1951 Giro d'Italia

The 1951 Giro d'Italia was the 34th edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The Giro started off in Milan on 19 May with a 202 km (125.5 mi) flat stage and concluded back in Milan with a 172 km (106.9 mi) relatively flat mass-start stage on 10 June. Fourteen teams entered the race, which was won by Italian Fiorenzo Magni of the Ganna team. Second and third respectively were Belgian Rik Van Steenbergen and Swiss rider Ferdinand Kübler.[1][2]

1951 Giro d'Italia
Race details
Dates19 May - 10 June
Stages20
Distance4,153 km (2,581 mi)
Winning time121h 11' 37"
Results
Winner  Fiorenzo Magni (ITA) (Ganna)
  Second  Rik Van Steenbergen (BEL) (Girardengo)
  Third  Ferdinand Kübler (SUI) (Fréjus)
  Mountains  Louison Bobet (FRA) (Bottecchia)
  Team Taurea

Teams
Main article: List of teams and cyclists in the 1951 Giro d'Italia

A total of 14 teams were invited to participate in the 1951 Giro d'Italia.[3][4] Each team sent a squad of seven riders, so the Giro began with a peloton of 98 cyclists.[3][4] Italy had the most participants with 80, the foreign participation included Belgium (9), Switzerland (5), and France (4).[4] Out of the 98 riders that started this edition of the Giro d'Italia, a total of 75 riders made it to the finish in Milan.[5]

The teams entering the race were:[3][6]

  • Arbos
  • Atala
  • Bartali
  • Benotto
  • Bianchi
  • Bottecchia
  • Fréjus
  • Girardengo
  • Ganna
  • Guerra
  • Legnano
  • Stucchi
  • Taurea
  • Wilier Triestina

Pre-race favorites

It was widely believed that the competing field was very international than in years past at the Giro and it contained all the great cycling champions at the moment.[4][5][7][8] Reigning champion Hugo Koblet (Guerra) entered the race to defend his crown.[7] Koblet did not have a successful early season.[5] Fausto Coppi and his Bianchi team were regarded as the strongest team.[7][8] Coppi, who had broken his collarbone earlier in the 1951 season during the Milano–Torino,[5] had recently shown his strength as he finished second overall at the Tour de Romandie.[7] Nouelliste Valaisan wrote the even with Gino Bartali (Bartali) and Fiorenzo Magni's (Ganna) participation, that Coppi was the only hope for an Italian victory.[7] Bartali was seen as a rider that could surprise, but not win the race.[7] His most notable result was a second place finish at La Flèche Wallonne.[5] Magni was viewed as dangerous prospect;[7] he won Milano–Torino and his third straight Tour of Flanders in April.[5] As a whole, the "Big Three" of Italian cycling were seen as the only Italian riders with legitimate chances to win the title.[4]

France's Louison Bobet (Bottecchia) was viewed as a strong candidate and in strong form.[4] Bobet had placed third at the previous year's Tour de France, entered as the French national road race champion, and had won the Milan–San_Remo earlier that season.[5] Swiss rider Fritz Schär (Arbos) was seen as a candidate to win the race as well.[7][8] Frejus' Ferdinand Kübler, who won the 1950 Tour de France, participated as well with the hopes of winning the general classification.[7] Kübler had a successful start to the 1951 campaign with victories at La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège.[5] Nouvelliste Valaisan speculated Kübler would not try to defend his Tour title in order to give the Giro his best effort.[7] Coppi, Kubler, and Bobet were named among several media outlets to be the top contenders to win the race.[7][8] The Girardengo team was viewed to be very strong,[5] in part due to the fact the team possessed three riders with a history of winning the world championship men's road race: Marcel Kint (1938), Briek Schotte (1948 & 1950), and Rik Van Steenbergen (1949).[4] Schotte finished second at the 1948 Tour de France (Bartali won the race overall).[5]

Route and stages

The route was revealed on 5 February 1951.[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] There were three rest days that divided the twenty stages.[7] The route averaged 200 km (124 mi) per stage.[7] An alternate route through the Dolomites was created by the organizers in the chances that the Pordoi Pass, Passo Rolle, and the Falzarego Pass were not cross-able.[7] The race did exit Italy to enter Switzerland.[7]

