Hesjedal Comes Through And Wins Giro!

It was a historic victory for the Giro D'Italia, Canada and above all for Ryder Hesjedal as he conquers one of the most storied races in cycling. As a sports fan, this is huge. Not only that, he did it riding a Canadian bicycle - Cervelo which too has left its mark on cycling as the world's largest manufacturer of time-trial bikes.

I was watching the RAI feed in Italian and it was incredible to watch the Canadian flag draped over the commentator's table. I've also been watching the American feed who have been basically cheering for Hesjedal.

Let me put this in perspective.

There are three races that make up the Grand Tours: Giro, Vuelta a Espana and Tour de France.

- 12 countries have won the Tour de France since 1903 in 98 editions.
- Since 1935 - 66 editions - 11 countries have won Vuelta.
- Contested since 1909, 10 different countries have won the Giro in 94 editions.
- In total between the three Tours, 17 countries have been represented.

In 258 editions, a Canadian has never won. The United States have won 11 between Italy (1) and France (10). It's a list dominated by Italy (80 wins), France (51), Spain (46), Belgium (32). In other words, 209 of the 258 wins (81%) have come from just four coutries! These are countries with long cylcing traditions. The numbers don't include Teams and Manufacturers of which Italy further cements its cycling heritage. Nor does it include UCI World Rankings which Belgium and Italy also have placed the most champions.

That's what Hesjedal was against.

Prior to Hesjedal's win, the best Canada achieved was Steve Bauer's awesome 4th place at the Tour de France in 1988. That same year, he won a stage at the Tour. Another accomplishment was Alex Stieda becoming the first North American to win the Yellow Jersey in 1986; this is pre-Greg LeMond and the rise of American cycling.

Along with Mike Weir winning the Masters, Ferguson Jenkin's induction in baseball's Hall, Larry Walker's batting titles and Steve Nash's MVP titles, Hesjedal's victory is without doubt among the greatest, if not the greatest, achievement on Canadian sports record.