Costante Girardengo (; 18 March 1893 – 9 February 1978) was an Italian professional

road bicycle racer Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

, 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 "champion of champions" by the Italian media and fans. At the height of his career, in the 1920s, he was said to be more popular than

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

and it was decreed that all express trains should stop in his home town

Novi Ligure Novi Ligure (; lij, Nêuve ; pms, Neuvi ) is a city and ''comune'' north of Genoa, in the Piedmont region of the province of Alessandria of northwest Italy. The town produces food, iron, steel, and textiles. It is an important junction for both ...

, an honour only normally awarded to heads of state."A Century of Cycling" Page 48 (Gives info on Express trains and "Novi Runt"). His career achievements include two wins in the Giro d'Italia, six wins in

Milan–San Remo Milan–San Remo (in Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance of 298 km (~185.2 miles) it is t ...

, three wins in the

Giro di Lombardia The Giro di Lombardia ( en, Tour of Lombardy), officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy. It is traditionally the last of the five 'Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cy ...

; he was also Italian road race champion on nine occasions. His professional career was extensive, lasting from 1912 to 1936 and was interrupted by

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

which robbed Girardengo of some of his best years. He was ranked number one in the World in 1919, 1922, 1923, 1925 and 1926. He raced almost exclusively in his home country as was the custom in those days, as foreign travel was not easy. Girardengo was of only small stature and this earned him the nickname ''"The Novi Runt"''.

Career

Born in

(

province of Alessandria The Province of Alessandria ( it, Provincia di Alessandria; pms, Provincia ëd Lissandria; in Piedmontese of Alessandria: ''Provinsa ëd Lissändria'') is an Italian province, with a population of some 425,000, which forms the southeastern part o ...

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

), Costante Girardengo turned professional in 1913 at the age of 20 for the Maino-Dunlop team after impressing as an amateur the previous year by finishing runner up in the Tour of Tuscany. He met with immediate success winning a stage in the Giro d’Italia (his first of 30 stage wins in the Giro) and becoming Italian road race champion. He repeated these successes in 1914 and also took his first of his five wins in

Milano–Torino Milano–Torino is a semi classic European single day cycling race, between the northern Italian cities of Milan and Turin over a distance of 199 kilometres. The event was first run in 1876 making it the oldest classic race in the world. The ev ...

. 1914 saw Girardengo win the longest ever stage in the Giro d'Italia, a 430 kilometre leg between

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one o ...

and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

.www.cycling4all.com.
States that Girardengo won longest ever Giro stage in 1914. Later that same year Girardengo took part in the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

for the only time in his career, riding as a guest for the Automoto team he crashed several times in stages five and six and abandoned the race.www.bikeraceinfo.com.
Details 1914 Tour de France participation. 1915 saw him take another win in Milano–Torino but Milan–San Remo resulted in disappointment when he was disqualified after winning the race for going off course. Much of the professional cycle racing was stopped after 1915 because of the First World War and it was not until 1918 that Girardengo took another win, taking the first of his six victories in Milan–San Remo, a record which

Eddy Merckx Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Merckx (, ; born 17 June 1945), better known as Eddy Merckx, is a Belgian former professional road and track bicycle racer who is among the most successful riders in the history of competitive cycling. His victorie ...

eventually eclipsed over 50 years later. He also finished in the first three of the same race every year from 1917 to 1926 and was first over the Turchino Pass on five occasions. His post 1918 form was all the more remarkable as during the First World War Girardengo had contracted

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

and nearly died, his manager believing a survivor of that disease could not race properly refused at one point to renew his licence."European Cycling" Page 8 (Gives info on Spanish Flu). Girardengo took the first of his Giro d’Italia wins in 1919 (including seven stage wins), however his form in the Giro was not always good and he abandoned the race in the early stages in 1920, 1921 and 1922 before dominating in 1923. 1923 was undoubtedly Girardengo’s best year with 16 victories, he took his second Giro d’Italia win including eight of the ten stages as well as many of the top Italian one day races. Despite racing in Italy for most of his career, Girardengo had a burning desire to win

Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the 'Monuments' or classics of the ...

, he first raced there in 1921 but he was unlucky on several occasions, breaking his bike when well placed and never coming close to winning. In 1924 Girardengo won the

GP Wolber The GP Wolber was a French cycling event in the 1920s. It was considered a kind of unofficial World Championship. Only cyclists who finished in the top-3 of the major French, Italian, Belgian and Swiss races were invited. The first GP Wolber was ...

in France, then regarded as the unofficial World Championship. Girardengo finished runner up in the inaugural World Championship road race held on the

Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...

in Germany in 1927, the four man Italian team also included

Alfredo Binda Alfredo Binda (11 August 1902 – 19 July 1986) was an Italian road cyclist of the 1920s and 1930s. He was the first to win five editions of the Giro d'Italia, and a three-time world champion. In addition he won Milan–San Remo twice, and the ...