There were some rule changes prior to the 1951 edition.[7] Due to some complaints regarding Koblet's win the year prior, which some credited due to the time bonuses he had garnered from intermediate sprints, summits, and stage finishes, all time bonuses were removed from the race.[7] In addition, the intermediate sprint classification was removed as a whole.[7] Nouvelliste Valaisan felt the changes would make the cyclists lose interest.[7] In addition, rules were changed regarding flat tires, riders would have to change the inner tube rather than change wheels.[7]

The opening stages and the stages between the second and third rest days were thought to be easy, while the last four stages would be the hardest.[7] A writer for Nouvelliste Valaisan felt the Giro had begun to open more to international riders, it has drawn the attention of the Tour de France organizers.[7] At the time it was regarded as one of the top three stage races in the world, along with the Tour de France and the Tour de Suisse.[7]

Stage characteristics and results[5]
Stage Date Course Distance Type Winner
1 19 May Milan to Turin 202 km (126 mi) Plain stage  Rik Van Steenbergen (BEL)
2 20 May Turin to Alassio 202 km (126 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Antonio Bevilacqua (ITA)
3 21 May Alassio to Genoa 252 km (157 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Rodolfo Falzoni (ITA)
4 22 May Genoa to Florence 265 km (165 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Guido De Santi (ITA)
5 23 May Florence to Perugia 192 km (119 mi) Plain stage  Pietro Giudici (ITA)
24 May Rest day
6 25 May Perugia to Terni 81 km (50 mi) Individual time trial  Fausto Coppi (ITA)
7 26 May Terni to Rome 290 km (180 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Angelo Menon (ITA)
8 27 May Rome to Naples 234 km (145 mi) Plain stage  Luigi Casola (ITA)
9 28 May Naples to Foggia 181 km (112 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Giovanni Corrieri (ITA)
10 29 May Foggia to Pescara 311 km (193 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Giuseppe Minardi (ITA)
30 May Rest day
11 31 May Pescara to Rimini 246 km (153 mi) Plain stage  Serafino Biagioni (ITA)
12 1 June Rimini to San Marino 24 km (15 mi) Individual time trial  Giancarlo Astrua (ITA)
13 2 June Rimini to Bologna 249 km (155 mi) Plain stage  Luciano Maggini (ITA)
14 3 June Bologna to Brescia 220 km (137 mi) Plain stage  Adolfo Leoni (ITA)
15 4 June Brescia to Venice 188 km (117 mi) Plain stage  Rik Van Steenbergen (BEL)
16 5 June Venice to Trieste 182 km (113 mi) Plain stage  Luciano Frosini (ITA)
6 June Rest day
17 7 June Trieste to Cortina d'Ampezzo 255 km (158 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Louison Bobet (FRA)
18 8 June Cortina d'Ampezzo to Bolzano 242 km (150 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Fausto Coppi (ITA)
19 9 June Bolzano to Sankt Moritz (Switzerland) 166 km (103 mi) Stage with mountain(s)  Hugo Koblet (SUI)
20 10 June Sankt Moritz (Switzerland) to Milan 172 km (107 mi) Plain stage  Antonio Bevilacqua (ITA)
Total 4,153 km (2,581 mi)

Classification leadership

The leader of the general classification – calculated by adding the stage finish times of each rider – wore a pink jersey. This classification is the most important of the race, and its winner is considered as the winner of the Giro.[17]

Two additional jerseys were in use. The green jersey was given to the best foreign cyclist in the general classification;[4] it was won by Belgian Rik Van Steenbergen. The white jersey was given to the best cyclist riding with a licence for independents;[4] this was won by Arrigo Padovan.[18]

In the mountains classification, the race organizers selected different mountains that the route crossed and awarded points to the riders who crossed them first.[17] The winner of the team classification was determined by adding the finish times of the best three cyclists per team together and the team with the lowest total time was the winner.[5][19] If a team had fewer than three riders finish, they were not eligible for the classification.[5][19]

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.


The rows in the following table correspond to the jerseys awarded after that stage was run.

