1909 Giro d'Italia

Cycling race 1909 Giro d'Italia Giro 1909.png Overview of the stages: route clockwise from Milan, down to Naples, then up to Milan Map of Italy showing the path of the race, going clockwise from Milan down to Naples, then north back to Milan 13–30 May 1909 8 2447.9 km 89h 48' 14" Luigi Ganna ITA 1861 Atala Carlo Galetti ITA 1861 Rudge Whitworth Giovanni Rossignoli ITA 1861 Bianchi Atala ITA 1910 The 1909 Giro d'Italia was the 1st edition of the Giro d'Italia, organized and sponsored by the Italian major sport newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport. The event began in Milan on 13 May with a 397 km 0 on first stage to Bologna, finishing back in Milan on 30 May after a final stage of 206 km 0 on and a total distance covered of 2447.9 km 0 on. The race was won by the Italian rider Luigi Ganna of the Atala team, with fellow Italians Carlo Galetti and Giovanni Rossignoli coming in second and third respectively. Conceived by La Gazzetta to boost its circulation at the expense of its rival Corriere della Sera, the 1909 Giro was the first stage road race. Its eight stages, although relatively few compared to modern Grand Tours, were each much longer than those raced today. The event began with a long primarily flat stage that was won by Dario Beni. He lost the lead after the next stage to the eventual winner Luigi Ganna, who in turn lost it to Carlo Galetti after the mountainous third stage. Ganna regained the lead after the fourth stage and successfully defended it all the way to the finish in Milan, winning three stages en route. Atala won the team classification. Origin The idea of holding a bicycle race around Italy was first suggested in a telegram sent by Tullo Margagni, editor of La Gazzetta dello Sport, to the paper's owner Emilio Costamagna and cycling editor Armando Cougnet.McHugh Michael https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/cycling-giro-ditalia-to-begin-in-ireland-in-2014-8505024.html Cycling: Giro d'Italia to begin in Ireland in 2014 21 February 2013 The Independent Independent Print Ltd 1 March 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20140619162900/http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/others/cycling-giro-ditalia-to-begin-in-ireland-in-2014-8505024.html 19 June 2014Fotheringham 2003 103–104McGann Bill McGann Carol http://bikeraceinfo.com/giro/giro1909.html 1909 Giro d'Italia Bike Race Info Dog Ear Publishing 10 July 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20140304151837/http://www.bikeraceinfo.com/giro/giro1909.html 4 March 2014 ''La Gazzettas rival, Corriere della Sera was planning to hold a bicycle race of its own, flushed with the success of its automobile race.Fotheringham 2003 103–104http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/Giroditalia/2005/eng/storiadelgiro.html History La Gazzetta dello Sport 15 September 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20140619163201/http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/Giroditalia/2005/eng/storiadelgiro.html 19 June 2014 Morgagni decided to try and hold the race before Corriere della Sera could hold theirs, and following La Gazzettas success in creating the Giro di Lombardia and Milan–San Remo, Costamagna decided to back the idea. The inaugural Giro d'Italia bicycle race was announced on 7 August 1908 in the first page of that day's edition of La Gazzetta, to be held in May 1909. The idea of the race was influenced by the success of the French magazine L'Autos organization of the Tour de France.Reissner Leslie http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/page/features/?id=84149#.U6MR-LG88TA The Giro d'Italia: Don't Go Home Yet! 23 June 2011 PezCycling News 27 May 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20140619163816/http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/page/features/?id=84149 19 June 2014 Since the newspaper lacked the necessary 25,000 lire to sponsor the race,Fotheringham 2003 103–104 the organizers consulted Primo Bongrani, a sympathetic accountant at the bank Cassa di Risparmio. He proceeded to solicit donations from all over Italy, and succeeded in raising sufficient money to cover the operating costs. The prize money