1969 Giro d'Italia
The 1969 Giro d'Italia was the 52nd edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The race consisted of 23 stages, one of which was a split stage, starting in Garda on 16 May and finishing Milan on 8 June. There were two time trial stages and a single rest day. Felice Gimondi of the Salvarani team won the overall general classification, his second victory. Italians Claudio Michelotto (Max Meyer) placed second, 3 min and 35 s slower than Gimondi, and Italo Zilioli (Filotex) was third, over four minutes behind Gimondi. Eddy Merckx, who was leading the general classification, was excluded from the race after an extremely controversial anti-doping control in Savona. Teams A total of 13 teams were invited to participate in the 1969 Giro d'Italia. Each team sent a squad of ten riders, so the Giro began with a peloton of 130 cyclists. Riders of Italian nationality numbered the most with 113, while Belgium had the second most with eight. Out of the 130 riders that started this edition of the Giro d'Italia, a total of 81 riders made it to the finish in Milan. The teams that took part in the race were: Pre-race favorites