after koblet became the first foreigner to win the giro, the italians won the majority of the races held until 1968. in 1968, the belgian eddy merckx won his first giro d'italia, which were soon followed by four more victories. bernard hinault won the first of his three giros d'italia in 1980. ireland's stephen roche won the 1987 race en route to winning the triple crown of cycling. spanish rider miguel indurain won two consecutive giros d'italia, in 1992 and 1993, with his victories being followed by wins by evgeni berzin, tony rominger, and pavel tonkov. the next ten editions of the race were won by italian riders, including the likes of marco pantani, paolo savoldelli, and gilberto simoni.