| "Il Diavolo Rosso's" Great Ride!
Newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport put the final arrangements in place on October 9, 1905, for an "Autumn Criterium" originally called Milano-Milano. November 12, 1905, the first edition of the Giro di Lombardia (Milano-Milano) rolled out on an overcast, cold, and foggy day.
SPECIAL NOTE: the Giro di Lombardia is alway held in the autumn (October/November) and famously adopted the nickname “Classica delle Foglie Morte” ("the Race of the Falling Leaves").
1905 map of the first “Milano-Milano”
The road conditions were less than optimal. The muddy-dirt roads caused riders to maneuver along the grassy shoulder. Giovanni Gerbi’s fast early pace stretched the peloton and he took the lead.
SPECIAL NOTE: * Leading up to the race Giovanni "the Red Devil" Gerbi (Il Diavolo Rosso) did extensive recons of the racecourse. Gerbi used his advanced knowledge to put pressure on his opponents. *
Race Status:
In Lodi (30 km into the race), the most fearsome section of the race came where multiple ‘tramlines’ crossed in the center of the city. The dangerous ‘rail’ crossing caused a huge crash in the peloton.
Bad (muddy) roads and tram lines along the race route.
Gerbi, having done his extensive recon *, slowed down and rode in the middle of the road. The peloton approached on the outside of the road at high speed, where the grooves of the tram rails cause havoc. Wheels got stuck between the rails and riders fell.
Aggressively the 'anything to win' (all is fair in love and war... and now cycling?) the “Red Devil” attacked the carnage and rode away.
Only Battista Parini manages to follow him.
The energetic and unstoppable pace of Gerbi destroyed Parini, who abandoned the race under relentless pressure.
In Crema (60 km into the race), he held a 4-minute lead on the chasing group.
in Bergamo (100 km into the race), Gerbi’s lead increased to 18'00” to Giovanni Cuniolo and Giovanni Rossignoli.
In Lecco (140 km into the race), the leader brought his time gap to 22’00” on Cuniolo and 23’00” on Luigi Ganna.
In Como (190 km into the race) he extended the lead to 27'00” on Rossignoli, who was trying to comeback, and 30'00” on Ganna. An exhausted Cuniolo abandoned the race.
Giovanni "the Red Devil" Gerbi rode aggressively through the mud and rain, did not yield to fatigue of a 200 km breakaway, and rode down the Corso Sempione in Milan to claim the first Giro di Lombardia victory.
SPECIAL NOTE: Gerbi, just twenty years old, won the Giro di Lombardia by more than 40 minutes. The superiority of the victory provided him with the opportunity for a bold and boastful statement: I am the “Miglior Corridore Italiano” ("best Italian rider")!!!
Giovanni "the Red Devil" Gerbi (Il Diavolo Rosso)
GdL November 12, 1905 |
230 Km, Milan-Milan |
1.
Giovanni GERBI (Ita) 9h13'52" |
2.
Giovanni Rossignoli (Ita) +40'11" |
3.
Luigi Ganna (Ita) +40'46" |
Starters: 55 / Finishers: 12 Average Speed: 24.970 km/h |
|
Lomb 1906
Return to the Timeline ToC
Return to the Race Snippets ToC |
