The1949 Giro d'Italia was the 32ndGiro d'Italia, organized and sponsored by thenewspaperLa Gazzetta dello Sport. The race began on 21 May inPalermo with a stage that stretched 261 km (162 mi) toCatania, finishing inMonza on 12 June after a 267 km (166 mi) stage and a total distance covered of 4,088 km (2,540 mi). The race was won byFausto Coppi of the Bianchi team, with fellow ItaliansGino Bartali andGiordano Cottur coming in second and third respectively.[1][2][3][4][5]
Coppi won the overall by way of the memorable 17th stage (fromCuneo toPinerolo),[6] in which he escaped from the group and climbed alone theMaddalena Pass, theCol de Vars, theCol d'Izoard, theCol de Montgenèvre and theSestriere Pass, arriving in Pinerolo 11'52" ahead of Bartali, his tenacious antagonist during those years.
A total of 15 teams were invited to participate in the 1949 Giro d'Italia.[7] Each team sent a squad of seven riders, so the Giro began with a peloton of 105 cyclists.[7] Out of the 105 riders that started this edition of the Giro d'Italia, a total of 65 riders made it to the finish inMonza.[8]
The main favorites entering the race wereGino Bartali andFausto Coppi.[11]Vito Ortelli, who placed fourth the year prior did not participate as he was suffering from an illness and stayed home.[11]l'Unità's Attilio Camoriano wrote that Coppi's form entering the race could allow him to gain the lead early on and hold it from Bartali, who was known to take several stages to warm up and adjust to the race.[11] Camoriano added that Bartali would likely not let that happen as he was known to find strength and referenced previous Tours de France.[11] He further stated that Coppi's Bianchi team was stronger and better organized than Bartali's eponymous team.[11] Aside from the aforementioned contenders, Fiorelli'sJean Goldschmit was thought to be the team's best contender as Ganna–Ursus's Albert Dubuisson was known to fade on climbs.[11]
The route for this edition of the Giro d'Italia was announced on 7 February 1949.[12][13] The stages involving the Piedmont region were finalized on 24 March.[14] The race was scheduled to begin at 8 am at the Villa Giulia in Palermo.[11] Attilio Camoriano ofl'Unità stated that the riders were likely to use their heavy, thicker tires because after the Santo Stefano junction, the roads containedlava rocks fromMount Etna throughout and those were known to cut tires easily.[11][15][16][17][18][19] The Sicilian government offered race organizers ten million lire to host the start of the Giro.[20]
Prior to the start of the race, banditSalvatore Giuliano who had been on the run near Sicily'sMontelepre was being searched for by police as the area was in a state of emergency for several weeks.[20] It was rumored that Giuliano threatened to line the race route in the mountains and shoot at the participants with machine guns if the police did not call off their search for him.[20][21] Specifically Giuliano threatened to interrupt the first stage along its route from Palermo toCatania.[22] Due to these threats, there were discussions to cancel the two planned stages in Sicily, but the stages remained.[20] Instead, the normal police escort for the Giro d'Italia caravan that travels with the race would be increased from 6 to 10 cars and cars would not be allowed to stop along the route throughout the two stages on the island except in cases of "force majeure."[20] The added police were not due to the rumors of the attack, but allegedly to prevent a potential escape by Giuliano.[20]
In the 1949 Giro d'Italia there were two major classifications. For thegeneral classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, and allowing time bonuses for the first three finishers on mass-start stages, the leader received a pink jersey. This classification was considered the most important of the Giro d'Italia, and the winner was considered the winner of the Giro.[23]
In the mountains classifications, points were won by the first five cyclists reaching the top of a climb.[24][25] This classification did not award a jersey to the leader.[23] The highest climb of the race was theCol d'Izoard in stage seventeen, which was 2360m. The other stages that included categorized climbs were stages: 1, 3, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, and 19.[25]
A white jersey was awarded to the highest ranked independent rider,[26] who was typically from a non-major team."[27][12][28]
There was a black jersey (maglia nera) awarded to the rider placed last in the general classification. The classification was calculated in the same manner as the general classification.
There was a classification for sprints called the "Gran Premio Tappe Volanti" classification.[28] This consisted of a sprint line that was marked in eight stages of the race, stages 2, 4, 7, 8, 9, 12, 14, and 19.[28] Specifically the eight sprints were located in the following places Taormina, Castrovillari, Terni, Ferrara, Trieste, Verona, Chiavari, and Novara, respectively.[28][29]
For placing in the top three for each classification, on the final stage placings, the "Gran Premio Tappe Volanti", or crossing a categorized climb for the mountains classification, time bonuses were awarded.[25] One minute time bonus was given to the first placed rider, thirty seconds to second place, and fifteen second to third.[25][30]
^"Dino Buzzati racconta la sfida Coppi-Bartali" [Dino Buzzati tells the Coppi-Bartali challenge](PDF).Stampa Sera (in Italian). Editrice La Stampa. 13 May 1981. p. 3. Retrieved27 May 2012.