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 thre ...

and

Domenico Piemontesi Domenico Piemontesi (11 January 1903 – 1 June 1987) was an Italian professional road bicycle racer. He is most known for his 12-stage wins in the Giro d'Italia and a bronze medal at the 1927 World Championships.Gino Bartali Gino Bartali (; 18 July 1914 – 5 May 2000), nicknamed Gino the Pious and (in Italy) Ginettaccio, was a champion road cyclist. He was the most renowned Italian cyclist before the Second World War, having won the Giro d'Italia twice, in 19 ...

when he won the

1938 Tour de France The 1938 Tour de France was the 32nd edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 5 to 31 July. It was composed of 21 stages over .The race was won by Italian cyclist Gino Bartali, who also won the mountains classification. Innovations and ...

.www.museociclismo.it.
Gives info on Coach of Maino team and Italian national coach. Later on he gave his name “Girardengo” to a brand of motorbikes manufactured between 1951 and 1954 in the northern Italian city of

Alessandria Alessandria (; pms, Lissandria ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, about east of Turin. Alessandria ...

. He has been immortalised in Italian popular culture through the critically acclaimed song "Il Bandito e il Campione" by

Francesco De Gregori Francesco De Gregori OMRI (born 4 April 1951) is an Italian singer-songwriter. In Italy, he is popularly known as "Il Principe dei cantautori" ("The Prince of the singer-songwriters"), a nickname referring to the elegance of his lyrics. He is of ...

that juxtaposes his life with that of his childhood friend the notorious bandit and outlaw Sante Pollastri. He died in 1978 at

Cassano Spinola Cassano Spinola is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Alessandria. Cassano Spinola borders the following municipalities: Carezzano ...

, just outside

, at the age of 84.

Major results

Source: ;1912 :1st Coppa de Bagni di Casciana ;1913 :1st Jersey italianflag

Road race,

Italian National Road Race Championship The Italian National Road Race Championships are held annually. They are a road cycling race which decides the Italian cycling champion in the road racing discipline, across several categories of rider. The event was first held in 1906 and w ...

:1st Stage 6 Giro d'Italia : Corsa XX Septembre ::1st Overall ::1st Stage 2 :1st Coppa Borzino :1st Gran Fondo ;1914 :1st Jersey italianflag

Road race,

:1st Stage 3 Giro d'Italia :1st

:2nd Overall

Giro della Romagna The Giro della Romagna was a semi classic European bicycle race held in the Italian region of Romagna. After 2005, the race was organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race was discontinued in 2011, and in 2013, it merged with the Me ...

:2nd Giro dell'Emilia ;1915 :1st

;1917 :2nd

:2nd Overall Giro della Provincia Milan (with

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 ...

) :2nd Milan-Bellagio-Varèse ;1918 :1st

:1st

Giro dell'Emilia The Giro dell'Emilia is a late season road bicycle race held annually in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour, and since 2020 it's part of the UCI ProSeries calendar. The ...

:1st Serravalle-Arquata :1st Turin-Arquata (with

Lauro Bordin Lauro Bordin (7 July 1890 – 19 May 1963) was an Italian racing cyclist. He won the 1914 edition of the Giro di Lombardia The Giro di Lombardia ( en, Tour of Lombardy), officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy. It ...

, and Luigi Lucotti) :2nd Milan-Varèse ;1919 :1st Jersey italianflag

Road race,

: Giro d'Italia ::1st Overall ::1st Stages 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, & 10 :1st

:1st Milan-Modène :1st

:1st

Giro del Piemonte The Giro del Piemonte, since 2009 known also as Gran Piemonte, is a semi classic European bicycle race held in the Apennine Mountains, Italy. The race first took place in 1906. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI E ...

:1st Overall Giro della Provincia Milan (with

) :Rome-Trente-Trieste ::1st Overall ::1st Stages 1, 2, & 3 :1st Giro dell'Emilia :2nd

;1920 :1st Jersey italianflag

Road race,

:1st Milan-Modène :1st Giro del Piemonte :1st Milano–Torino :1st Turin-Gênes :2nd Giro dell'Emilia :2nd Milan-San Pellegrino :2nd Overall Giro della Provincia Milan (with Annoni) :3rd

;1921 :1st Jersey italianflag

Road race,

:1st

:1st Giro dell'Emilia :1st Stages 1, 2, 3, & 4 Giro d'Italia :1st Milan-San Pellegrino :1st

Genoa–Nice Genoa–Nice was a professional cycle race held as a single-day race between Genoa, Italy and Nice, France. It was first held in 1910 and held for the final time in 1975. In 1961 and 1962 it was part of the Super Prestige Pernod series. In 1958, 1 ...

