1948 Giro d'Italia

Teams

Main article: List of teams and cyclists in the 1948 Giro d'Italia

A total of eleven teams entered the 1948 Giro d'Italia. Each team sent a squad of seven riders, so the Giro began with a peloton of 77 cyclists. Out of the 77 riders that started this edition of the Giro d'Italia, a total of 44 riders made it to the finish in Milan.

The teams entering the race were:

• Legnano
• Peugeot
• Viani-C.R.A.L. Imperia

Route and stages

Race organizer and newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport released the preliminary route for the Giro d'Italia on 27 October 1947. The race was originally planned to start on 22 May and finish on 13 June, while covering 3715 km over nineteen stages.

Race overview

During stage 9 from Bari to Naples, Magni –who was down nine minutes at the time– joined the day's breakaway.

During the Giro, the French and Belgian teams left the race because they thought it was made impossible for foreign riders to ride the Giro. When the leader Magni was punished with only two minutes after being pushed up a mountain, Fausto Coppi and his Bianchi team also left the race out of protest. As a result, only forty riders finished the Giro. Stage seventeen featured several climbs including the Pordoi Pass. Coppi won the stage, but Magni–who had a reputation for struggling on big climbs–finished in time to retain the lead. It was discovered that Magni had been helped up the Pordoi, while some state he was pushed by spectators others say he was pulled by a car. Coppi and Bianchi requested Magni to be thrown out. As there were no photos, the race jury had to go based on testimonies. It was officially declared that the pushing Magni received was planned. The punishment was a two-minute penalty in the general classification, which still allowed him to remain in the lead. Coppi and his team decided to withdraw after that decision.

Classification leadership

The leader of the general classification – calculated by adding the stage finish times of each rider – wore a pink jersey. This classification is the most important of the race, and its winner is considered as the winner of the Giro. There were no time bonuses in the 1948 Giro.

In the mountains classification, the race organizers selected different mountains that the route crossed and awarded points to the five riders who crossed them first. The mountains classification was finalized after the last mountain, riders did not need to finish the Giro to be classified in this classification.

The winner of the team classification was determined by adding the finish times of the best three cyclists per team together and the team with the lowest total time was the winner.If a team had fewer than three riders finish, they were not eligible for the classification.

There was a black jersey (maglia nera) awarded to the rider placed last in the general classification. The classification was calculated in the same manner as the general classification.

The prize money for the winner of the race was one million lire. The prize money increased to one million this year because Totip, a horse race betting company, sponsored the race.

The rows in the following table correspond to the jerseys awarded after that stage was run.

Final standings

General classification

Mountains classification

Team classification

Aftermath

The Italian cycling federation gave Coppi a suspension of one month because he refused to finish the Giro. After being caught cheating, Magni was the subject of the tifosi's animosity, he was frequently booed and writing on the road included the phrase Abbasso Magni (). After winning the final stage into Milan's Vignorelli Velodrome, the crowd's behavior (whistles, boos, and anti–Magni banners) reduced him to tears. The Communist Mayor of Prato sent Magni a telegram congratulating him on the victory, stating that his victory brought "honor to [their] city." Later in his life, Magni said that the telegram pleased him greatly.

References

Citations

Bibliography

References

1. Giuseppe Ambrosini. (7 June 1948). "Melanconico epilogo di un Giro sbagliato". Editrice La Stampa.
2. (7 June 1948). "Ultima tappa senza storia". Editrice La Stampa.
3. (8 June 1948). "Coppi ha fatto bene". PCI.
4. (7 June 1948). "La Vuelta a Italia Magni, vencedor". El Mundo Deportivo S.A..
5. (15 May 1948). "Le squadre iscritte". Corriere dello Sport.
6. Bill and Carol McGann. "1948 Giro d'Italia". Dog Ear Publishing.
7. (28 October 1947). "Il Giro d'Italia 1948". Editrice La Stampa.
8. (28 October 1947). "Il Giro d'Italia 1948 è stato già varato". Corriere dello Sport.
9. (7 June 1948). "Coppi stapt uit Giro". Delpher.
10. Laura Weislo. (13 May 2008). "Giro d'Italia classifications demystified". Future Publishing Limited.
11. (10 June 1940). "L'ultima tappa in una immensa cornice di folla e la vittoria di Leoni". Il Littoriale.
12. (2017). "1948". La Gazzetta dello Sport.
13. "Informatie over de Giro d'Italia van 1948". tourdefrancestatistieken.nl.
14. (5 June 1948). "Fausto Coppi vince il Gr. Pr. della Montagna". Corriere dello Sport.
15. (5 June 1948). "La XVIII Tappa del Giro d'Italia". PCI.
16. (7 June 1948). "Classifica a squadre". Corriere dello Sport.