^Attilio Camoriano (4 January 1960)."Coppi come un fulmine passo sui baluardi alpini" [Coppi as a lightning step on the Alpine ramparts](PDF).l'Unità (in Italian). PCI. p. 6.Archived(PDF) from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved27 May 2012.
^"Il "Giro" e pronto!" [The "Tour" is Ready!](PDF).l'Unità (in Italian). PCI. 15 May 1949. p. 3.Archived(PDF) from the original on 7 October 2019. Retrieved27 May 2012.
^abc"I corridori partenti" [Starting Riders].Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 21 May 1949. p. 3.Archived from the original on 23 December 2014. Retrieved7 July 2013.
^abcdBill and Carol McGann."1949 Giro d'Italia".Bike Race Info. Dog Ear Publishing. Retrieved2012-07-10.
^"I 105 concorrenti" [The 105 competitors](PDF).l'Unità (in Italian). PCI. 21 May 1949. p. 2.Archived(PDF) from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved27 May 2012.
^abcdefghAttilio Camoriano (21 May 1949)."Buon viaggio al "Giro" che parte oggi da Palermo" [Have a good trip to the "Giro" which starts today from Palermo](PDF).l'Unità (in Italian). PCI. p. 3.Archived(PDF) from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved27 May 2012.
^ab"Il Giro d'Italia dalla Sicilia alle Alpi" [The Giro d'Italia from Sicily to the Alps].Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 8 February 1949. p. 1.Archived from the original on 17 March 2019. Retrieved7 July 2013.
^"le novita del Giro d'Italia" [The news of the Giro d'Italia](PDF).La Stampa (in Italian). Editrice La Stampa. 8 February 1949. p. 4. Retrieved27 May 2012.
^"Le tappe piemontesi del Giro d'Italia" [The Piedmontese stages of the Giro d'Italia](PDF).La Stampa (in Italian). Editrice La Stampa. 24 March 1949. p. 4. Retrieved27 May 2012.
^"La carovana del Giro d'Italia" [The caravan of the Giro d'Italia].Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 20 May 1949. p. 4.Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved7 July 2013.
^"Domani il "Giro" prende il "via"" [Tomorrow the "Giro" takes the "way"](PDF).l'Unità (in Italian). PCI. 20 May 1949. p. 1.Archived(PDF) from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved27 May 2012.
^abcdefF.D. (17 May 1949)."Il Giro d'Italia e il bandito Giuliano" [The Giro d'Italia and the bandit Giuliano](PDF).Stampa Sera (in Italian). Editrice La Stampa. p. 1. Retrieved27 May 2012.
^abcd"Il G.P. della Montagna" [The Mountains Classification](PDF).l'Unità (in Italian). PCI. 21 May 1949. p. 3.Archived(PDF) from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved27 May 2012.
^Bruno Roghi (20 May 1949)."Tiriamo il sipario" [Let's Pull the Curtain].Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). p. 3.Archived from the original on 17 March 2019. Retrieved7 July 2013.Siamo infine curiosi di vendere come giostrera il Giro ttorno alla maglia bianca. La maglia bianca, a nostro parere, comporta la divisione del campo in due categoriebene individuale di concorrenti: da una parte le squadre industriali, dall'altra gruppi o gli isolati. Le due categorie, nate col Giro d'Italia (isolati) e sviluppatesi in seguito per ragioni organizzative, coreografiche e assistenziali (gruppi), sono autonome e indipendenti per struttura quantitativa, per interessi e per obiettivi dei nuclei in corsa. La maglia rosa (assoluta) e la maglia bianca (relativa) devono rispecchiaire queste sostanziali diversita in un Giro d'Italia aperto soltanto alle squadre industriali, tutti di pari effecttvi (sette corridori), ed ognuna articolata sulla figura e sulle esigenze di un capitano? Potra e dovra la maglia bianca indossata da un gregario rinunciare alle sue probabilita di affermazione, o semplicemente alle sue necesssita di difesa attiva, nel caso in cui il capitano abbia bisogno della sua ruota, o del suo traino, e, in altre parole, della sua rinuncia e del suo sacrificio? Ecco un motivo di perplessita.
^abcd"Le tappe volanti" [The flying stages](PDF).l'Unità (in Italian). PCI. 21 May 1949. p. 3.Archived(PDF) from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved27 May 2012.
^abc"A Corrieri, in volata l'ultimo traguardo" [A Couriers, in the final sprint finish](PDF).Stampa Sera (in Italian). Editrice La Stampa. 13 June 1949. p. 4. Retrieved27 May 2012.
Mario Fazio (ITA)
Léon Jomaux (FRA)
