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1919 Giro d'Italia


FieldValue
name1919 Giro d'Italia
imageGiro Italia 1919-map.png
image_captionRace Route
date21 May – 8 June 1919
stages10
distance2984
unitkm
time112h 51' 29"
firstCostante Girardengo
first_natITA
first_natvar1861
first_teamStucchi
secondGaetano Belloni
second_natITA
second_natvar1861
second_teamBianchi
thirdMarcel Buysse
third_natBEL
third_teamBianchi
teamStucchi - Dunlop
previous[1914](1914-giro-d-italia)
next[1920](1920-giro-d-italia)

The 1919 Giro d'Italia was the seventh edition of the Giro d'Italia, a Grand Tour organized and sponsored by the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. The race began on 21 May in Milan with a stage that stretched 302.8 km to Trento, finishing back in Milan on 8 June after a 277 km stage and a total distance covered of 2984 km. The race was won by the Italian rider Costante Girardengo of the Stucchi team. Second and third respectively were Italian Gaetano Belloni and Belgian Marcel Buysse.

Of 66 riders starting the race, only 15 completed it. The Giro (the first one after the Great War) had the first two stages arriving in the "unredeemed" cities of Trento and Trieste, and was dominated by Girardengo, who won seven stages. The '"eternal second" Gaetano Belloni won his first stage in the Giro.

This edition of the race was also characterised by the first stage victory by a Swiss rider and by the first non-Italian cyclist on the final podium: the Belgian Marcel Buysse.

Participants

Main article: List of teams and cyclists in the 1919 Giro d'Italia

Of the 63 riders that began the Giro d'Italia on 21 May, fifteen of them made it to the finish in Milan on 8 June. Riders were allowed to ride on their own or as a member of a team. There were four teams that competed in the race: Bianchi Pirelli, Legnano-Pirelli, Peugeot-Tedeschi, and Stucchi-Dunlop. The isolati riders that participated in the race were primarily war veterans. Organizers promised all isolati riders at least 180 lire if they reached Milan. The Milan Army Corps carried participants luggage for the race with a Fiat 18 BL lorry that remained after the war.

The peloton was almost completely composed of Italians. The field featured two former Giro d'Italia champions in the three-time winner Carlo Galetti and Eberardo Pavesi who was a member of the 1912 Atala winning team. Other notable Italian riders that started the race included Costante Girardengo, Angelo Gremo, Ezio Corlaita, and Giuseppe Santhià. Girardengo was current Italian men's road race champion and was recovering from the Spanish flu.

Race summary

The first stage ended in Trento, which was at that time part of Austria-Hungary, although it had been occupied by Italian soldiers following World War I, and would annexed by Italy later that year. This was the first time that an international border was crossed during the Giro d'Italia. This first stage ended in a small group sprint, won by Costante Girardengo, who thereby became leader.

The second stage went to Trieste, also not yet annexed by Italy. This region had been heavily damaged in the war, and roads were in bad condition. At one point, the Tagliamento needed to be crossed, but the bridge had collapsed. Riders had to cross the water by foot, carrying their bikes. Girardengo won that stage after a solo escape, and remained leader.

The third stage ended in a bunch sprint, but now Girardengo was beaten to second place by Oscar Egg. Girardengo remained firmly in the lead.

The fourth stage was 411 km, only seven stages have been longer in the Giro. In that stage, Corlaita and Lucotti escaped and stayed away until the finish, taking more than eight minutes on all the other riders. Girardengo stayed on top of the general classification. He was the favourite to win, but the race was not yet seen as decided.

In the fifth stage, Girardengo did better. He was part of the first group of four riders that finished more than 17 minutes ahead of the rest. In the sprint he lost against Belloni, but in the general classification he increased his leading margin to 23 minutes.

From then on, there were five more stages. They were all won by Girardengo. This also included the eighth stage. While waiting for the second rider to arrive, he was interviewed by Emilio Colombo, who asked Girardengo how he would like to be called. Girardengo told Colombo to do what he thought best, and Colombo decided to call him the Champion of Champions (ti chiamerò campionissimo). This name would be used for Girardengo for the rest of his career.

