The Giro d'Italia (Tour of Italy), also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional
cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. After the Tour de France, it is the second most important stage
race in the world and has occasionally been as popular as the Tour (late '40s, '50s, and early '70s), although not particularly well
known outside Europe. The most recent winner (2008) is Alberto Contador. The 2008 edition started on May 10 and finished on June 1.

The Giro was inspired by the Tour de France and, just as the French race was intended to boost circulation of L'Auto, so Emilio Camillo
Costamagna, the editor of La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper, aimed to increase his circulation. The first Giro d'Italia started on May
13, 1909 at Milan with eight stages totalling 2,448 kilometres (1,521 miles). Luigi Ganna was the first winner.

Along with the Tour de France and the World Cycling Championship, the Giro d'Italia makes up the Triple Crown of Cycling. Along with
the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España it is one of the three Grand Tours.

Alberto Contador Velasco (born 6 December 1982 in Pinto, Madrid) is a Spanish professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam Team
Astana. He won the 2007 Tour de France with the Discovery Channel team and the 2008 Giro d'Italia and 2008 Vuelta a España with Astana,
being the fifth racer in history, and the first Spaniard, to win all three Grand Tours of road cycling, among legends Jacques Anquetil
(1963), Felice Gimondi (1968), Eddy Merckx (1973) and Bernard Hinault in (1980). While he competes for the overall titles, he is
considered a climbing specialist. Contador lives in Pinto, Spain.

Lance Armstrong 37 is in training right now in Aspen Colorado for Il Giro d'italia. He's in a comeback after
a 3 1/2 year retirement and recuperating from a broken collarbone. He's also involved in a dispute
with the French anti-doping agency known as AFLD.