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By Barry Boyce,
CyclingRevealed Historian |
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Little Known Suisse Rider Escapes
At the start of the 1954 Giro d’Italia frictions in the peloton were being felt by the organizers because of the high ‘start fees’ paid to Fausto Coppi. When the race started an unhappy peloton did not ride aggressively.
Little known Suisse National team rider Carlo Clerici surprise all the elites of the race on stage 6. Clerici escaped with Italian Nino Assirelli and finished in L'Aquila with more than a 25 minute time gain. Defending champion Fausto Coppi said “They never should have been allowed such a lead. But after that stage the race was over.”
Late in the race Fausto Coppi was beginning to take back some time on Clerici. The tifosi (Italian fans) had hope that Coppi would repeat history and attack on the stage to Bolzano. But the peloton rode passively in protest of the harsh racing conditions. The stage took almost ten hours to cover the 222 km of the stage. The media called the stage the “Bernina Strike”.
When the race ended in Milan the next day, Carlo Clerici had the Giro Championship, but angry tifosi booed the riders for not racing.
SPECIAL NOTE: Race officials gave Coppi a two month suspension for his role in the “strike”. However, the suspension was later withdrawn.
SPECIAL NOTE: The 1954 race at 4,337 km was the longest Giro in history.
Stage and Distance |
Stage Winner |
Race Leader |
Stage 1 Palermo-Monte Pellegrina, 36 km TTT |
BIANCHI |
Fausto Coppi (Ita) |
Stage 2 Palermo-Taormina, 280 km |
Giuseppe Minardi (Ita) |
Giuseppe Minardi (Ita) |
Stage 3 Reggio Calabria-Catanzaro, 172 km |
Nino Defilippis (Ita) |
Giuseppe Minardi (Ita) |
Stage 4 Catanzaro-Bari, 352 km |
Angelo Conterno (Ita) |
Giuseppe Minardi (Ita) |
Stage 5 Bari-Napoli, 279 km |
Rik Van Steenbergen (Bel) |
Gerrit Voorting (Ned) |
Stage 6 Napoli-L'Aquila, 252 km |
Carlo Clerici (Sui) |
Carlo Clerici (Sui) |
Stage 7 L'Aquila-Rome, 150 km |
Giorgio Albani (Ita) |
Carlo Clerici (Sui) |
Stage 8 Rome-Chianciano, 195 km |
Giovanni Pettinati (Ita) |
Carlo Clerici (Sui) |
Stage 9 Chianciano-Firenze, 180 km |
Giovanni Corrieri (Ita) |
Carlo Clerici (Sui) |
Stage 10 Firenze-Cesenatico, 211 km |
Pietro Giudici (Ita) |
Carlo Clerici (Sui) |
Stage 11 Cesenatico-Abetone, 230 km |
Mauro Gianneschi (Ita) |
Carlo Clerici (Sui) |
Stage 12 Abetone-Genova, 251 km |
Hilaire Couvreur (Bel) |
Carlo Clerici (Sui) |
Stage 13 Genova-Torino, 211 km |
Wout Wagtmans (Ned) |
Carlo Clerici (Sui) |
Stage 14 Torino-Brescia, 240 km |
Annibale Brasola (Ita) |
Carlo Clerici (Sui) |
Stage 15 Gardone-Riva Garda, 42 km ITT |
Hugo Koblet (Sui) |
Carlo Clerici (Sui) |
Stage 16 Rv Garda-Albano Terme, 131 km |
Rik Van Steenbergen (Bel) |
Carlo Clerici (Sui) |
Stage 17 Albano Terme-Padova, 105 km |
Rik Van Steenbergen (Bel) |
Carlo Clerici (Sui) |
Stage 18 Padova-Grado, 177 km |
Adolfo Grosso (Ita) |
Carlo Clerici (Sui) |
Stage 19 Grado-San Martino di Castr, 247 km |
Wout Wagtmans (Ned) |
Carlo Clerici (Sui) |
Stage 20 San Mar di Castrozza-Bolzano, 152 km |
Fausto Coppi (Ita) |
Carlo Clerici (Sui) |
Stage 21 Bolzano-Saint Moritz, 222 km |
Hugo Koblet (Sui) |
Carlo Clerici (Sui) |
Stage 22 Saint Moritz-Milan, 222 km |
Rik Van Steenbergen (Bel) |
 Carlo Clerici (Sui)
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Mountain Classification |
Fausto Coppi (Ita) |
GdI May 21 - June 13, 1954 |
| 4,337 Km |
1. Carlo CLERICI (Sui) 129h13'07" |
| 2.
Hugo Koblet (Sui) +24'16" |
| 3.
Nino Assirelli (Ita) +26'28" |
Starters: 105 |
| Finishers: 67 |
Average Speed: 33.563 km/h |
GdI 1955
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