came from a casino in San Remo after Francesco Sghirla, a former Gazzetta employee, encouraged them to contribute to the race.Fotheringham 2003 103–104 Even Corriere, La Gazzetta'''s rival, donated 3,000 lire.Fotheringham 2003 103–104 Rules and course Both teams and individual riders were allowed to enter the race, which was run in eight stages with two to three rest days between each stage. Compared to modern races the stages were extraordinarily long, with an average distance of more than 300 km on, compared to the 165 km on average stage length in the 2012 Giro d'Italia. thumb|right|The Colle di Nava was one of the few major climbs in the first Giro d'Italia.|alt=An intersection of a road with lots of white road paint. The route was primarily flat, although it did contain a few major ascents. The third stage contained ascents to Macerone, Rionero Sannitico, and Roccaraso.http://hemeroteca-paginas.mundodeportivo.com/EMD02/HEM/1909/05/27/MD19090527-006.pdf La Vuelta De Italia es 27 May 1909 6 El Mundo Deportivo El Mundo Deportivo S.A. 27 May 2012 The Giro d'Italia https://web.archive.org/web/20140619164252/http://hemeroteca-paginas.mundodeportivo.com/EMD02/HEM/1909/05/27/MD19090527-006.pdf 19 June 2014 The Giro's sixth stage contained only one pass, the Passo Bracco. The seventh stage was the last to contain any major ascents: the climbs of the Colle di Nava and the ascent to San Bartolomeo. Riders were required to sign in at checkpoints during each stage to minimize the opportunities for cheating; they were also photographed at the beginning and end of each stage, and the images compared by the judges. Riders could receive assistance when repairing their bicycles, but were not allowed to replace their machines if they became damaged during the course of the stage. The inaugural Giro used a points system to determine the race winner. The organizers chose to have a points system over a system based around elapsed time after the scandal that engulfed the 1904 Tour de France. Another factor in the organizer's decision was that it would be cheaper to count the placings of the riders rather than clocking their times during each stage. The race leader was determined by adding up each rider's placing in each stage. Thus if a rider placed second in the first stage and third in the second stage he would have a total of five points, and whoever had the lowest points total was the leader. Under this system Luigi Ganna was declared the winner, but had the Giro been a time-based event he would have lost to the third-place finisher Giovanni Rossignoli by 37 minutes.http://www.gazzetta.it/ssi/2008/boxes/giro2009/sito/en_tappa_09.shtml 9th stage: Milan – Milan 17 May 2009 La Gazzetta dello Sport 26 October 2009Foot 2011 9–15 The winner of the general classification received a grand prize of 5,325 lire.Foot 2011 9–15 Every rider who finished the race with more than 100 points without winning any prizes in any of the stages was given 100 lire.http://hemeroteca-paginas.mundodeportivo.com/EMD02/HEM/1909/06/10/MD19090610-003.pdf La Vuelta De Italia es 10 June 1909 3 El Mundo Deportivo El Mundo Deportivo S.A. 27 May 2012 The Giro d'Italia https://web.archive.org/web/20140619163636/http://hemeroteca-paginas.mundodeportivo.com/EMD02/HEM/1909/06/10/MD19090610-003.pdf 19 June 2014 Participants List of teams and cyclists in the 1909 Giro d'Italia A total of 166 riders signed up to participate in the event. Twenty of the riders who entered were non-Italians: fifteen were French, two were German, one was Argentinian, one was Belgian, and one was from Trieste, which at the time was not a part of Italy. Only 127 riders started the first stage of the race,Foot 2011 9–15 all but five of Italian descent,Foot 2011 9–15 of whom only 49 reached the finish in Milan on 30 May.Foot 2011 9–15 Riders were allowed to enter the race as independents or as a member of a team. The two best-known Italians taking part in the race were Luigi Ganna and Giovanni Gerbi. Gerbi was the more successful of the two, having won the Giro di Lombardia, the Milano–Torino, and several other one-day races. Ganna had won Milan–San Remo earlier the same year – notably the first Italian winner of the race. The peloton also