The Giro has only been to Tre Cime di Lavaredo a few times, finishing
at the Auronzo Shelter . The 1974 stage finishing here was one of the
Giro's most memorable.
1967 - The Giro visited here in 1967 after the road was first improved.
Felice Gimondi was the hero of Italian cycling and he made good on
the stage, followed by Merckx and Motta. An indication of the
difficulty of this stage comes from the results, which were
canceled due to the number of riders that received pushes on the
climb, an all too common practice in Italy at the time. 1967 was
Merckx' first entry into the Giro, and he had already taken two stages
including the stage 12 climb to Block Haus. This Giro would mark
one of the few crossing points of the two most prominent Grand Tour
riders of the time. Jacques Anquetil would stand on a Grand Tour
podium for the last time, finishing 3rd in Milan behind Gimondi.
Merckx held third position until falling ill and coughing up time on
the Tonale. He would finish 9th, and was getting an idea that he
might have some success in stage races.
1968 - This was the year that Merckx first rode for an Italian team,
and it is this experience that he credits with launching his career as
a dominant stage racer. Riding for Faema he would win Paris-Roubaix
before turning his attention to the Giro. Merckx took the stage from
Gorinza to Tre Cime di Lavaredo with an ease that surely disturbed
his rivals. That Giro marked his first win in a Grand Tour, 5 minutes
ahead of his teammate Adorni and 9 ahead of Gimondi.
1974 - Things were different for Merckx this year. Bronchitis damaged
his early season to the point that this marks one of the few seasons
where he did not take a single classic. He entered the Giro as the
defending champion and four time victor. The difficult stage to Tre Cime
di Lavaredo would come late in the race.
Making his debut in the Giro was the rising Italian star Baronchelli.
While it was Fuente that got to the shelter first, the real story was
happening further on down the mountain. Since 1968 Merckx had never
reached this part of a Giro without being in total control. Attacked in
awful weather by Baronchelli and Gimondi he would be hard pressed to
salvage 33 seconds lead over his old rival and a mere 12 seconds over
his new one. This remains one of the closest Giros ever (Magni defeated
Cecchi by 11 seconds in 1948) and marked the 5th and last win in the
Giro for Merckx.
1981 - The Dolomite climb again stood near the end of the Giro. The
diminutive Swiss climber Beat Breu took the stage, while Giovanni
Battaglin battled Tommy Prim for the pink jersey. The Giro finished with
a time trial in Verona that year, and Battaglin held 38 seconds on Prim
at the end of it.
1989 - Winning the Giro-Tour double has always been one of the most
prestigious feats in the world of cycling. 1989 would see a lot of drama
in these two events, with the first act coming on the road from Padova
to Tre Cime di Lavaredo on Stage 13 of the Giro. Luis Herrera made his
name in the mountains, and one of those mountains was this one in the
Dolomites. Behind him the struggle was between riders like Laurent
Fignon, Andy Hampsten, Erik Breukink, and Flavio Giupponi. And further
behind Greg Lemond was struggling also in the rain and cold. No one was
paying much attention.
Fignon was the best in that year's Giro. As he looked forward to the
Tour no doubt he could imagine adding his name to the very short list of
great riders to win the sport's two premier events in the same year.
Bob Schwartz