros d'Italia in 1980. Ireland's Stephen Roche won the 1987 race en route to winning the Triple Crown of Cycling. Spanish rider Miguel Indurain won two consecutive Giros d'Italia, in 1992 and