featured two Tour de France winners, Louis Trousselier and Lucien Petit-Breton,Capodacqua Eugenio Capodacqua it 10 May 2007 http://www.repubblica.it/2007/05/speciale/altri/2007giroditalia/storia/storia.html La storia del Giro d'Italia (1909–1950) La Repubblica Gruppo Editoriale L’Espresso 27 December 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20071224103726/http://www.repubblica.it/2007/05/speciale/altri/2007giroditalia/storia-3/storia-3.html 24 December 2007 live The history of the Tour of Italy (1909–1950)Reichef Frantz http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k288456r/f7.image.langFR Vélocipédie Le Petit journal 14 May 1909 16 March 2010 Gallica Bibliothèque Numérique fr 7 https://web.archive.org/web/20140619163928/http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark%3A/12148/bpt6k288456r/f7.image.langFR 19 June 2014 dead as well as two future Giro d'Italia winners: Carlo Galetti and Carlo Oriani.http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/Giroditalia/2012/en/static/albodoro.shtml?lang=en Giro d'Italia roll of honour La Gazzetta dello Sport 12 July 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20140619164028/http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/Giroditalia/2012/en/static/albodoro.shtml?lang=en 19 June 2014 Race overview thumb|left|Luigi Ganna after the eighth stage, which finished in Milan.|alt=A man sitting in a chair. The inaugural Giro d'Italia's first stage, 397 km 0 on from Milan to Bologna, began on 13 May 1909 at 2:53 am in front of a large crowd.Foot 2011 9–15 127 riders set off from the starting line outside La Gazzettas headquarters in the Piazzale Loreto.Foot 2011 9–15Brown Gregor http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=/news/2008/dec08/dec13news2 Giro d'Italia celebrates 100 years with bella route Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 26 September 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20140619163318/http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=%2Fnews%2F2008%2Fdec08%2Fdec13news2 19 June 2014 dead The stage was marred by mechanical issues and crashes owing to bad weather,http://hemeroteca-paginas.mundodeportivo.com/EMD02/HEM/1909/05/20/MD19090520-004.pdf La Vuelta De Italia es 20 May 1909 4 El Mundo Deportivo El Mundo Deportivo S.A. 27 May 2012 The Giro d'Italia https://web.archive.org/web/20140428102335/http://hemeroteca-paginas.mundodeportivo.com/EMD02/HEM/1909/05/20/MD19090520-004.pdf 28 April 2014 dead the first mass crash occurring before dawn less than 2 km 0 on from the start. Luigi Ganna, leading after the first real climb near Lake Garda, was delayed by a puncture with about 70 km 0 on to go and the other racers attacked, but he caught them again after they were stopped by a train crossing. The leading riders then made their way into Bologna, where Dario Beni won the stage. The second stage, 378.5 km 0 on long, saw the first uphill finish, into Chieti, where Giovanni Cuniolo edged out Ganna for the stage win. Ganna's second place was nevertheless high enough to make him the new race leader. The third stage, to Naples, was 242.8 km 0 on. Before the start, three riders were disqualified and subsequently removed from the race for taking a train during the second stage.Foot 2011 9–15 They were caught after failing to pass through an unexpected checkpoint set up by the organizers. The start of the third stage was moved downhill after the opening descent was found to be too dangerous for the participants' brakes. The stage featured three major climbs. After the mountains Giovanni Rossignoli pursued the leader, Carlo Galetti, eventually catching him and going on to win the stage, while Galetti took the race lead away from Ganna. On the fourth stage, 228.1 km 0 on from Naples to the Italian capital Rome, French rider Louis Trousselier was doing well until he ran over tacks strewn on the road by spectators, and the other riders left him behind. Galetti and Ganna formed a group at the front and Ganna went on to win the stage in front of thousands of spectators, retaking the race lead by a single point. The fifth stage was 346.5 km 0 on to Florence. Like the fourth, it was plagued by punctures. Luigi Ganna led until he