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By Barry Boyce CyclingRevealed Historian |
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The First Ever Giro in 1909
The organizing of special events by the Gazzetta dello Sport began at the turn of the Century. By 1908 the newspaper in competition with rival Corriere della Sera announced the creation of the first ever Giro d'Italia and planned it for the spring of 1909.
The Giro was hosted by Milan and started on May 13, 1909 at 02:53 in the morning. There were eight stages scheduled over a total race course of 2,445km and finished May 30, 1909 in Milan.
Luigi Ganna proved to be the strongest, winning 3 stage and finishing with a narrow 2 point victory.
SPECIAL NOTE: The first race caravan contained 8 cars: 4 for the teams, 2 for the race officials and 2 for the promoter.
SPECIAL NOTE: The winner Luigi Ganna received a prize of 5,325 lira. Eugenio Costamagna, director of La Gazzetta dello Sport earned 150 lira per week.
Stage and Distance |
Stage Winner |
Race Leader |
Stage 1 Milan-Bologna, 397 km |
Dario Beni (Ita) |
Dario Beni (Ita) |
Stage 2 Bologna-Chieti, 378 km |
Giovanni Cuniolo (Ita) |
Luigi Ganna (Ita) |
Stage 3 Chieti-Napoli, 242 km |
Giovanni Rossignoli (Ita) |
Carlo Galetti (Ita) |
Stage 4 Napoli-Rome, 228 km |
Luigi Ganna (Ita) |
Luigi Ganna (Ita) |
Stage 5 Rome-Firenze, 346 km |
Luigi Ganna (Ita) |
Luigi Ganna (Ita) |
Stage 6 Firenze-Genova, 294 km |
Giovanni Rossignoli (Ita) |
Luigi Ganna (Ita) |
Stage 7 Genova-Torino, 354 km |
Luigi Ganna (Ita) |
Luigi Ganna (Ita) |
Stage 8 Torino-Milan, 206 km |
Dario Beni (Ita) |
Luigi Ganna (Ita) |
| GdI May 13-30, 1909 |
| 2,445 Km |
1. Luigi GANNA (Ita) 25 Pts [89h48'14"] |
| 2. Carlo Galetti (Ita) 27 Pts |
| 3. Giovanni Rossignoli (Ita) 40 Pts |
Starters: 127 |
Finishers: 49 |
Average Speed: 27.260 km/h |
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Return to the Race Snippets ToC |
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