:1st Overall Corsa XX Septembre :1st Overall Giro della Provincia Milan (with Giuseppe Azzini) :2nd Milan-Modène ;1922 :1st Jersey italianflag

Road race,

:1st

:1st Overall Corsa XX Septembre :1st Giro dell'Emilia :1st

Giro di Romagna The Giro della Romagna was a semi classic European bicycle race held in the Italian region of Romagna. After 2005, the race was organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race was discontinued in 2011, and in 2013, it merged with the M ...

:1st Tour du Lac Leman :1st Critérium de Genève :1st Tour des Deux Golfes :1st Giro della Provincia de Milan (with Belloni) :1st Stage 2 Giro d'Italia :2nd

;1923 :1st Jersey italianflag

Road race,

: Giro d'Italia ::1st Overall ::1st Stages 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, & 10 :1st

:1st Overall Corsa XX Septembre :1st Milano–Torino :1st

Giro del Veneto The Giro del Veneto is a classic cycle races, semi classic European Road bicycle racing, bicycle race held in the region of Veneto, Italy. The race is a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2012 the race merged with another Italian classic, Coppa ...

:1st

Giro di Toscana The Giro di Toscana is a road bicycle race held annually in Tuscany, Italy. From 2005 to 2014, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race was not held in 2015. On 4 April 2016 it was announced that the race will ...

:1st Giro de la Province de Turin (with

Giovanni Brunero Giovanni Giuseppe Brunero (10 April 1895 in San Maurizio Canavese, Piedmont – 23 November 1934) was an Italian professional road racing cyclist. Biography Giovanni Brunero was born in San Maurizio Canavese. He became a professional in 1920, ...

) ;1924 :1st Jersey italianflag

Road race,

:1st Giro del Piemonte :1st

:1st

:1st G.P Milazzo :2nd

:3rd

;1925 :1st Jersey italianflag

Road race,

:1st

:1st Critérium National :1st

:1st Overall Corsa XX Septembre :1st Giro dell'Emilia :1st G.P Milazzo :Giro de la Province de Milan ::1st Overall (with

Ottavio Bottecchia Ottavio Bottecchia (; 1 August 1894 – 15 June 1927) was an Italian cyclist and the first Italian winner of the Tour de France. He was found injured and unconscious by a roadside and died a few days later; the exact circumstances of his acciden ...

) ::1st Stage 1 : Giro d'Italia ::2nd Overall ::1st Stages 2, 4, 7, 9, 10, & 11 :2nd Critérium des As à Turin ;1926 :1st

:1st Giro di Romagna :1st Giro del Veneto :1st Stages 4 & 5 Giro d'Italia :2nd

:3rd Giro del Piemonte :3rd Critérium de Genève ;1927 :1st 6 Days of Milan (with

) :2nd Professional road race,

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and a mixed team relay. Events ...

:2nd G.P de Turin ;1928 :1st

:1st Milan-Modène :1st 6 Days of Milan (with Pietro Linari) :1st 6 Days ofBreslau (with Willy Rieger) :1st 6 Days of Leipzig (with Antonio Negrini) ;1929 :2nd 6 Days of Paris (with Pietro Linari) ;1930 :5th

;1932 :2nd Overall Giro de la Province de Milan (with

Learco Guerra Learco Guerra (14 October 1902 - 7 February 1963) was an Italian professional road racing cyclist. The highlight of his career was his overall win in the 1934 Giro d'Italia. He was born in San Nicolò Po, a ''frazione'' of Bagnolo San Vito in L ...

) ;1935 :1st Stage 3 Giro delle Quattro :2nd Asti-Ceriale :3rd Circuit Apuan :3rd Circuit d'Imola

References

Citations Further reading *A Century of Cycling, William Fotheringham, *European Cycling, The 20 Greatest Races, Noel Henderson,

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Girardengo, Costante 1893 births 1978 deaths People from Novi Ligure Giro d'Italia winners Italian Giro d'Italia stage winners Italian male cyclists Cyclists from Piedmont Sportspeople from the Province of Alessandria

Career

Major results

See also

References

External links