Giro d'Italia reintroduces the intergiro - a sub-competition where best placed riders at halfway point of stages can shine

The Giro d'Italia will again have an intergiro classification this year. From 1989 to 2005 there was already competition for this secondary classification, but afterwards the prize disappeared. Now the intergiro is returning.

The intergiro classification is a variant of the intermediate sprint classification. In the early years, a finish line was drawn halfway through each stage where the riders' times were recorded, just like at the end of a stage. The only difference here was that the riders simply continued riding after the intergiro. Just like at the finish of the stage, bonuses could be earned during the intergiro. The classification leader wore the blue jersey.

It is not yet clear whether there will again be a jersey associated with the side classification. The rules are also slightly different. There is still an intergiro intermediate sprint in each stage, but the time is no longer recorded here. Instead, points can be earned for the first eight riders: 12, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1. These are added together in the intergiro ranking. The first three riders to pass will also receive 3, 2 and 1 bonus seconds for the general classification.

The points also count towards the regular points ranking. Conveniently, points awarded for regular intermediate sprints and at the finish do not count towards the intergiro classification. This gives a good chance specifically to smaller teams to fight for a new goal.