Stage Winner General classification
 Best foreign rider
 Best independent rider
 Mountains classification Last in General classification
 Team classification
1 Rik Van Steenbergen Rik Van Steenbergen Rik Van Steenbergen Luciano Frosini not awarded ? ?
2 Antonio Bevilacqua Fiorenzo Magni Raymond Impanis Silvio Pedroni Antonio Bevilacqua Marcel Dupont
3 Rodolfo Falzoni Rik Van Steenbergen Antonio Bevilacqua & Luciano Pezzi Girardengo
4 Guido De Santi Alfredo Pasotti Legnano
5 Pietro Giudici Fritz Schär Fritz Schär Atala
6 Fausto Coppi Elio Brasola Fréjus
7 Angelo Menon Rik Van Steenbergen Rik Van Steenbergen ?
8 Luigi Casola Fiorenzo Magni Ferdinand Kübler Donato Zampini
9 Giovanni Corrieri Bartello Bof Fréjus
10 Giuseppe Minardi Giovanni Pinarello
11 Serafino Biagioni Martin Metzger
12 Giancarlo Astrua Giancarlo Astrua
13 Luciano Maggini Rik Van Steenbergen Rik Van Steenbergen
14 Adolfo Leoni ?
15 Rik Van Steenbergen
16 Luciano Frosini Arrigo Padovan Fréjus
17 Louison Bobet
18 Fausto Coppi Fiorenzo Magni Elio Brasola Louison Bobet
19 Hugo Koblet Arrigo Padovan ?
20 Antonio Bevilacqua Giovanni Pinarello
Final Fiorenzo Magni Rik Van Steenbergen Arrigo Padovan Louison Bobet Giovanni Pinarello Taurea

Final standings
Legend
     Denotes the winner of the General classification      Denotes the winner of the Independent rider
     Denotes the winner of the Foreign rider classification

General classification
Final general classification (1–10)[5][20]
Rank Name Team Time
1  Fiorenzo Magni (ITA) Ganna 121h 11' 37"
2  Rik Van Steenbergen (BEL) Girardengo + 1' 46"
3  Ferdinand Kübler (SUI) Fréjus + 2' 36"
4  Fausto Coppi (ITA) Bianchi + 4' 04"
5  Giancarlo Astrua (ITA) Taurea + 4' 07"
6  Hugo Koblet (SUI) Guerra + 6' 05"
7  Louison Bobet (FRA) Bottecchia + 13' 07"
8  Arrigo Padovan (ITA) Atala + 14' 41"
9  Vincenzo Rossello (ITA) Taurea + 14' 49"
10  Gino Bartali (ITA) Bartali + 21' 12"

Independent rider classification

Final Independent rider classification (1–10)[20]
Rank Name Time
1  Arrigo Padovan (ITA) 121h 26' 18"
2  Elio Brasola (ITA) + 10' 51"
3  Bruno Pasquini (ITA) + 13' 50"
4  Bruno Pontisso (ITA) + 16' 18"
5  Donato Zampini (ITA) + 18' 25"
6  Dino Rossi (ITA) + 19' 09"
7  Rinaldo Moresco (ITA) + 24' 25"
8  Vittorio Rossello (ITA) + 24' 10"
9  Pietro Guidici (ITA) + 33' 57"
10  Ugo Fondelli (ITA) + 39' 01"

Foreign rider classification

Final Foreign rider classification (1–4)[21]
Rank Name Team Time
1  Rik Van Steenbergen (BEL) Girardengo 121h 13' 23"
2  Ferdinand Kübler (SUI) Fréjus + 50"
3  Hugo Koblet (SUI) Guerra + 4' 19"
4  Louison Bobet (FRA) Bottecchia + 7' 19"

Mountains classification

Final mountains classification (1–5)[22]
Rank Name Team Points
1  Louis Bobet (FRA) Bottecchia 29
2  Fausto Coppi (ITA) Bianchi 27
3  Alfredo Pasotti (ITA) Wilier 19
4  Gino Bartali (ITA) Bartali 17
5  Giovanni Roma (ITA) Bottecchia 12

Team classification

Final team classification (1)[5]
Team Time
1 Taurea ?
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References

