The 1921 Giro d'Italia was the ninth edition of the Giro d'Italia, a

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...

organized and sponsored by the

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...

'' La Gazzetta dello Sport''. The race began on 25 May in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

with a stage that stretched to

Merano Merano (, , ) or Meran () is a city and ''comune'' in South Tyrol, northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier ...

, finishing back in Milan on 12 June after a stage and a total distance covered of . The race was won by the Italian rider Giovanni Brunero of the Legnano team. Second and third respectively were the Italian riders

Gaetano Belloni Gaetano Belloni (26 August 1892 – 9 January 1980) was an Italian professional road racing cyclist. The highlights of his career were his overall win in the 1920 Giro d'Italia, the two victories in Milan–San Remo (1917 and 1920), and the three ...

and Bartolomeo Aymo. During the 5th stage, on the "Altopiano delle Cinquemiglia" (in Abruzzo region), Girardengo suffered a legendary crisis: he got off his bike, drew a cross on the road and said: "''Girardengo si ferma qui''" (Girardengo stops here).

Participants

Of the 69 riders that began the Giro d'Italia on 25 May, 27 of them made it to the finish in

on 12 June. Riders were allowed to ride on their own or as a member of a team. There were three teams that competed in the race: Bianchi-Dunlop,

Legnano-Pirelli Legnano was an Italian professional cycling team active from 1906 to 1966. It is ranked as the 6th most successful cycling team in history. Many famous cyclists rode for the team including Alfredo Binda, Learco Guerra, Gino Bartali and Fausto Copp ...

, and Stucchi-Pirelli. The peloton was almost completely composed of Italians. The field featured two former Giro d'Italia champions in the three-time winner

Carlo Galetti Carlo Galetti (26 August 1882 – 2 April 1949) was an Italian professional road racing cyclist. He was born at Corsico. The highlight of his career was his three consecutive overall wins in the 1910, 1911 and 1912 Giros d'Italia, the la ...

and

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the ...

winner

Costante Girardengo Costante Girardengo (; 18 March 1893 – 9 February 1978) was an Italian professional road bicycle racer, considered by many to be one of the finest riders in the history of the sport. He was the first rider to be declared a "Campionissimo" or " ...

. Other notable Italian riders that started the race included Bartolomeo Aymo,

Angelo Gremo Angelo Gremo (3 December 1887 – 4 September 1940) was an Italian cyclist. Palmares Source: ;1911 : 1st Coppa Val di Taro ;1912 : 1st National Road Race Championships : 2nd Overall Giro d'Italia ;1913 : 1st Giro della Romagna : 1st Grand Pri ...

Giovanni Rossignoli Giovanni Rossignoli (3 December 1882 – 27 June 1954) was an Italian professional road bicycle racer who won 3 Giro d'Italia stages during his career. Palmares ;1903 : 1st Corsa Nazionale ;1905 : 1st Milano–Torino ;1906 : 1st Milano� ...

, and

Giuseppe Santhià Giuseppe Santhià (19 January 1886 – 18 February 1978) was an Italian racing cyclist. He won stage 6 of the 1911 Giro d'Italia The 1911 Giro d'Italia was the third edition of the Giro d'Italia, a Grand Tour set up and sponsored by th ...

Final standings

Stage results

General classification

There were 27 cyclists who had completed all ten stages. For these cyclists, the times they had needed in each stage was added up for the

general classification The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi-stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumulat ...

. The cyclist with the least accumulated time was the winner.

Other classifications

There were two other classifications contested at the race. A points classification was won Giovanni Brunero and a team classification was won by Bianchi-Dunlop. Giovanni Rossignoli won the prize for best ranked independent rider in the general classification.

References

;Notes ;Citations {{Giro d'Italia Giro d'Italia by year Giro Ditalia, 1921 Giro Ditalia, 1921 Giro d'Italia Giro d'Italia