| Mara Victorious after Piemontesi's Relegation
The 26th edition of the Giro di Lombardia was on October 26, 1930.
The race departed from Avenue Monza in Milan at 6:00 am and proceeded northward to the hills of Lombardia.
The peloton changing to climbing gears at the foot of the Colle del Ghisallo
Race Status:
The early slopes of the Madonna del Ghisallo climb (75 km / 238 km), provided the first significant attacks, injecting an aggressive pace into the peloton. Decimo Dell'Arsina (Isolati) started the breakaway. Pre-race favorites Learco Guerra (Maino) and Alfredo Binda (Legnano) opted to remain in the shelter of the peloton.
At the summit, Dell'Arsina held a slight gap over Domenico Piemontesi (Bianchi), with the chase group; Binda, Guerra, and Remo Bertoni (Legnano) arriving 2‘45” behind the leaders.
On the descent, punctures by Dell'Arsina and Guglielmo Marin (Touring), a dropped chain and a crash involving the Giuppone brothers, disrupted the breakaway. Unscathed by the mishaps Piemontesi was isolated off the front.
By San Fermo della Battaglia (110 km / 238 km), he held a 1’15” advantage over an elite chase group, featuring Guerra, Binda, Michele Mara (Bianchi), Giuseppe Martano (Frejus), Luigi Ferrando (Isolati), Carlo Moretti (Isolati), Stefano Giuppone (Isolati), and Emilio Zanzi (Isolati).
Near Olgiate Binda attacked but suffered two punctures in quick succession. Guerra and Mara counterattacked and caught the leader.
The trio did not work well together, allowing the peloton to close the gap. After regrouping the leaders numbered thirty riders.
An increase in pace ahead of the Marchirolo climb (150 km / 238 km), saw Eugenio Gestri (Isolati) and Raffaele Di Paco (Maino) breaking away from the group.
The two established a 2-minute lead at the Grantola check point, over chaser Piemontesi, Guerra, Mara, and Camillo Erba.
On the subsequent Brinzio climb (165 km / 238 km), Gestri attacked again and crested the summit first.
He was caught on the descent, and a nine-rider group emerged in the lead.
In the closing kilometers, a select group of eighteen riders regrouped and returned to Milan to contest the sprint. The powerful Bianchi team controlled the dynamics of the sprint finish.
Domenico Piemontesi (Bianchi-Pirelli) initially crossed the finish line first *, but race officials relegated him to fourth place due to irregular sprinting, specifically for deviating from his line in the sprint and grabbing Antonio Negrini's shoulder in the final effort.
This relegation elevated teammate Michele Mara (Bianchi-Pirelli) to victory. Alfredo Binda (Legnano-Pirelli) and Learco Guerra (Maino-Clément) took second and third, respectively.
SPECIAL NOTE: Following Costante Girardengo in 1921, Michele Mara's 1930 Giro di Lombardia victory earned the Italian a difficult Milan-San Remo (early season) / Lombardia (late season) double victory in the same year.
GdL October 26, 1930 |
234 Km, Milan-Milan |
Domenico Piemontesi (Ita) Relegated from 1st to 4th * |
1.
Michele MARA (Ita) 7h40'00" |
2.
Alfredo Binda (Ita) |
3.
Learco Guerra (Ita) |
Starters: 124 / Finishers: 46 Average Speed: 30.913 km/h |
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Lomb 1929
Lomb 1931
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