had a flat tyre with about 10 km 0 on to go. A few riders passed him as he repaired it but he chased them down and won the stage. On the sixth stage, 294.4 km 0 on from Florence to Genoa, Carlo Galetti and Giovanni Rossignoli broke away from the leading group of seven as they neared the downhill finish, with Rossignoli winning the stage in front of a large crowd. Race leader Ganna had suffered more punctures but managed to fight his way back to finish third. The seventh stage, 357 km 0 on, was scheduled to run from Genoa to Turin. Massive crowds at the start led Armando Cougnet to introduce a rule forbidding riders to attack over the first few kilometers until the peloton was outside the city and the race proper could begin. There was also rumored to be close to 50,000 spectators and a bakers' strike in Turin, so Cougnet switched the finish to the city of Beinasco, about 6 km 0 on short of Turin. Ganna and Rossignoli led for most of the stage until about 6 km 0 on before the finish, when Ganna attacked and Rossignoli could not counter. Ganna's win extended his race lead over Carlo Galetti. The eighth and final stage started in Turin, covered 206 km 0 on, and finished in Milan in front of a crowd of more than 30,000. Ganna was amongst the leading group until he suffered a flat tyre. He managed to fight his way back until, with the leaders in sight, he had another puncture. The leading group pulled away until the race directors stopped them to let Ganna catch up. Escorted by mounted police, the riders then made their way into Milan's Arena Civica stadium for the finish.Fotheringham 2003 103–104 As the racers geared up for the sprint finish a police horse fell, causing a few riders to crash. Dario Beni avoided the incident and edged out Galetti for the stage win, with Ganna coming in third. Thus Ganna became the first winner of the Giro d'Italia.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/ A century after Ganna Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 26 September 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20140619163115/http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/ 19 June 2014 He and his team, Atala, also won the team classification. Results Stage results + Stage characteristics and winnersBoyce Barry http://www.cyclingrevealed.com/timeline/Race%20Snippets/GdI/GdI_1909.htm The First Ever Giro in 1909 Cycling revealed 2004 27 October 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20140619164133/http://www.cyclingrevealed.com/timeline/Race%20Snippets/GdI/GdI_1909.htm 19 June 2014http://www.archiviolastampa.it/component/option,com_lastampa/task,search/mod,libera/action,viewer/Itemid,3/page,4/articleid,1202_01_1909_0130_0004_24220483/anews,true/ Il giro ciclistico d'Italia it 12 May 1909 4 La Stampa Editrice La Stampa 27 May 2012 PDF The Cycling Tour of Italy Stage Date Course Distance TypeIn 1909, there was no distinction in the rules between plain stages and mountain stages; the icons shown here indicate that the third, sixth, and seventh stages included mountains. Winner Race Leader113 May Milan to Bologna 397 km mi on 22px|link=|alt=Plain stage Dario Beni ITA 1861 Dario Beni ITA 1861216 May Bologna to Chieti 375.8 km mi on 22px|link=|alt=Plain stage Giovanni Cuniolo ITA 1861 Luigi Ganna ITA 1861318 May Chieti to Naples 242.8 km mi on 22px|link=|alt=Stage with mountain(s) Giovanni Rossignoli ITA 1861 Carlo Galetti ITA 1861420 May Naples to Rome 228.1 km mi on 22px|link=|alt=Plain stage Luigi Ganna ITA 1861 Luigi Ganna ITA 1861523 May Rome to Florence 346.5 km mi on 22px|link=|alt=Plain stage Luigi Ganna ITA 1861 Luigi Ganna ITA 1861625 May Florence to Genoa 294.1 km mi on 22px|link=|alt=Stage with mountain(s) Giovanni Rossignoli ITA 1861 Luigi Ganna ITA 1861727 May Genoa to Turin 354.9 km mi on 22px|link=|alt=Stage with mountain(s) Luigi Ganna ITA 1861 Luigi Ganna ITA 1861830 May Turin to Milan 206 km mi on 22px|link=|alt=Plain stage Dario Beni ITA 1861 Luigi Ganna ITA 1861 Total 2447.9 km 0 on General classification thumb|right|Giovanni Cuniolo won the second stage of the Giro d'Italia.