Citations
  1. "Magni gana la Vuelta a Italia" [Magni wins the Tour of Italy] (in Spanish). Milan, Italy: El Mundo Deportivo. 11 June 1951. p. 2. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  2. "Fiorenzo Magni ha vinto il Giro" [Fiorenzo Magni has won the Tour] (PDF). La Stampa (in Italian). Editrice La Stampa. 11 June 1951. p. 4. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  3. "Il formidabile schieramento in campo" [The formidable array field]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 18 May 1951. p. 1. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  4. "Le Tour d'Italia debute ce matin" [The Tour of Italy debuts this morning] (PDF). La Sentinelle (in French). 19 May 1951. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 October 2019 – via RERO.
  5. Bill and Carol McGann. "1951 Giro d'Italia". Bike Race Info. Dog Ear Publishing. Archived from the original on 4 July 2014. Retrieved 2012-07-10.
  6. "Hanno preso il via da Milano" [They started from Milan] (PDF). l'Unità (in Italian). 19 May 1951. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
  7. "le Tour d'Italia cycliste" [The Cycling Tour of Italy] (PDF). Nouvelliste Valaisan (in French). 18 May 1951. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 October 2019 – via RERO.
  8. "Qui remportera le 34e Tour cycliste d'Italia?..." [Who will win the 34th Cycling Tour of Italy] (PDF). L'Impartial (in French). 18 May 1951. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 October 2019 – via RERO.
  9. Ennio Mantella (15 May 1952). "Giro d'Italia 1951" [1951 Giro d'Italia]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). p. 1 & 6. Archived from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  10. "E' un Giro d'Italia per "camosci"" [It is a Giro d'Italia for "chamois"]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 16 May 1951. p. 1 & 6. Archived from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  11. "I traguardi del G. P. della Montagna potrebbero essere meglio distribuiti" [The goals of G. P. della Montagna could be better distributed]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 17 May 1951. p. 1 & 6. Archived from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  12. "Il 34 Giro d'Italia apre alla corsa tutte le possibilita di lotta senza quartiere" [The 34 Giro d'Italia opens up all the possibilities of fighting without a quarter]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 18 May 1951. p. 1 & 6. Archived from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  13. "Sfilata di campioni e gregari" [Parade of champions and followers]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 18 May 1951. p. 1 & 6. Archived from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  14. Attilio Camoriano (17 May 1951). "Gaio ritorno all'antico del "Giro d'Italia 1951"" [Gaius return to the ancient of the "Giro d'Italia 1951"] (PDF). l'Unità (in Italian). p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
  15. Attilio Camoriano (18 May 1951). "Vigilia dal pronostico muto di un giro pieno d'interesse" [Eve of the silent forecast of a full tour of interest] (PDF). l'Unità (in Italian). p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
  16. Attilio Camoriano (19 May 1951). "Il "Giro d'Italia" rotola versa Torino alla caccia della XXXIV maglia rosa" [The "Giro d'Italia" rolls towards Turin on the hunt for the XXXIV pink jersey] (PDF). l'Unità (in Italian). p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
  17. Laura Weislo (13 May 2008). "Giro d'Italia classifications demystified". Cycling News. Future Publishing Limited. Archived from the original on 17 June 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  18. "Il 34 Giro d'Italia" (in Italian). Corriere dello Sport. 11 June 1951. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  19. "L'ultima tappa in una immensa cornice di folla e la vittoria di Leoni" [The final step in a huge frame of the crowd and the victory of Leoni]. Il Littoriale (in Italian). Milan, Italy. 10 June 1940. p. 2. Archived from the original on 14 May 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  20. "Classifica generale" [General Classification]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 11 June 1951. pp. 1, 7. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  21. "Maglia verde" [Green jersey]. Corriere dello Sport (in Italian). 11 June 1951. p. 8. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2013.
  22. Attilio Camoriano (10 June 1951). "Koblet primo a St. Moritz, con 4' 40" di vantaggio su Kobler, Coppi, e Magni che conserva la "rosa"" [The "Giro d'Italia" rolls towards Turin on the hunt for the XXXIV pink jersey] (PDF). l'Unità (in Italian). p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 September 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-16.
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