Final standings

Stage results

StageDateCourseDistanceTypeIn 1919, there was no distinction in the rules between plain stages and mountain stages; the icons shown here indicate that the first, second, fifth, seventh, eighth, and ninth stages included major mountains.WinnerRace Leader12345678910
21 MayMilan to Trento302.8 km[[Image:Mountainstage.svg22pxlink=alt=]]Stage with mountain(s)Costante GirardengoCostante Girardengo
23 MayTrento to Trieste334.3 km[[Image:Mountainstage.svg22pxlink=alt=]]Stage with mountain(s)Costante GirardengoCostante Girardengo
25 MayTrieste to Ferrara282 km[[Image:Plainstage.svg22pxlink=alt=]]Plain stageOscar EggCostante Girardengo
27 MayFerrara to Pescara411.2 km[[Image:Plainstage.svg22pxlink=alt=]]Plain stageEzio CorlaitaCostante Girardengo
29 MayPescara to Naples312.5 km[[Image:Mountainstage.svg22pxlink=alt=]]Stage with mountain(s)Gaetano BelloniCostante Girardengo
31 MayNaples to Rome203.8 km[[Image:Plainstage.svg22pxlink=alt=]]Plain stageCostante GirardengoCostante Girardengo
2 JuneRome to Florence350.8 km[[Image:Mountainstage.svg22pxlink=alt=]]Stage with mountain(s)Costante GirardengoCostante Girardengo
4 JuneFlorence to Genoa261.8 km[[Image:Mountainstage.svg22pxlink=alt=]]Stage with mountain(s)Costante GirardengoCostante Girardengo
6 JuneGenoa to Turin248 km[[Image:Mountainstage.svg22pxlink=alt=]]Stage with mountain(s)Costante GirardengoCostante Girardengo
8 JuneTurin to Milan277 km[[Image:Plainstage.svg22pxlink=alt=]]Plain stageCostante GirardengoCostante Girardengo
Total2984 km

General classification

There were fifteen cyclists who had completed all ten stages. For these cyclists, the times they had needed in each stage was added up for the general classification. The cyclist with the least accumulated time was the winner. Giosuè Lombardi won the prize for best ranked independent rider in the general classification.

RankNameTeamTime12345678910
Costante GirardengoStucchi-Dunlop112h 51' 29"
Gaetano BelloniBianchi+ 51' 56"
Marcel BuysseBianchi+ 1h 05' 31"
Clemente CanepariStucchi-Dunlop+ 1h 34' 35"
Ugo AgostoniBianchi+ 1h 39' 39"
Angelo GremoStucchi-Dunlop+ 2h 20' 01"
Ezio CorlaitaStucchi-Dunlop+ 4h 12' 07"
Lauro BordinMaino+ 4h 16' 32"
Giosuè Lombardi+ 4h 28' 33"
Ugo Ruggeri+ 6h 03' 51"
Final general classification (11–15)RankNameTeamTime
11Marcel GodivierBianchi+ 6h 52' 54"
12Costante CostaVerdi+ 6h 53' 31"
13Enrico Sala+ 7h 15' 17"
14Ottavio Pratesi+ 7h 57' 40"
15Francesco MarcheseVerdi+ 9h 20' 59"

Points classification

There was a points based classification for the race.

RankNameTeamPoints123456789
Costante GirardengoStucchi-Dunlop21
Gaetano BelloniBianchi46
Marcel BuysseBianchi62
Clemente CanepariStucchi-Dunlop73
Angelo GremoStucchi-Dunlop78
Ugo AgostoniBianchi88
Ezio CorlaitaStucchi-Dunlop9?
Marcel GodivierBianchi99
Giosuè Lombardi119
Lauro BordinMaino

References

;Notes

;Citations

Bibliography

References

  1. Bill and Carol McGann. "1919 Giro d'Italia". Dog Ear Publishing.
  2. (2017). "Special Editions: 1919". La Gazzetta dello Sport.
  3. (22 May 1919). "Girardengo, l'imbattibilie vince la prima tappa Milano-Trento". La Stampa.
  4. (29 May 1919). "Le Tour d'Italie". Gallica.
  5. McGann, Bill&Carol. "The Story of the Giro D'Italia: A Year-by-Year History of the Tour of Italy, Volume 1".
  6. Barry Boyce. "Girardengo Untouchable". CyclingRevealed.
  7. (14 June 1950). "I vincitori delle categorie speciali". Corriere dello Sport.
  8. "Giro d'Italia 1919". Cycling Archives.
  9. (9 June 1919). "Girardengo vince il Giro d'Italia". Editrice La Stampa.
  10. (10 June 1919). "Le Tour d'Italie". Gallica.
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