|alt=A man standing while holding a bike upright. Forty-nine cyclists completed all eight stages. The points each received from their stage placings were added up for the general classification, and the winner was the rider with the fewest accumulated points. Ernesto Azzini won the prize for best ranked isolati rider in the general classification.http://dlib.coninet.it/bookreader.php?&c=1&f=7924&p=5#page/5/mode/2up I vincitori delle categorie speciali Corriere dello Sport 14 June 1950 6 7 July 2013 it The winners of the special categories https://web.archive.org/web/20141222201219/http://dlib.coninet.it/bookreader.php?&c=1&f=7924&p=5 22 December 2014 live + Final general classification (1–10)http://www.cyclingarchives.com/ritfiche.php?ritid=9306#first https://archive.today/20130408022643/http://www.cyclingarchives.com/ritfiche.php?ritid=9306%23first dead April 8, 2013 Giro d'Italia 1909 Cycling Archives 10 July 2012 Rank Rider Team Points 1 Luigi Ganna ITA 1861 Atala25 2 Carlo Galetti ITA 1861 Rudge Whitworth27 3 Giovanni Rossignoli ITA 1861 Bianchi40 4 Clemente Canepari ITA 1861 Legnano59 5 Carlo Oriani ITA 1861 Stucchi72 6 Ernesto Azzini ITA 1861 Rudge Whitworth77 7 Dario Beni ITA 1861 Bianchi91 8 Enrico Sala ITA 1861 Bianchi98 9 Ottorino Celli ITA 1861 Bianchi117 10 Giovanni Marchese ITA 1861 Legnano139 Final general classification (11–49) Rank Rider Team Points 11 Luigi Chiodi ITA 1861 Atala 141 12 Alberto Petrino ITA 1861 Peugeot 141 13 Piero Lampaggi ITA 1861 Bianchi 157 14 Attilio Zavatti ITA 1861 Legnano 157 15 Giuseppe Cellerino ITA 1861 Piomagno 164 16 Antonio Rotondi ITA 1861 — 166 17 Arnolfo Galoppini ITA 1861 — 166 18 Giuseppe Jacchino ITA 1861 — 177 19 Ezio Corlaita ITA 1861 Felsina 185 20 Domenico Milano ITA 1861 — 206 21 Angelo Magagnoli ITA 1861 — 208 22 Alessandro Pazienti ITA 1861 — 221 23 Giovanni Cocchi ITA 1861 — 221 24 Ildebrando Gamberini ITA 1861 — 222 25 Ottorino Sabbaini ITA 1861 — 224 26 Giulio Modesti ITA 1861 — 229 27 Luigi Gatti ITA 1861 — 245 28 Cesare Osnaghi ITA 1861 — 245 29 Romeo Zuliani ITA 1861 — 246 30 Luigi Azzini ITA 1861 — 248 31 Mario Fortuna ITA 1861 — 255 32 Eugenio Caratti ITA 1861 — 265 33 Amleto Belloni ITA 1861 — 265 34 Guido Di Marco ITA 1861 — 274 35 Giuseppe Anzani ITA 1861 — 275 36 Guido Magnini ITA 1861 — 281 37 Giovanni Carena ITA 1861 — 282 38 Mario Secchi ITA 1861 — 284 39 Augusto Rho ITA 1861 — 284 40 Mario Lonati ITA 1861 — 284 41 Pasquale Lissoni ITA 1861 — 284 42 Azeglio Tomarelli ITA 1861 — 285 43 Angelo Moretti ITA 1861 — 286 44 Giuseppe Galbai ITA 1861 — 290 45 Senofonte Castellini ITA 1861 — 291 46 Giovanni Colombo ITA 1861 — 292 47 Emilio Roscio ITA 1861 — 292 48 Luigi Martano ITA 1861 — 292 49 Giuseppe Perna ITA 1861 — 297 Aftermath The first Giro d'Italia was a great success, prompting organizers to arrange a second one for 1910.McGann Bill McGann Carol http://bikeraceinfo.com/giro/giro1910.html 1910 Giro d'Italia Bike Race Info Dog Ear Publishing 10 July 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20140223035301/http://www.bikeraceinfo.com/giro/giro1910.html 23 February 2014 The race substantially increased La Gazzettas circulation, and the starts and finishes were attended by large audiences. Ganna's prize money helped him start his own bike factory in 1912. The newspaper ran the event through 1988, when the RCS Organizzazzioni Sportivi company was created to run it. Cycling News http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/the-paper-and-bike-war-that-birthed-the-giro/ The paper and bike war that birthed the Giro Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 20 April 2009 26 September 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20160529200212/http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/the-paper-and-bike-war-that-birthed-the-giro/ 29 May 2016 References Footnotes "Notes" Citations 30em Bibliography Foot John Pedalare! Pedalare! The Heroic Age Bloomsbury Publishing 2011 https://books.google.com/books?id=eGBRfzR_onUC 978-1-4088-1755-1 Fotheringham William Century of Cycling: The Classic Races and Legendary Champions The Heroic Age MBI Publishing Company 2003 https://books.google.com/books?id=N2P_8ArwhPQC&q=ganna+1909+giro&pg=PT19 978-0-7603-1553-8 1909 Giro d'Italia 1 4 5 8 Category:Giro d'Italia by year Giro d'Italia Giro d'Italia Category:May 1909 sports events in Europe